Over 3.5 billion people watched World Cup 2018, 1/7th of world population tuned in for final

The World Cup 2018 in Russia was one of the best in the recent history when it comes to performances, many experts and pundits felt. But when it comes to the viewership on television, the recent tournament was outright winner in comparison to the previous ones.

A report by Publicis Media Sport and Entertainment has revealed that as many as 3.57 billion people, just over half of world's population, watched the tournament which lasted for a period of one month from June 14 to July 15.

Further, as many as a billion people tuned into watch the sensational final between France and Croatia, and over a quarter of a billion people watched the semi-final between England and Croatia.

With such astronomical numbers, FIFA believes that this was definitely the best World Cup ever. "Fans everywhere are insatiable for world-class football. These figures really do support the claim that Russia 2018 was the best World Cup ever," said Philippe le Floc'h, chief commercial officer of governing body.

READ: France End Croatia's Fairy Tale Run To Win World Cup 2018

After an action-packed 31 days of football, it was the French side which laid its hands on the trophy after defeating Croatia 4-2 in the final. Belgium recorded their best ever performance, finishing third after defeating England in the 3rd place playoff match.