Significantly fewer Germans have watched the opening game of the football World Cup than did four years ago, according to statistics reported on in Der Spiegel.
For the opening match of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, 10 million people tuned in across the country. However, figures show that just 6.2 million were watching to see Qatar take on Ecuador in the opening fixture of the 2022 edition.
Fans watching the opening ceremony, televised on ZDF, to the kick-off, totalled around 5.43 million, representing a market share of 26.3%. This compares to the 10 million in 2018, which at the time was a 52% market share.
Those who did tune in witnessed the hosts Qatar put in a poor performance as they were comfortably beaten 2-0 by a confident Ecuador side. In images that will be unsettling to the organisers, many of those supporting the home side had already left before the end of the match, leaving rows of empty seats visible to an audience watching across the globe.
Image credit: History of Soccer
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