England fans make 28 million ‘therapy calls’ after World Cup fiasco

England’s World Cup semi-final defeat triggered millions of phone calls as devastated supporters reached for their mobiles to analyse, complain and relive every painful moment. 

An estimated 28 million phone calls were made during the four-hour match window after England’s exit, according to Lebara. The statistics are based on anonymised mobile usage from Lebara’s UK customer base, extrapolated to estimate activity across the UK mobile market.

Mobile data usage surged 69 per cent compared with the same time last year, suggesting millions were scrolling social media, arguing with strangers, sharing memes and watching endless replays.

Lebara said England’s entire World Cup campaign kept networks busy. Data usage climbed 18 per cent during the DR Congo match, 36 per cent against Croatia, 42 per cent versus Panama, 51 per cent against Mexico and 43 percent during the quarter-final against Norway.

Across the tournament, fans consumed enough data to stream more than 22,800 full England matches (assuming anyone would actually want to watch that many).