ITV Sport pundits Ian Wright and Karen Carney will be in the US for the World Cup(Image: Julian Finney)
ITV Sport have signed up Strictly Come Dancing winner Karen Carney and Everton legend Duncan Ferguson amongst their stars to front the football World Cup coverage. The channel unveiled their full line up today with coverage largely based from ITV ’s studios in Brooklyn, New York. By contrast over on the BBC, in a money-saving move, the main hosts will work from the UK using a feed of the games.
ITV Coverage will be mainly anchored by Mark Pougatch and Laura Woods along with Semra Hunter, as they are joined by a star studded line-up of the very best football pundits, presenters, commentators and reporters.
The full line up of pundits named so far is Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville, Patrick Vieira, Karen Carney, Ange Postecoglou, Juan Mata, Emma Hayes, Duncan Ferguson, Jobi McAnuff and Bradley Wright-Phillips.
Laura Woods and Karen Carney working at the 2022 World Cup for ITV(Image: Richard Sellers/Getty Images)
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Commentary will be led by Sam Matterface, Jon Champion, Seb Hutchinson and Joe Speight. Co-commentary is provided by Lee Dixon, Ally McCoist, Andros Townsend and Lucy Ward.
Before winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2025, Carney played football for England at four World Cups. She thinks the players will be able to cope with the hotter climate.
Carney said: “Even myself as a player I did heat acclimatisation and you do everything you can to prepare. There is a strategy in place so when the players get out there they’re in the best position possible. The longer we are in it, the stronger I think we will get.”
Ian Wright said: “It’s a brilliant squad, full of world class players. I’ve got total faith if this team plays well we can get to the semis and the final again.”
And Roy Keane added: “New York is a fabulous place to work and the studio looks amazing.”
Over on BBC the rival line up has also now been announced – but their main hosts won’t get to go to New York or even get to America.
Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan will front the BBC coverage(Image: PA)
Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott front BBC Sport’s TV coverage throughout the tournament. Broadcasting from BBC Sport’s home in Salford, a brand new, state of the art immersive studio will transport viewers to 16 cities across three host nations – Canada, Mexico and the USA.
They will be joined by what the BBC says is “an unrivalled line up of football royalty” as pundits and experts. These included former England stars Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards, Joe Hart, Paul Robinson, Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Danny Murphy.
Representing Scotland are Scott Brown, Rachel Corsie and James McFadden, while World Cup winner Olivier Giroud, Gaël Clichy, César Azpilicueta, Benni McCarthy, Ashley Williams and Thomas Frank add global insight and international edge.
Former international referee Darren Cann completes the team, bringing expert analysis from the heart of the game.
Commentators include Guy Mowbray, Steve Wilson, Steve Bower, Jonathan Pearce, Robyn Cowen, Steven Wyeth and Liam McLeod, with Alan Shearer, Danny Murphy, Stephen Warnock, Efan Ekoku, Martin Keown, Sue Smith, Rachel Corsie, James McFadden and Paul Robinson providing expert co commentary.
Wayne Rooney will work with the BBC for the World Cup(Image: (Photo by Ryan Browne/Shutterstock))
The BBC will show a total of 54 matches including England’s group stage meeting with Ghana and England’s knockout games in the round of 32, round of 16 and semi-final, if they progress, along with Scotland’s opener and final group match against Haiti and Brazil respectively.
ITV will air 29 group-stage matches, including England’s first match of the tournament against Croatia live from Dallas kicking off at 9pm (UK) on Wednesday 17th June, England’s final group-stage match against Panama, kick off 10pm (UK) on 27th June and Scotland’s group-stage match against Morocco, 11pm (UK) on the 19th June.
It will have three of the top picks for the Quarter-Final stages of the tournament including the first two picks, plus five of the top nine picks of the round of 32.
The final will be shown on both ITV and BBC. ITV Director of Sport, Niall Sloane, said: “This is the biggest FIFA World Cup in history and we will be live from New York City for the duration of the tournament, bringing every key moment to life, free-to-air. Nothing unifies the UK audience more than a global sporting event and they don’t come much bigger than this. Our broadcast line-up is second to none and our comprehensive coverage across ITV, ITVX, our World Cup 24/7 Channel, plus our digital platforms will ensure the ITV audience doesn’t miss a second of action.”
Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC Director of Sport, said: “The BBC is turning the biggest World Cup in history into the most iconic one yet. We’re bringing fans closer to every match, every moment and every story than ever before. Sport truly unites people like nothing else, especially football, so we can’t wait for fans to enjoy not just the live matches with us but an abundance of football content, all day, every day across our platforms.
“Whether it’s our new series on YouTube, the biggest news stories on the ground, our daily podcasts on Sounds or the viral moments on social media – we’re here for audiences 24/7 this summer, taking them straight to heart of the World Cup.”
