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It's nearly time for the World Cup, and for viewers in the UK, the BBC and ITV have us covered as they'll be screening every game from football's quadrennial spectacular.
The World Cup is the globe's most watched sporting event, which means television coverage of the tournament is pitched to a mammoth audience.
The BBC and ITV have shared the United Kingdom's TV broadcasting rights to every World Cup since 1966, and every four years, the two networks go head-to-head in their attempts to outperform the other in the battle for critical and ratings supremacy.
Ahead of the tournament, GOAL breaks down the faces and voices we'll see on each broadcaster, and tells you which game is on which channel.
World Cup pundits & presenters on the BBC
This will be the first World Cup this century where the BBC's coverage is not led by Gary Lineker, who had been a firm fixture of the Beeb's TV football broadcasts since France 98 until his departure from the corporation at the end of the 2024/25 season.
Former England striker and World Cup golden boot winner Lineker has been replaced in the Match of the Day presenting hotseat by the trio of Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan over the past season.
They'll be anchoring the BBC's coverage from North America this summer, along with former Arsenal and England women's defender Alex Scott - who recently presented the last ever edition of long-running preview show Football Focus.
This quartet of hosts will be joined by an array of former and current players and managers, which includes Match of the Day mainstays and former England internationals Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards.
The Three Lions are also represented by Joe Hart, Steph Houghton, Danny Murphy, Paul Robinson and Ellen White.
Scott Brown, Rachel Corsie and James McFadden will be representing Scotland, with former Wales captain Ashley Williams completing the line-up of former internationals from the home nations.
The international flavour will be provided by César Azpilicueta, Gaël Clichy, Thomas Frank, Benni McCarthy and 2018 FIFA World Cup winner Olivier Giroud.
Darren Cann, who was an assistant referee at 2010's UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup finals, will provide analysis from a match official's perspective.
What about the commentary?
BBC TV's commentary will be led by familiar voices from Match of the Day, including Guy Mowbray, Steve Wilson, Steve Bower, Jonathan Pearce, Robyn Cowen and Steven Wyeth, with Sportscene'sLiam McLeod set to commentate on Scotland's games.
Their co-commentators will include former England internationals Alan Shearer, Danny Murphy, Stephen Warnock, Martin Keown, Sue Smith and Paul Robinson, ex-Scotland players Rachel Corsie and James McFadden, plus Efan Ekoku, a member of the Nigeria squad at USA 94.
BBC Radio 5 Live's commentaries will also be made available on selected fixtures televised by the BBC, while an audio description service for blind and partially-sighted supporters will be made available on all live games.
Additionally, Kelly Somers will report from the England camp, while Eilidh Barbour will be embedded with the Scotland squad.
World Cup pundits & presenters on ITV
Mark Pougatch will be ITV's lead presenter for a third consecutive World Cup, having assumed the mantle as the network's main football anchor in 2015.
Sharing the presenting duties are Laura Woods and Semra Hunter, with the latter host set to be joined by Man v Food's Adam Richman in ITV's studios in Brooklyn, New York. Richman will be joined by celebrity guests to look at the World Cup's social and cultural moments.
Joining the presenters in the network's Brooklyn studios will be an array of former internationals, including a number of pundits familiar to viewers of Sky Sports' football coverage and ITV's coverage of previous World Cups.
Former Manchester United team-mates Gary Neville and Roy Keane will be returning to the ITV line-up, having been a part of its team during Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
They'll face off against their former Arsenal rivals Ian Wright, who has also been among ITV's pundits at the past three World Cups, and 1998 FIFA World Cup winner Patrick Vieira. A third ex-Arsenal player in Karen Carney will also join the panel, having represented England at four Women's World Cups.
Wright's son Bradley Wright-Phillips, who is based in the United States after spending nine years of his playing career in Major League Soccer, is set to make his debut as part of ITV's punditry team.
Emma Hayes, manager of the United States women's national team, will be returning to the network's coverage after being a part of its team during UEFA Euro 2020.
Ex-Everton player, coach and interim manager Duncan Ferguson will offer analysis from a Scotland perspective, with an international flavour being provided by 2010 FIFA World Cup winner Juan Mata, ex-Jamaica international Jobi McAnuff and former Australia player and manager Ange Postecoglou.
Former FIFA match official Christina Unkel will be ITV's refereeing analyst, having been utilised by the network in this role during UEFA Euro 2024.
What about the commentary?
ITV's commentaries will be led Sam Matterface, Jon Champion, Seb Hutchinson and Joe Speight.
They'll be joined by co-commentators Lee Dixon, Ally McCoist, Andros Townsend and Lucy Ward.
The network will also call upon Gabriel Clarke as its reporter following the England squad, while Connie McLaughlin will be with the Scotland team. Daniyal Khan is set to be ITV's social reporter in New York.
Which channels are the England games on?
ITV1 will televise England's first and last matches from Group L, the fixtures against Croatia on Wednesday 17th June and against Panama on Saturday 27th June, while BBC One will broadcast England vs Ghana on Tuesday 23rd June.
Should the Three Lions progress through the knockout stage, BBC One will screen England's games in the round of 32, round of 16 and semi-finals, while ITV1 will show the quarter-final featuring Thomas Tuchel's team. As is tradition, the final will be televised by both BBC One and ITV1.
Here is a full breakdown of the UK TV coverage of England's Group L matches:
Date | Game | Kick-off time (BST) | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
17 June | England vs Croatia | 9pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
23 June | England vs Ghana | 9pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
27 June | Panama vs England | 10pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
Which channels are Scotland's matches on?
BBC One will broadcast Scotland's first and final Group C games, with Steve Clarke's side set to face Haiti in the early hours of Sunday 14th June and Brazil on Wednesday 24th June. ITV1 and its Scottish equivalent STV will televise Scotland vs Morocco on Friday 19th June.
Here is a rundown of the UK TV coverage of Scotland's fixtures from Group C:
Date | Game | Kick-off time (BST) | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
14 June | Haiti vs Scotland | 2am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
19 June | Scotland vs Morocco | 11pm | ITV1 / STV / ITVX / STV Player |
24 June | Scotland vs Brazil | 11pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
Is the opening game on ITV or the BBC?
ITV1 will broadcast the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosts Mexico vs South Africa from Group A, on Thursday 11th June.
Kick-off at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City is 8pm BST, although the match will be preceded by the first of three opening ceremonies - one at each of the first games staged in all three host nations, each of which involve that country's team.
Colombian reggaeton artist J Balvin and South African singer-songwriter Tyla will perform at the Azteca ahead of El Tri's clash with Bafana Bafana.
On Friday 12th June, Canada's Group B opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, an 8pm BST kick-off, will be preceded by performances by Canadian singer-songwriters Michael Buble and Alanis Morissette.
Then in the early hours of Saturday 13th June, US pop star Katy Perry and rapper Future will perform before the United States play Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California to begin Group D, a game that kicks off at 2am BST.
Both Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States vs Paraguay will be televised by BBC One.
Will UK viewers be able to watch the opening ceremonies?
It is unclear whether the BBC or ITV will broadcast the three opening ceremonies ahead of these matches. In 2022, the BBC decided not to televise the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as part of the BBC One coverage of the hosts' opening game against Ecuador, although the full ceremony was broadcast live on its BBC Red Button channel and the BBC iPlayer.
It is expected that the ceremonies will be made available to watch through online and digital platforms if they are not on the networks' linear TV channels.
Where can I watch the final?
As is tradition, both BBC One and ITV1 will screen the final live, as has been the case for every FIFA World Cup final since 1966.
The World Cup final will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday 19th July, and will kick off at 8pm BST.
While there will not be a pre-match closing ceremony, as there has traditionally been ahead of previous World Cup finals, there will instead be a spectacular half-time show, in the vein of the half-time performances at the NFL's Super Bowl.
The half-time show will be co-headlined by Colombian pop star Shakira, who will perform the official World Cup song Dai Dai, veteran US singer Madonna, plus K-pop band BTS, South Korea's all-time best-selling musical act.
While the duration of the show has not been confirmed, it is expected that it will be longer than the standard 15-minute length of the half-time interval within a football game. Last year's FIFA Club World Cup final featured a 24-minute half-time performance.
However, both the BBC and ITV are reportedly not planning to show the half-time show as part of their linear TV coverage of the World Cup final on BBC One and ITV1 respectively.
It is likely that the networks will broadcast a separate feed of the half-time show through their online and digital platforms.
Full World Cup 2026 UK TV schedule
This will be the biggest ever edition of the World Cup, with the tournament expanding from 32 to 48 teams. This means there'll be 104 matches, up from the 64 games that have been staged during each edition of the tournament since France 98.
In total, the BBC channels will broadcast 54 live games, while the ITV network will televise 51 live matches. As is tradition, both BBC One and ITV1 will screen the FIFA World Cup final, which takes place on Sunday 19th July.
You can see the full breakdown of the UK TV coverage of the 2026 World Cup below, including the games, dates and times.
Date | Game | Kick-off time (BST) | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
11 June | Mexico vs South Africa | 8pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
12 June | South Korea vs Czech Republic | 3am | ITV1 / ITVX |
12 June | Canada vs Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
13 June | United States vs Paraguay | 2am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
13 June | Qatar vs Switzerland | 8pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
13 June | Brazil vs Morocco | 11pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
14 June | Haiti vs Scotland | 2am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
14 June | Australia vs Turkey | 5am | ITV1 / ITVX |
14 June | Germany vs Curacao | 6pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
14 June | Netherlands vs Japan | 9pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
15 June | Ivory Coast vs Ecuador | 12am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
15 June | Sweden vs Tunisia | 3am | ITV1 / ITVX |
15 June | Spain vs Cape Verde | 5pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
15 June | Belgium vs Egypt | 8pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
15 June | Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay | 11pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
16 June | Iran vs New Zealand | 2am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
16 June | France vs Senegal | 8pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
16 June | Iraq vs Norway | 11pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
17 June | Argentina vs Algeria | 2am | ITV1 / ITVX |
17 June | Austria vs Jordan | 5am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
17 June | Portugal vs DR Congo | 6pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
17 June | England vs Croatia | 9pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
18 June | Ghana vs Panama | 12am | ITV1 / ITVX |
18 June | Uzbekistan vs Colombia | 3am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
18 June | Czech Republic vs South Africa | 5pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
18 June | Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
18 June | Canada vs Qatar | 11pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
19 June | Mexico vs South Korea | 2am | BBC Two / BBC iPlayer |
19 June | United States vs Australia | 8pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
19 June | Scotland vs Morocco | 11pm | ITV1 / STV / ITVX / STV Player |
20 June | Brazil vs Haiti | 1.30am | ITV1 / ITVX |
20 June | Turkey vs Paraguay | 4am | ITV1 / ITVX |
20 June | Netherlands vs Sweden | 6pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
20 June | Germany vs Ivory Coast | 9pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
21 June | Ecuador vs Curacao | 1am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
21 June | Tunisia vs Japan | 5am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
21 June | Spain vs Saudi Arabia | 5pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
21 June | Belgium vs Iran | 8pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
21 June | Uruguay vs Cape Verde | 11pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
22 June | New Zealand vs Egypt | 2am | ITV1 / ITVX |
22 June | Argentina vs Austria | 6pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
22 June | France vs Iraq | 10pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
23 June | Norway vs Senegal | 1am | ITV1 / ITVX |
23 June | Jordan vs Algeria | 4am | ITV1 / ITVX |
23 June | Portugal vs Uzbekistan | 6pm | ITV1 / ITVX |
23 June | England vs Ghana | 9pm | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
24 June | Panama vs Croatia | 12am | BBC One / BBC iPlayer |
24 June | Colombia vs DR Congo | 3am | ITV1 / ITVX |
How to watch the UK TV coverage with a VPN
If you are travelling abroad or just want to access your usual streaming services from a different part of the world, you may run into geo-restrictions. This is where a Virtual Private Network (VPN) comes in handy.
A VPN, such as ExpressVPN, allows you to establish a secure, encrypted connection online. By virtually changing your location to a country where the game is being broadcast, you can bypass blackout restrictions and watch your favourite team live. A step-by-step guide is described later in this article, or you can also check out our guide to the best VPNs for streaming sports.
