ITV reveals World Cup 2026 presenting team and coverage plans

ITV Sport has revealed the presenter and punditry line-up for its FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage, which will be shown across ITV1, ITV4, ITVX, STV and STV Player. 

It will be led by Mark Pougatch, Laura Woods and Semra Hunter, who will be joined by pundits live from ITV’s studios in Brooklyn, New York, including Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville, Patrick Vieira, Karen Carney, Ange Postecoglou, Juan Mata, Emma Hayes, Duncan Ferguson, Jobi McAnuff and Bradley Wright-Phillips. 

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.

Gabriel Clarke and Connie McLaughlin will be the ITV reporters on the ground.

Christina Unkel will return to ITV as the referee analyst, providing insights into the biggest refereeing decisions across the tournament, as well as the big VAR calls.

Meanwhile, Adam Richman (Man v Food) will co-present alongside Semra Hunter in ITV’s Brooklyn studio, and will be joined by celebrity guests. A “special section of the studio” will examine all of the biggest World Cup social and cultural moments.

Daniyal Khan will be ITV Sport’s social reporter, out and about on the streets of New York.

He’ll be exploring everything from the underground fan culture of the five boroughs to the fashion, music and latest match news defining the FIFA World Cup 2026.

ITV will kick off the tournament with the first two matches, including one of the host nations, Mexico v South Africa, live from Mexico City, at 8pm (UK) on ITV1, ITV4, ITVX, STV and STV Player.

In total, 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 17 June, England’s final group-stage match against Panama, which kicks off at 10pm (UK) on 27 June and Scotland’s group-stage match against Morocco at 11pm (UK) on 19 June.

Produced by ITV Sport Production, ITV will broadcast live from New York City for the duration of the tournament, and 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.

ITV Sport will also air the first matches of the tournament for current World Champions Argentina, and key footballing nations Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.

The final will be shown live 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.”

Live games and highlights will be broadcast on ITV, with content shared on ITV Football’s social platforms, including X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. 

On the ITV Sport YouTube channel, football fans will be able to access all the latest content via a 24/7 stream, with highlights, interviews and features throughout the tournament.

‘Inside The World Cup’ is a new digital series available on X and ITVX that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the FIFA World Cup, following England and other competing nations throughout the tournament.

The series combines exclusive in-camp interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and match day coverage.

ITVX will provide full video on demand of all ITV matches, highlights of all matches across ITV and BBC, and a rail of short-form content including camp reports, big moments and interviews.

ITVX will also be home to ‘World Cup: Full Time’, featuring the best of Khan’s reports and creator-led content direct from the streets of NYC. 

ITVX is also launching a World Cup 24/7 Channel featuring 40 classic World Cup matches, FIFA World Cup: Stories From The Cities – a 16-part series from FIFA exploring each host city and FIFA World Cup Preview, a 12-part series from FIFA covering each team’s route to the tournament.