Game of chance
TV pundits offer their predictions and reveal what viewers can expect from the biggest-ever World Cup
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- Kate Battersby
Mark Pougatch
ITV
...will lead ITV Sport’s World Cup coverage alongside Laura Woods and Semra Hunter
You’ll be broadcasting from a New York studio – what will that be like?
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Our studio is in Brooklyn with Lower Manhattan over our shoulders. It will look spectacular. We can absorb the rhythms of the place, right at the heart of it.
ITV will show England’s first and last group games, their first knockout game and their quarter-final, if they get that far – is that a big responsibility?
Nothing in British TV comes close to the England men’s football team at a major tournament. England knockout matches can reach audiences of up to 20 million people minimum.
England are third favourites to lift the trophy, can they do it?
Since 2018, England have done everything but win a major tournament. They’ve earned the right to be in the top-tier conversation – but it’s the hardest step forward. In the knockout stage, they could play four games in 11 days, so the squad will be key.
Has Thomas Tuchel captured the fans’ imagination like former manager Gareth Southgate?
Well, we haven’t had a tournament with him yet. The German mentality is much closer to the British mentality than the French or Spanish. He completely gets us.
Do England’s men have something to learn from the multi-trophy-winning women?
Yes, not least because the Lionesses proved that when you win it once, you could win it again.
Scotland are in a tough group. How difficult is their task?
It’s thrilling. Their first game, against Haiti, is massive. Win that and they have a great chance to qualify. Otherwise, it’s difficult.
There will be three-minute hydration breaks, 22 minutes into each half of every match...
Yes, it’s sensible. Viewers will just get used to us talking over the breaks, as ITV will not be showing picture-in-picture adverts. Thunderstorm warnings may also cause delays.
ITV’s coverage starts Thursday on ITV1, with the opening game, Mexico v South Africa, kick-off 8pm. Add it to your watchlist
Kelly Cates and Mark Chapman
BBC / Holly McCandless-Desmond
BBC / Holly McCandless-Desmond
...will be presenting on BBC television and radio, from Salford and the US
What does the biggest-ever World Cup mean for viewers and listeners?
KC It means they’ll get so much more – more games, access to the players, the squads, the teams.
You’ll be presenting the majority of TV coverage from an immersive studio in Salford, as happened with the Women’s Euros – how will you provide
a taste of the atmosphere?
KC My first match will be Scotland v Haiti. We’ll have Eilidh Barbour with the Scotland camp, bringing all the atmosphere from inside the stadium, giving that perspective and sense of place. The match is at 2am BST, with bars at home open late and a bank holiday in Scotland the next day. We can’t drink beers before we go on air, but we can get that sense of place and bring in some Irn-Bru and Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers for a sugar hit to peak at 2am.
Sixty years on from ’66, is this England’s time?
KC There’s no reason why it can’t be. The biggest obstacle for everybody will be the conditions – altitude, heat, humidity, travel.
MC I don’t think you can say that at the moment. They’re up there with maybe six to eight countries.
How momentous is this World Cup for Scotland?
KC After 28 years, it’s huge. Getting out of the group would make it Scotland’s most successful World Cup ever. But we don’t want to get too carried away just yet.
MC I think they will get out of the group to the knockout stage. But it’s Morocco who fascinate me in that group because they reached the semi-finals last time.
Is your ultimate nightmare Scotland v England during the knockouts?
KC A dream! Every gene in my body is Scottish so I want Scotland to win. But professionally, England doing well is fantastic.
Follow all the action from the World Cup live across BBC TV, radio and online
Wayne Rooney
BBC / Holly McCandless-Desmond
...played at the World Cup in 2006, 2010 and 2014. He will be a studio analyst on BBC TV, while episodes of his podcast The Wayne Rooney Show will drop twice weekly throughout the tournament
This is the first World Cup where you’ve had a major broadcast/podcast role. Excited?
Yes! I did a bit at the Euros two years ago, to give me a taste of how it works.
Do pre-match broadcasting nerves compare with pre-match playing nerves?
I like being prepared. There’s some players from different teams where you want to get the name right. I said a Leeds player’s name wrong this season [he pronounced Pascal Struijk’s surname as “Stoke” in footage that went viral].
Sixty years on from ’66, is this England’s time?
Winning it is extremely hard – that’s why we’ve only done it once. I think we’re in good shape, and Gareth Southgate got the team to a place where now Thomas Tuchel’s come in as a world-class manager, he’ll hopefully give us that little bit more. Other sides should fear us. We’re one of the top four, with Spain, France and Portugal.
What about Scotland?
Steve Clarke’s done a fantastic job. I see them going through to the knockout stage, and it’s always great seeing Scotland fans at a big tournament. They’re a lot of fun.
From your own experience at three World Cups, what advice would you give the players?
Enjoy it, which is more difficult than it sounds. I didn’t enjoy them as much as maybe I should have. You put a lot of pressure on yourself, and then you forget to enjoy. When you’re enjoying it, you tend to play better.
Should fans dread penalties in the knockout stages?
Jordan Pickford is one of the best goalkeepers in the world who’s done well in England shoot-outs before, and we’ve fantastic outfield players to take the penalties. I’d
be confident with this group of players. As a player, it’s worse watching your team-mates take their penalties. With your own, you’re in control and you know what you’re doing.
Alan Shearer
...played 63 times for England but only at one World Cup Finals, in 1998. He will be based in New York while travelling to different matches throughout this tournament for the BBC
What does the biggest-ever World Cup mean for viewers?
My one small concern is that the quality is not diluted because of the number of countries that are in it. But I think it’ll be brilliant. I’m going to be out there with the BBC and [podcast] The Rest Is Football, flying here, there and everywhere with whatever the draw brings. I love the pressure of having to call it within a couple of seconds – that’s what makes co-comms [commentating in the stadium alongside the main commentator] a lot tougher than being a pundit.
Sixty years on from ’66, is this England’s time?
It could be. I’m hopeful quarter- or semi-final but I’m not sure they’ll go on and win it. I hope I’m wrong. Deep into the tournament, defensively I think we might
come unstuck. But up front and in midfield, if everyone stays fit we’ve as good a chance as any.
It’s Scotland’s first World Cup Finals in 28 years – how momentous is it for them?
It’s pretty tough, but if they win one game they’ll likely qualify. So beating Haiti would be a great way to start.
From your own World Cup experience, what advice would you give the players?
Try and take it in, try and somehow enjoy it, tough as it is. The noise for these guys is a lot louder than it was for us because of social media. But you might never play in another one.
Should fans dread penalties in the knockout stages?
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You have to blank out what’s happening all around you, stick to your usual routine and have belief where you’re going to put the ball. But I wouldn’t wish a penalty shoot-out on my worst enemy. That walk from the halfway line to the spot is bloody long, and it’s even longer on the way back if you haven’t scored. Fortunately, in shoot-outs I scored all of mine.
Authors
Kate Battersby
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