England will start the 2026 World Cup on ITV as the broadcaster will air their group-stage games against Croatia (9pm on 17 June) and Panama (10pm on 27 June). Those are the Three Lions’ first and last matches in Group L, with the other being versus Ghana (9pm on 23 June), which the BBC will show.
The public broadcaster is instead banking on Thomas Tuchel and Co. advancing through numerous knockout rounds during next summer’s tournament. They have the first pick of the round of 32, round of 16 and the semi-finals, with ITV selecting first for the quarter-finals – both will air the final as usual.
Scotland will play their opening match against Haiti on the BBC, as well as a potentially pivotal final group-stage game with Brazil. They will be on ITV when they face Morocco.
The BBC are going big on the home nations, as Northern Ireland or Wales will also start their World Cup campaign on the BBC if they qualify through the play-offs. Two group-stage matches of the Republic of Ireland, should they be in North America, would also be on the BBC.
Ireland’s first match would be on ITV; however, as the opening night belongs to them. They will air the first two matches as Mexico kicks off the tournament against South Africa, before also showing South Korea against the team that qualifies from the European play-off path D, which features the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, and North Macedonia.
ITV have 29 group-stage matches, including the first matches of Argentina, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain. The BBC have Argentina and Holland’s other two games, as well as a pair of fixtures featuring Brazil, France and Portugal.
Many of those teams are also likely to feature on the broadcasting corporation’s channels during the early knockout rounds. The BBC have three of the top five picks in the last 32 and three of the top four in the round of 16.
They will also air the opening matches of hosts Canada and the United States of America on the tournament’s second day. The former will face either Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland or Wales, while the US take on Paraguay.
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