World Cup fans were left raging with ITV’s coverage of the tournament’s opening night, with fans demanding a reshuffle of their punditry team already. The biggest competition in sport got underway from a fervent Azteca Stadium where co-hosts Mexico City beat South Africa 2-0.
There were more red cards than goals in the game, with South Africa seeing two players sent off, and Mexico themselves reduced to 10 men. The usual ITV suspects of Gary Neville, Ian Wright and Roy Keane were on hand to analyse the match, but as part of a twist for the World Cup, the broadcaster had a segment with former Man v Food host Adam Richman
Football fanatic Richman was a surprise guest for the show, but fans didn’t take to his involvement in the analysis. Posting on X, @themightyi21 said: “ITV need to ditch this Adam Richman thing ASAP. It’s cringe.”
@HarryFan4Life_ wrote: ” ITV please get rid of that American bloke and the woman with him. They’re awful. #Worldcup #ITVworldcup.”
He was appearing alongside Semra Hunter, who made an unfortunate error whereby she mistook former Chelsea manager Graham Potter for Gareth Southgate. People were quick to pick up on this, with @adaytomegan_ commenting: “No way they just called Graham Potter Gareth Southgate on ITV.”
@LetsTalk_FPL chimed in with: “Why is the man vs food guy talking football on ITV. And why did the woman just call Graham Potter, Gareth Southgate.”
@SaulForbes added: “Why the the bloke from man v food punditing football on itv and why’s the female host saying she’s proud of him for saying Villarreal correctly?”
ITV have spared no expense when it comes to their World Cup coverage, with the gang based out of a swanky studio overlooking the Big Apple. By contrast, the BBC have opted to broadcast from home during the early part of the tournament, before heading out Stateside when the knockouts roll around.
Commenting at the time when ITV’s punditry line-up was announced, 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.”