The ITV World Cup Team
Adrian Chiles, who joined ITV in May, will front ITV1’s live match coverage alongside an array of world class football names joining the ITV Sport team for the tournament. Matt Smith will also present some live games and ITV1’s nightly highlights programme.
Joining Adrian and Matt in ITV’s studio in Johannesburg will be analysts including:
Marcel Desailly; who won the 1998 World Cup with France and won the Champions League with AC Milan and Olympique de Marseille, and The FA Cup with Chelsea.
Patrick Vieira; a member of the 1998 World Cup winning France side, as well as the team that won Euro 2000, he won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with Arsenal in a club career that has also encompassed Juventus, Internazionale, and Manchester City.
Lucas Radebe; one of South Africa’s most prominent sports stars, who captained his national team in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and is also well known in England after captaining Leeds United during his 11 years at the club.
Edgar Davids; the former Netherlands international midfielder who won the UEFA Champions League with Ajax and whose career also encompassed AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Internazionale and Tottenham Hotspur.
Gareth Southgate; who won 57 England caps in an international career which took in Euro 96, the 1998 World Cup, and Euro 2000 – and played for Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough at club level, managing the latter from 2006 to 2009.
Kevin Keegan; the former Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton and Newcastle striker won 63 England caps. Keegan was appointed England manager in 1999 as part of an extensive managerial career including Newcastle United and Manchester City.
Andy Townsend: the winner of 70 caps for the Republic of Ireland, he played in the 1990 World Cup and captained the squad for the 1994 World Cup. A club career included Chelsea, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough.
Jim Beglin; capped 15 times for the Republic of Ireland, he spent six years at Liverpool winning The FA Cup and the First Division, as well as playing at Shamrock Rovers and Leeds United.
Craig Burley; capped 46 times for Scotland in an international career that took in the 1998 World Cup, he played for clubs including Chelsea, Celtic, Derby County and Dundee.
Francois Pienaar joins the ITV team for the opening day’s coverage of the World Cup. Francois captained South Africa’s Springboks rugby union team from 1993 to 1996 guiding them to victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup. He worked with ITV at the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups.
Commentary will be provided by Clive Tyldesley, Peter Drury and Jon Champion who will be joined for co-commentary by Andy Townsend, Gareth Southgate, Jim Beglin, and Craig Burley.
ITV will have an expert team of reporters based across South Africa, accompanied by outside broadcast units with the ability to go live with the latest news during programmes. Gabriel Clarke will be based with Fabio Capello and the England team. Ned Boulting and Kelly Cates will report from around South Africa; and Jim Rosenthal will be based live inside the grounds for the big games with a range of guests. ITV Sport will also work closely with ITV News, whose reporters, including Sports Editor Steve Scott, will be based in South Africa during the tournament.