England finally get their World Cup campaign underway in an eagerly-anticipated clash against Croatia this evening.
Millions of people across the country are expected to tune into the game, which is being shown live on ITV.
Over the years, a nagging feeling has developed that England underperform in matches that are broadcast on ITV, compared to when they play on the BBC.
But is ITV’s coverage actually cursed? Metro has crunched the numbers ahead of England’s latest quest to finally end their 60 years of World Cup pain.
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ITV’s England record
Since the 1998 World Cup, 33 England matches at major tournaments have been broadcast live on ITV and shockingly, only ten of them have ended in victory for the Three Lions.
This gives the broadcaster a win-percentage of just 30%, with the remaining results being 11 draws and 12 losses.
Many of the country’s lowest moments were shown on ITV, including the heartbreaking defeats to Croatia and France at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the humiliating Euro 2016 exit to Iceland.
Going back further, they brought us the World Cup penalty shootout losses to Portugal and Argentina, both of which occurred after England’s star player was sent off – Wayne Rooney in 2006 and David Beckham in 1998.
BBC’s England record
Over the same time period, the Beeb’s form when it comes to England games is far better with 21 wins out of 30.
That’s a win-percentage of 70% for the BBC who have overseen just two draws and seven losses.
It’s not all good news though, with the BBC still showing some terrible results over the years including the embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Germany at World Cup 2010.
Both broadcasters showed the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy on penalties as well as the Euro 2024 loss to Spain.
Which TV channel will England’s World Cup games be shown on?
As well as England’s match against Croatia, ITV will also show the clash with Panama on June 27.
The BBC, meanwhile, will broadcast the game against Ghana on June 23.
Should England progress to the knockout rounds, ITV will show their quarter-final match, while the BBC will show them in the Round of 32, Round of 16 and semi-final – results dependent.
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