The Euro 2020 final’s OTHER head-to-head: BBC and ITV announce their line-ups for England v Italy, with a pick between Gary Lineker, Frank Lampard and Co or Mark Pougatch and the fiery Roy Keane for armchair viewers in an expected record TV audience
- Both BBC and ITV will show this Sunday’s England vs Italy Euro 2020 final
- The two channels have revealed their pundit and commentator line-ups
- Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard will be in the BBC studio
- ITV’s pundits are Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Gary Neville for the Wembley clash
- Wednesday’s semi-final win over Denmark drew an ITV audience of 25.8million
- Find out the latest Euro 2020 news including fixtures, live action and results here
The BBC and ITV have confirmed their coverage plans for England’s Euro 2020 final with Italy on Sunday night.
In a battle of the pundits that offers a sub-plot to the main action at Wembley, the BBC’s coverage will feature Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard while ITV’s expert panel will be Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Gary Neville.
Both Euro 2020 broadcasters will screen the final as England bid to end their 55-year wait for major tournament success in their home stadium.
There will be a battle of the pundits on Sunday night as both the BBC and ITV screen the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy. Rio Ferdinand (left) is part of the BBC’s line-up, while Roy Keane (right) will be giving his opinions on ITV
Former England midfielder Frank Lampard will also be in the BBC studio at Wembley
Gary Neville, the former England defender, will again by a pundit on ITV’s Euro 2020 coverage
ITV’s coverage of Wednesday night’s semi-final was watched by an astonishing 27.6million viewers but even that figure is expected to be surpassed by the two channels combined this Sunday.
The BBC One and BBC iPlayer coverage will be fronted by Gary Lineker and will get underway at 6.20pm, offering plenty of build-up to the 8pm kick-off.
Guy Mowbray will commentate for the BBC with former England midfielder Jermaine Jenas alongside him.
Gabby Logan is to present their pitchside coverage alongside Alex Scott and Jurgen Klinsmann.
Mark Pougatch will host ITV’s coverage, which begins at 6.30pm with Sam Matterface and Lee Dixon in the commentary booth.
Pitchside presenter Seema Jaswal will draw on the expertise of Emma Hayes and Ashley Cole on the Wembley sidelines.
England are one win away from ending 55 years of hurt as they prepare to take on Italy
Gary Lineker will front the BBC’s coverage with over one and a half hours of build-up
Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes has won plaudits for her coverage of the tournament
ITV will screen 1960s classic The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine, on Sunday
In a nod to the occasion, ITV are planning to screen the classic Michael Caine film The Italian Job on their channel at 3.55pm before their football coverage begins.
With viewing figures of 25.8m watching on TV – not taking account of online streams – the ITV coverage of the semi-final win over Denmark went in at No 9 in the list of most watched TV events of all time in the UK.
Experts are predicting ‘huge numbers’ for Sunday’s final with Italy and are pondering whether it could beat the most watched show ever – the 1966 World Cup Final – where an estimated 32.3million tuned in across the UK.
Last night’s match edged above the London 2012 closing ceremony and just less than the 27.1million who saw Boris Johnson announce Britain was going into Covid-19 lockdown in March last year.
It is expected that figure will be broken this Sunday if the two channels showing it are combined though many people will stream it online or watch in pubs.
But there was criticism of the ITV Hub streaming platform, which crashed repeatedly for some users during the nerve-shredding Denmark game.