With the 2026 FIFA World Cup under a week away, Fox Sports is revealing its commentator assignments for the tournament’s first week.
Fox confirmed its commentator pairings earlier in April. As previously announced, John Strong and Stu Holden will serve as the lead commentary crew throughout the World Cup.
Ian Darke and former USMNT player Landon Donovan, who served as the lead commentary crew during Fox’s coverage of UEFA Euro 2024, will be on the call for the opening match of the tournament between Mexico and South Africa. Alex Aljoe will serve as a reporter. Darke and Donovan will also be on the call for France-Senegal on June 16.
Strong and Holden will make their debut for the first USMNT game against Paraguay on June 12. Jenny Taft will be on the sidelines for that game. Strong and Holden will be on the call for other marquee non-USMNT matches in the first week, including Brazil-Morocco on June 13 and England-Croatia on June 17.
Darren Fletcher and former England national team player Owen Hargreaves will also get their share of marquee games, including Netherlands-Japan on June 14 and Mexico-South Korea on June 18.
Other notable pairings include Derek Rae and former England goalkeeper Rob Green on Belgium-Egypt on June 15, and Ian Crocker and former Gibraltar national team defender Danny Higginbotham on Iraq-Norway on June 16.
While Fox has not revealed its exact hierarchy of commentators, the Strong-Holden, Darke-Donovan, Fletcher-Hargreaves, Rae-Green, and Crocker-Higginbotham commentary teams are the only ones scheduled to be paired with sideline reporters during the first week. Sideline reporters are typically reserved for higher-profile matches.
That doesn’t mean the other commentary pairings won’t get good games, however. Jacqui Oatley and former England national team defender Warren Barton will be on the call of the second game of the tournament, South Korea-Czechia; Tyler Terens and former USMNT star Maurice Edu will call Sweden-Tunisia in primetime on June 14; and JP Dellacamera and former USWNT playmaker Lori Lindsey will call Saudi Arabia-Uruguay on June 15.
With high viewership expectations for this year’s World Cup, Fox will face considerable scrutiny over these choices.
About Manny Soloway
Manny Soloway is a Iowa based writer focusing on TV ratings. He is also the founder of the TV Media Blog substack.