Fox Sports has announced its lineup of anchors, analysts and in-studio talent for this summer's FIFA World Cup.
The soccer tournament, which starts next month, has an expanded field compared with prior editions and will be hosted at multiple sites in North America. The home-field element for Fox, plus the growing popularity of soccer in the U.S., are expected to add potency to its weeks of live telecasts. Fox Sports will host a media day Thursday in New York to elaborate on its coverage plans.
The Cup opens June 11 and will run through July 19 at 16 sites in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with 48 teams playing 104 total matches. Fox has carried the last two men's World Cups, in 2018 and 2022, along with women's World Cups in 2015, 2019 and 2023.
Brad Zager, Fox Sports president and executive producer, revealed the talent lineup Wednesday in a press release.
International figures slated to be studio analysts on Fox coverage include Thierry Henry (France), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden), Clarence Seedorf (Netherlands), Javier “Chicharito†Hernández (Mexico), John Obi Mikel (Nigeria), Thiago Alcântara (Spain), Juan Pablo Ãngel (Colombia) and Peter Schmeichel (Denmark).
U.S. Soccer veterans anchoring Fox Sports' studio analyst team including Alexi Lalas, Carli Lloyd, Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, with Donovan also serving as a match analyst on game telecasts.
Fox hosts Rob Stone, Rebecca Lowe, Jules Breach and Pien Meulensteen will anchor on-site and studio coverage.
Zager said the on-air team “features some of the most dynamic personalities and soccer legends Fox Sports has ever assembled.†He added that the company believes “they're going to instantly connect with fans and become America's definitive voices for the anticipated tournament.â€
Studio analyst and host assignments will be announced before the tournament begins, Fox said.
