ITV FIFA World Cup 2026 viewers have voiced the same complaint about the live coverage of the Netherlands vs Japan match. Football fans expressed dissatisfaction with ITV's picture quality and streaming problems during the Sunday night fixture.
Viewers React to ITV Coverage
Laura Woods introduced the match on Sunday evening, but within moments of the transmission beginning, football supporters took to social media to lodge their grievances. The clash, held at AT&T Stadium, kicked off at 9pm UK time and 4pm ET in the United States. Coverage was provided by FOX in America and ITV1 in Britain, with streaming available through FOX One and ITVX, respectively.
Japan entered the competition in outstanding form, having secured victory in their preceding six matches, including impressive triumphs over Brazil and England. In contrast, the Netherlands continue as tournament favourites despite struggling with the major injury loss of creative midfielder Xavi Simons and securing only one win from their most recent three encounters.
Fan Complaints on Social Media
Yet, just moments into the match, frustrated fans rushed to X to express their dissatisfaction with ITV's live transmission. One supporter raged: "Can we just ban ITV from showing the World Cup? And give it all to the BBC? Constantly poor quality, cuts out, app closes, ITVX sucks." Another concurred: "Watching the #WorldCup on @BBC beautiful UHD quality streaming, @ITV looks like I'm playing #SensibleSoccer from the 90s, awful. And with those Dutch kits, it's all a blur!"
A third contributed: "It's bordering on unwatchable on my set. No issues with any other ITV game until tonight." Another viewer echoed: "Picture quality on ITV for the World Cup is horrendous. Swear I'm watching Pro-Evo soccer."
Positive Reactions
Nevertheless, the broadcast did not displease everyone. Some supporters were thrilled with the coverage. One viewer wrote: "Hats off to @ITV for the #WorldCup coverage." Another simply added: "I agree." Laura Woods opened the commentary for the fixture, telling viewers: "Changeover complete, and now we head to the Lone Star state and the home of the Dallas Cowboys for our next live game. As dark horses, Japan and the Netherlands face off in Texas." She then added: "This is not Japan's first rodeo, but the Dutch will be spurred on to end their unwanted record as three-time runners-up."
