England fans were left furious after ITV's coverage of the pre-World Cup friendly against New Zealand was widely criticized as 'garbage,' with many vowing to avoid the channel during the upcoming tournament. The match, played at the Raymond James Stadium in Florida on Saturday evening, was Thomas Tuchel's side's second-to-last game before the World Cup.
Technical Issues Plague Broadcast
Viewers in Britain were shocked by shaky camerawork, grainy picture quality, a lack of commentary, and lagging audio. Social media erupted with complaints, with one fan on X stating: 'ITV picture quality on this England game is garbage. Like watching Mexico 86.' Another added: 'ITV apologies for the 70mins, plus HT of loss of sound. What an absolute shambles of a network. Please, please, please, do not allow these amateurs to broadcast any important England game during the Fifa World Cup.'
A third viewer commented: 'American host image + ITV = absolute s*** picture quality. World Cup will look crap on ITV, at least BBC will be having a 4k feed.' Another noted: 'Football commentary is at a low point in this country. The debacle of the CL final on TNT and that dross from ITV for the England game last night shows it.'
ITV Defends Coverage
However, some fans came to ITV's defense, pointing out that similar issues occurred on BBC for the Scotland game. An ITV source told the Mirror that the match coverage came from a third-party feed, not ITV's own camera work or picture delivery. It remains unclear if the same provider will be used for World Cup games, as ITV declined to comment further. One optimistic fan said: 'It's using a different broadcast/feed. The World Cup broadcast will be completely different and hopefully better.'
Match Highlights
On the pitch, England secured a 1-0 victory thanks to a first-half header from Harry Kane. With just a minute left before the break, Djed Spence found space on the left flank, cut inside, and whipped in a cross for Kane to flick past the goalkeeper at the far post. The starting XI included Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Jarrell Quansah, Djed Spence, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins, and Harry Kane.
Despite the win, the technical issues overshadowed the match for many fans, raising concerns about ITV's ability to deliver quality coverage for the World Cup. As one viewer put it: 'If this is the quality of football coverage we will be getting on ITV, then it'll be BBC for me during the World Cup.'
