This originally appeared in Friday’s edition of The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter with the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis. Sign up here and be the first to know everything going on in the sports media world.
As the saying often goes, first impressions can mean everything. And yesterday, Fox imparted viewers with a first impression of the World Cup coverage that will be part of our lives for the next five weeks. So far, the experience has left viewers wanting.
Fox began yesterday’s telecast two hours before Mexico would kick off against South Africa in the famous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. By all accounts, the atmosphere around the stadium had been buzzing the entire day, but Fox viewers wouldn’t have any idea for quite some time. Instead, the network opted to begin its coverage from an antiseptic-feeling SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where the U.S. Men’s National Team will begin its World Cup campaign Friday night. The telecast began with all the energy a cavernous and empty stadium can provide, which is to say, an energy that did not at all match the magnitude of the moment.
Our star-studded crew has you covered all summer long at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Rebecca Lowe | Thierry Henry | @Ibra_official | @AlexiLalas pic.twitter.com/xEQPgtm0Ms
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 11, 2026
It was a surprising decision considering Fox’s history covering the World Cup. Recall the studio sets from the last two World Cups — the 2023 women’s tournament in front of the Sydney Opera House, and the 2022 men’s tournament on the Corniche in Doha — and Fox kicking things off from an empty football stadium felt like a substantial step down from an atmosphere perspective.
Eventually, the network did transition to Mexico City, where Jules Breach, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, and Peter Schmeichel delivered on-site coverage, a bright spot for the two-hour pregame show. But even then, the production felt small-time until the trio transitioned to its pitch-side location.
Speaking of the small-time feel, Fox may have generated a bit of an own-goal with its “U.S. Soccer House,” where it parked host Rob Stone, studio analyst Clint Dempsey, and match analyst Stu Holden throughout the pregame show. The Venice Beach location amounted to a cramped event space that still managed to look half-empty from aerial shots that only served to make viewers at home question whether or not people actually care about this World Cup.
Think Fox could have done a little better than this today. pic.twitter.com/ODzli6JovO
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) June 11, 2026
Another perplexing decision came about halfway through the two-hour show, when Fox opted to keep rotating between its three-panel setup rather than showing Shakira’s live performance during the Opening Ceremony. Again, the decision kept with the theme of failing to capture the electric atmosphere inherent to an opening game in the World Cup.
Content-wise, the show was what we’ve come to expect from Fox at a World Cup. Coverage was light on tactics and heavy on casual-friendly segments like “What group excites you the most?” or “Give me a name that you’re looking forward to [seeing] this summer?” That’s well and good, we can’t blame Fox for programming to the masses. But if you’re going to keep it light, the chemistry has to be there to carry the show. So far, the new faces haven’t had a ton of time to mesh. Zlatan Ibrahimović, Thierry Henry, and Alexi Lalas didn’t have a ton of interplay with one another. Chicharito and Schmeichel showed promise, but will need more time to develop anything worthwhile. It’s Day 1, there’s an entire tournament left to build rapport, but we witnessed some of the shortcomings of bringing in a bunch of ringers on Thursday.
As for the game broadcast, match commentator Ian Darke does much of the heavy lifting in his pairing with USMNT legend Landon Donovan. That’s expected given the duo’s history together; Donovan hasn’t shown an ability to break through as a broadcaster despite his status as one of the best Americans to ever kick a ball.
Perhaps the most notable element of the game production wasn’t anything said by Darke or Donovan, but how Fox opted to handle the FIFA-mandated hydration breaks in each half. We learned early-afternoon Thursday that Fox would show full-screen advertisements during the three-minute stoppages during each half of play. That decision wasn’t all that surprising, although Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo has opted not to show any advertising during the breaks. What irked fans further, however, was Fox’s abrupt cuts back to play.
Per FIFA’s guidelines given to broadcasters in March regarding commercial inventory during hydration breaks, broadcasters are supposed to return to live coverage at least 30 seconds prior to the resumption of play. Fox’s first-half hydration break during Mexico-South Africa returned in time, but not a full 30 seconds before play resumed. But during the second-half break, Fox committed the cardinal sin and returned to coverage after the ball was already back in play. Fans took notice, and given this is the first time mid-game advertising has been sanctioned during a World Cup, having the commercials impact the actual game broadcast isn’t a great sign.
It all amounts to what could fairly be considered an early yellow card for Fox. The network did not get off to a hot start. Far from it. But there are 102 games to go after yesterday’s pair, and plenty of time to turn the ship around. That means better capturing the atmosphere of the host sites, broadcast teams meshing with one another, and, yes, figuring out how to shove a few more commercials down our throats without forcing us to miss any of the actual game.
