As kick off to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil approaches, feverish last minute preparations are being made to the teams who will enlighten your viewing experience of football’s greatest showpiece.
Some may not give England much of a chance in this year’s tournament but there will be two sets of ex-players and managers that will make it all the way to the final and want to give a performance that ensures that you follow them and not their close rivals.
The BBC and ITV will be going head-to-head once more as they share live coverage of all 64 matches during the four-week football extravaganza.
But which presenters, pundits, commentators and roving reporters will set this tournament alight?
Scroll down for SOTB’s guide to the BBC & ITV’s 2014 FIFA World Cup squads:
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WORLD CUP 2014 ON THE BOX – SOTB’S TV GUIDE
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| PRESENTERS / REPORTERS |
GARY LINEKER
An ex-England captain who made 80 appearances for his country, Gary Lineker has been the face of the Match of the Day since 1999 and has been involved with the corporation’s sports coverage for almost 20 years.
Best known today as the BBC’s chief football presenter, Lineker scored 48 goals for England in his playing career, putting him second on the all-time list, just one behind Sir Bobby Charlton, and was top scorer at the 1986 World Cup with six goals, making him the only English player to win the Golden Boot award.
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MARK CHAPMAN
Presenter of Match Of The Day 2 and the BBC’s rugby league coverage, Mark Chapman will present selected live games and a daily morning highlights show on BBC Two.
Previously a sports newsreader at Radio 1, Chapman graduated to Radio 5 live where he now presents a variety of sports, including football, golf, Rugby and cricket.
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DAN WALKER
Football Focus host since 2009, Dan Walker will front 10 special World Cup editions of the programme during the tournament.
Now predominantly a football man, Walker has previous covered horse racing, tennis and rugby for BBC TV, while on radio he presents Friday Night Sport on BBC 5 live.
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GABBY LOGAN
Despite not playing a part in the BBC’s football coverage this season, Gabby Logan returns to reprise the England reporting role she undertook at South Africa 2010.
Having previously presented Final Score and other football programmes for the BBC since joining from ITV in 2007, Logan now fronts television coverage of athletics and rugby union.
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JASON MOHAMMAD
Final Score host Jason Mohammad will be BBC TV’s roving reporter at the 2014 World Cup, having performed a similar role last year at the Confederations Cup.
Alongside his football duties on Saturday afternoons, Mohammad has rising through the ranks to be one of the BBC’s main presenters of rugby union and snooker and will play a key part of the corporation’s Commonwealth Games coverage.
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| PUNDITS |
ALAN SHEARER
Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer amassed 283 league goals in his playing career and 379 in all competitions and is once again part of the BBC’s World Cup squad.
Winner of the Premier League title in the 1994-95 season with Rovers, Shearer won 63 England caps at international level and played at Euro 92, 96 and 2000 and the 1998 World Cup, before retiring from the game in 2006 to join the BBC’s Match of the Day pundits roster.
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ALAN HANSEN
The 2014 World Cup marks the end of an era for former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen as he retires from the BBC’s football coverage after 22 years of service.
He joined Match of the Day in 1992 on the back of his distinguished playing career, helping Liverpool to eight Division One and three European Cup titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and six Charity Shields. He also won 26 caps for Scotland.
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RIO FERDINAND
Former England captain Rio Ferdinand played at two World Cups and was capped 81 times before retiring from international football last year.
In his 12-year career at Manchester United, he won the Premier League six times, the League Cup twice, the FA Community Shield five times and the UEFA Champions League once.
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THIERRY HENRY
A World Cup and European Championship winner with France, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is the BBC’s star signing for the Brazil 2014.
Arsenal’s and France’s all-time top scorer received the first of his 123 caps in June 1997 and he also enjoyed club spells at AS Monaco, Juventus, Barcelona and New York Red Bulls.
He was nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year twice and was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice.
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CLARENCE SEEDORF
AC Milan manager Clarence Seedorf returns to the BBC team having worked as a pundit at the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
The first player to have won the UEFA Champions League with three different clubs, winning four in total, Seedorf currently manages AC Milan. He played 87 times for the Netherlands, scoring 11 goals.
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PHIL NEVILLE
Former Manchester United and Everton player Phil Neville won 59 caps for England and won the Premier League six times with Manchester United.
Now first-team coach at the Red Devils, Neville will co-commentate on all of the BBC’s live England matches alongside Guy Mowbray, in addition to his studio punditry role.
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ROBBIE SAVAGE
Former Leicester City central midfielder Robbie Savage made his international debut for Wales in 1995 and retired a decade later having attained 39 caps.
An occasional pundit during his playing career, he began to work more regularly in the media, particularly with the BBC, during the 2009-10 season and now features as a pundit and commentator on Radio 5 live’s football coverage, on 606, Match of the Day and Football Focus
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| COMMENTATORS |
GUY MOWBRAY
One of the leading football commentators on UK television, Guy Mowbray is the BBC’s chief football commentator having been appointed following John Motson’s retirement from live commentary in 2008.
Since joining the corporation in 2004, Mowbray has become a regular weekly fixture on Match of the Day. He called his first World Cup final for the BBC in 2010, 12 years after performing the same role for Eurosport in which he gained the distinction of being the youngest ever World Cup final commentator.
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STEVE WILSON
A key part of the BBC’s football commentary team for over a decade, Steve Wilson is Match of the Day’s longest-serving commentator behind the veteran John Motson having joined in 2002.
During his time at the BBC, Wilson has been part of the BBC commentary teams at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups as well as every European Championships since 2004.
Read SOTB’s pre-tournament Q&A with Steve Wilson here
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JONATHAN PEARCE
Famed for his excitable commentaries from his Capital Gold days, Jonathan Pearce has been one of the BBC’s leading football commentators for 10 years.
During his decade-long career on BBC TV, Pearce has commentated on live FA Cup, League Cup and Championship games, as well as covering two World Cups and two European Championships.
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SIMON BROTHERTON
Completing the BBC’s strong starting line-up of lead commentators is Simon Brotherton, who will work across TV and radio in Brazil.
He joined the BBC in 1990, where, as well as commentating on the Premier League, he has commentated on a variety of tournaments for TV and radio, including the World Cup, European Championships and the African Cup of Nations. He is also the BBC’s lead cycling commentator.
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| PRESENTERS / REPORTERS |
ADRIAN CHILES
Presenter of the channel’s football coverage since defecting from the BBC in 2010, Adrian Chiles becomes the first ITV host since Brian Moore to anchor its coverage at two successive World Cups.
His presentation style may divide opinion in some quarters, but he was a hugely popular asset in his BBC days, hosting The One Show, Match of the Day 2 and The Apprentice: You’re Fired.
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MATT SMITH
Now working on his fourth World Cup, Matt Smith will present selected live games from ITV’s Rio de Janeiro base and be based on-site for the channel’s live England matches.
Alongside hosting a variety of football programming for the channel since joining in 2001, Smith has also presented darts, snooker and boxing among other sports for ITV and has worked for both the BBC and Al Jazeera.
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GABRIEL CLARKE
An award-winning journalist and documentary producer, Gabriel Clarke has played a key role in ITV’s major tournament coverage and will be the channel’s reporter based within the England camp in Brazil.
Alongside his touchline reporting role, Clarke has also worked as a producer and as a director on a diverse range of documentaries, from ITV4’s Sports Life Stories series to the critically-acclaimed boxing film ‘The Fight of Their Lives’.
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| PUNDITS |
FABIO CANNAVARO
Italian World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro is considered to be one of the best defenders of all time and he will his UK TV debut as one of ITV’s star pundits during the World Cup.
As well as steering the Azzurri to glory in Germany in 2006, Fabio won 136 caps for his country, making him Italy’s most-capped player, and played for Napoli, Parma, Inter Milan, Juventus, and Real Madrid.
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PATRICK VIEIRA
Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira won the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000 with France during a glittering career and returns to ITV screens for a third successive major tournament.
He won 107 caps for France, while at club level the midfielder played for the Gunners between 1996 and 2005, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups prior to spells at Juventus and Inter Milan, where he won four Italian league titles.
Now head of the elite development squad at Manchester City, Patrick previously appeared as a pundit for ITV at Euro 2012 and at the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
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GUS POYET
A former Uruguay international and player for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Sunderland manager Gus Poyet has been signed up by ITV for the World Cup.
He won 23 caps for his country, winning the Copa America with Uruguay in 1995, and prior to piloting Sunderland’s escape from relegation this season, Gus managed Brighton and Hove Albion and was assistant manager at Swindon Town, Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur.
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ANDROS TOWNSEND
England winger Andros Townsend exploded on to the international stage with a goal on his debut against Montenegro and helped his team overcome Poland to secure qualification.
Despite a promising season with Tottenham Hotspur, Andros was ruled out of Roy Hodgson’s squad with an ankle injury he suffered against Stoke City in April, but makes it into ITV’s punditry team in Brazil to provide his unique perspective from a current players’ view.
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MARTIN O’NEILL
Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill makes a welcome return to World Cup punditry having been one of the BBC’s star pundits in previous tournaments.
A former Northern Ireland international, winning 64 caps, O’Neill won the European Cup twice with Nottingham Forest as a player and took Wycombe Wanderers up into the Football League before winning the League Cup twice with Leicester City, moving on to win three League titles at Celtic.
Since then, he has managed at Aston Villa and at Sunderland in the Premier League before taking over the Irish job in November 2013.
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LEE DIXON
In a role which will always divides opinion among fans, Lee Dixon is currently one of the most popular and respected football pundits on British television.
Prior to joining ITV after Euro 2012, Lee worked as a pundit for the BBC as well as enjoying a glittering career for Arsenal, in which he won the ‘double’ twice, and collected four league champion’s medals, three FA Cup winner’s medals and a UEFA Cup Winners’
Cup medal along with 22 England caps.
Alongside his punditry duties in Rio de Janeiro, Dixon will also work as a co-commentator on selected games.
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IAN WRIGHT
One of the most recognisable figures in the English game, Arsenal legend Ian Wright earned 33 caps for England and will make his first punditry appearance at a World Cup since 2006.
After starting his career with Crystal Palace, Ian joined Arsenal and scored 185 goals in 279 starts, winning the Premier League title, both major domestic trophies and the European Cup Winners Cup in 1994.
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GLENN HODDLE
Former England player and manager Glenn Hoddle was one of the most gifted players of his generation and he makes his return to ITV’s punditry team for this tournament.
Having won 44 caps for his country and with a reputation as a Spurs legend, Hoddle took England to the second round of the World Cup in 1998, where the team lost to Argentina on penalties.
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GORDON STRACHAN
Scotland manager and former player Gordon Strachan will provide his forthright opinions for ITV viewers during the tournament.
During a playing career spanning 25 years, the midfielder won multiple domestic league and cup honours as well as the European Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup at Aberdeen, the 1985 FA Cup at Manchester United, and captained Leeds United to the First Division title in 1991/92, as well as playing at two World Cups in Spain 1982 and Mexico in 1986.
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| COMMENTATORS |
CLIVE TYLDESLEY
Embarking upon his sixth World Cup for the channel, Clive Tyldesley has been the lead football commentator for ITV since succeeding Brian Moore.
After starting out his TV career with Granada in the north-west, Tyldesley spent several years with the BBC in the 1990s before moving back to ITV in 1998, going on to call numerous World Cup finals, Champions League finals, FA Cup finals and European Championships.
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SAM MATTERFACE
With former ITV World Cup commentators Peter Drury and Jon Champion working for other networks in Brazil this time around, Sam Matterface steps up to become the channel’s number two commentator.
Matterface has been a familiar voice over the last two seasons on ITV’s live football coverage, working on Europa League, FA Cup and African Cup of Nations matches.
He is also talkSPORT’s lead Premier League commentator and has previously worked as a presenter on Sky Sports News.
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ANDY TOWNSEND
A former Republic of Ireland international who won 70 caps for his country, Andy Townsend has been involved with ITV’s football for over a decade.
He played for Southampton, Norwich City, Chelsea and Aston Villa, where he won the League Cup twice, before moving to Middlesbrough and finally West Bromwich Albion, while he also played at Italia ’90 and captained the squad at the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
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CLARKE CARLISLE
A widely-respected former Premier League player for Burnley, Clarke Carlisle is also known for his former role as chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association.
In a 16-year professional career, Clarke, played for Blackpool, QPR, Leeds United, Watford, Luton Town, Burnley, Preston North End, York City and Northampton Town.
As a co-commentator for ITV, he has worked on Europa League and FA Cup matches, having also worked for the BBC and Sky Sports.
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