ITV revealed their punditry team for the 2022 World Cup on Thursday afternoon - and we have to say, the lineup is looking pretty good.
The headline names are Sky Sports regulars Roy Keane and Gary Neville, as well as Arsenal legend Ian Wright. Further down the list, however, there are some seriously underrated pundits - and the potential for the best commentary duo in football to make a return.
ITV World Cup: Roy Keane among stellar lineup of pundits
ITV will once again share coverage of the World Cup in the UK with the BBC. One of the highlights of a major international tournament is seeing what the two British marques can do to try and tempt us away from RTÉ's coverage, with big names always rolled out on either side.
READ HERE: How To Get ITV In Ireland For The World Cup
ITV have given it a mighty good whack for the 2022 World Cup. The headline for Irish viewers is, of course, that Roy Keane will indeed be travelling to the World Cup as a pundit.
The former Irish captain is one of the most loved pundits on TV, though he has drawn some contention for his takes on Cristiano Ronaldo's antics at Manchester United in recent weeks. He will once again be put alongside Gary Neville, meaning we can hope for more showdowns between the pair.
Keane gave us some golden material as part of ITV's panel for last year's EUROs, and we can hope for something similar this year. Though Gary Neville has dropped the odd clanger of late, he remains one of the best, if not the best football pundit on TV, and we're excited to see him confirmed as part of the panel.
If Keano and Neville wasn't enough for football fans, the most lovable man in football punditry will join them, with Ian Wright also a part of ITV's panel. We can expect that trio to be carted out for the final on December 18, given they were all on duty for the channel at last year's EURO 2020 final in London.
There are some misses among the many hits in ITV's lineup. Clive Tyldesley is the best in the business when it comes to football commentary, but he once again seems to have been snubbed as the broadcaster's lead commentator in favour of Sam Matterface.
We can't say Graeme Souness is too exciting a prospect a pundit in 2022 either, while Joe Cole is the definition of a "hit or miss" pundit.
There are, however, some hidden gems. Nigel de Jong's matter of fact style of punditry will be welcome on ITV during the World Cup, while Jon Champion and Ally McCoist look set to be reunited on commentary duties, after becoming firm fan favourites during EURO 2020.
- Hosts: Mark Pougatch, Laura Woods, Seema Jaswal
- Pundits: Ian Wright, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Karen Carney, Graeme Souness, Joe Cole, Eni Aluko, Nigel de Jong, Nadia Nadim, Hal Robson-Kanu
- Commentators: Sam Matterface, Clive Tyldesley, Jon Champion, Seb Hutchinson, Joe Speight, with Lee Dixon, Ally McCoist, John Hartson and Andros Townsend
There's enough here to have us convinced it will be well worth tuning into ITV's World Cup coverage next month. Their first game is the mouthwatering clash between Senegal and the Netherlands on November 21 at 4pm.
SEE ALSO: Ranking Every Nation's Home Kit At The 2022 FIFA World Cup
