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BBC scored a late goal in head-to-head with ITV over the World Cup by being in the stadium for the final“I thought it was crap,” Wayne Rooney surmised on BBC after enduring the half-time show. Amid a tense final, the interval was always going to be prominent, theoretically bringing light to the shade. Why the two UK broadcasters felt the need to transmit the karaoke session in full we will never know but at least the pundits struggled through it, too.Ally McCoist said it had “mentally scarred” him as someone in attendance, unlike many of his ITV colleagues who were sat in Brooklyn. The studio has rightly earned them kudos, creating a home alongside the Hudson River with the Brooklyn Bridge providing the dramatic backdrop. With the game only an expensive train ride away, it was a surprise to see Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Ian Wright in familiar surroundings.Mark Pougatch scripted a safe opening, which is what you expect from the ITV presenter, while BBC made more effort by hiring an American voiceover artist and captured the mood of the match as Lionel Messi v Lamine Yamal. Both sides were subtly seething with rage over England’s failure to reach this stage, which would have made it a greater spectacle for the domestic audience, with a lot of editorial proposals floating past Manhattan.The BBC was playing catchup, having spent most of the tournament in Salford rather than San Francisco. With the authoritative Gabby Logan hosting from New York New Jersey Stadium and coaxing the best out of Rooney, Joe Hart and Micah Richards – a trio that provide plenty of energy stood up inside a stadium that was bursting into life as the minutes ticked by – ITV appeared more subdued in absentia. Rooney proved he is not a regular in San Sebastián pintxos bars with his mangled pronunciation of Mikel Oyarzabal, much to the amusement of his colleagues.A backup team of Laura Woods, Karen Carney and Emma Hayes were in situ but reduced to cameos. Seeing the venue, the noise and the colour that comes with it is always part of the occasion, something missed pre-match by ITV, whose main interest came in Robbie Williams singing the ironically named Fifa anthem Desire which no one wanted to hear. Twenty minutes of potential insight was lost on both sides to national anthems and Phoenix Nights-style entertainment.Guy Mowbray and Alan Shearer are fine professionals, knowledgable and engaging, but lack the cutting edge of the ITV trio on the gantry. Sam Matterface is not always to everyone’s taste but he keeps the viewer on their toes because he can throw in an unexpected line without notice, while Lee Dixon plays McCoist’s straight man, a necessary addition amid such a turgid match, joking that the final was so bad it would turn the Americans back to baseball. The host broadcaster spent far too much time finding every single celebrity in attendance. Mowbray did not seem to recognise Matt Damon, while Matterface quipped “the talented Mr Scaloni” as the camera cut to the Argentina coach.No requirement for adverts is always a benefit for BBC, even if pushing the licence fee continued, allowing it to do some proper analysis before Ronaldo was released by Madonna from his kidnapping, looking confused at re-entering society wearing a shellsuit and driving a dune buggy. ITV had to appease its paymasters and did its best to sell everything under the sun but when back in the studio everything was rushed, providing vague insight on a muted opening half.There were ITV giggles over the referee’s shaving foam spontaneously ejaculating to keep spirits up to counteract the tedious football, while BBC stayed stony silent. “There’s not more shows?” a concerned Dixon asked as extra time loomed, as ITV brought the greater mirth, but it mustered only a few seconds of punditry after the ads. “It was awful,” Matterface said of normal time, a hard piece of honesty on what is a career highlight for any journalist.Amid the joviality Matterface immediately knew Enzo Fernández was heading for an early bath but Mowbray did not realise a second yellow was incoming, indicating who had the calmer mind. ITV’s referee analyst, Christina Unkel, was clear with her view on what happened, while Darren Cann’s quiet review was less convincing.ITV rested on laurels from earlier praise and should have had a greater presence at New York New Jersey Stadium rather than taking the safe route. BBC’s pundits were sharper and given the space to air their views but ITV’s more entertaining commentary balanced it out. No one will be too eager to rewatch the match but, more than anything, the public should not be subjected to another half-time show.

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Danny Murphy’s decision to start talking about his deceased cat will haunt the rest of his career while Christina Unkel’s referee analysis was no-nonsense and to the pointThe final may be Argentina v Spain, but ardent media watchers in the UK know that in broadcasting terms, a World Cup is always a domestic battle between the BBC and ITV. So who won on these important criteria?ITV deployed a stellar line-up, headed up by two stars in the professional curmudgeon Roy Keane and, at least while Australia were involved, the professional Ange, Ange Postecoglou. Jobi McAnuff was very effective and unlucky to get shunted mostly to late night games and the effervescent Ian Wright is always watchable. It even got over the early blunder of appearing to put honour-laden Emma Hayes in what was quickly dubbed the “tactical kitchen”.The BBC clearly hasn’t quite fathomed its post-Lineker roster, where he acted as host and a pundit who had been there and done that at a World Cup. You either love or loathe the energy of Micah Richards, but from the BBC ranks the former England No 1 Joe Hart was the one who stood out, with Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney often coming across as pedestrian as an England backline faced with an Argentina attack. Winner: ITVAn endless puzzle for armchair viewers is how commentators and former players can end up getting paid to talk through some of the biggest matches in the world, and somehow sound bored and slightly resentful about being there – call it the Mark Lawrenson syndrome. Jonathan Pearce (BBC) and Lee Dixon (ITV) were the usual guilty parties in that regard, with Ally McCoist’s relentless enthusiasm the polar opposite. In the end the BBC has the strongest lineup, with Guy Mowbray a lot easier on the ear than Sam Matterface. Winner: BBCPost-match interviews made headlines on both channels for very different reasons. Harry Kane losing his voice after England’s win at the Azteca against Mexico was one of the most unintentionally funny sporting interviews of all time for the BBC – and endlessly remixable. Gabriel Clarke’s actions after England quarter-final with Norway for ITV did not go down so well. His relaying of Tuchel’s criticism of the performance directly to Jude Bellingham appearing to reopen old wounds between the manager and his star player. Winner: BBCChristina Unkel’s contributions for ITV were head and shoulders above those Darren Cann made for the BBC. She was straightforward and no-nonsense, while he couched his views in so many caveats as to make them, sadly, almost pointless. Winner: ITVNeither offering was in the league of Nessun Dorma in 1990 or ITV’s unexpected Mexico 1986 banger, but Rascal Flatts’ Life is a Highway began to grate quite early in the tournament, leaving the BBC’s animated titles, with memorable scenes and figures from World Cup history recreated, looking and sounding vastly superior. Winner: BBCDanny Murphy’s inexplicable decision to start talking about his deceased cat called Bob who ran away in a Royal Mail van just because Norway had bought on a player called Oscar Bobb will haunt the rest of his career. “The game’s not that bad,” deadpanned the BBC’s Steve Bower in response. Winner: In a way, all of us. Except BobMuch was made in advance of the BBC’s decision not to head to the US, but instead use a digital studio to make it look like they were in front of landmarks from host cities. It was a very public cry of “we don’t have the money we used to”. ITV based themselves in New York for the duration, meaning their pundits were still far away from action in Mexico, Canada or the US west coast, but they looked more at home in the US. Ironically, as soon as the BBC did head for the US, England found themselves coming home. Winner: ITVITV deployed a stellar lineup, headed up by two stars in professional curmudgeon Roy Keane and at least while Australia were involved, “professional Ange”, Ange Postecoglou. Jobi McAnuff was very effective and unlucky to get shunted mostly to late night games and the effervescent Ian Wright is always watchable. They even got over the early blunder of appearing to put honour-laden Emma Hayes in what was quickly dubbed the “tactical kitchen”.The BBC clearly haven’t quite fathomed their post-Lineker roster, where he acted as host and a pundit who had been there and done that at a World Cup. You either love or loathe the energy of Micah Richards, but from the BBC ranks former England No 1 Joe Hart was the one who stood out, with Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney often coming across as pedestrian as an England backline faced with an Argentina attack. Winner: ITVAn endless puzzle for armchair viewers is how commentators and former players can end up getting paid to talk through some of the biggest matches in the world, and somehow sound bored and slightly resentful about being there – call it the Mark Lawrenson syndrome. Jonathan Pearce (BBC) and Lee Dixon (ITV) were the usual guilty parties in that regard, with Ally McCoist’s relentless enthusiasm the polar opposite. In the end the BBC has the strongest lineup, with Guy Mowbray a lot easier on the ear than Sam Matterface. Winner: BBCPost-match interviews made headlines on both channels for very different reasons. Harry Kane losing his voice after England’s win at the Azteca against Mexico was one of the most unintentionally funny sporting interviews of all time for the BBC – and endlessly remixable. Gabriel Clarke’s actions after England’s quarter-final with Norway for ITV did not go down so well. His relaying of Thomas Tuchel’s criticism of the performance directly to Jude Bellingham appeared to reopen old wounds between the manager and his star player. Winner: BBCChristina Unkel’s contributions for ITV were head and shoulders above those Darren Cann made for the BBC. She was straight-forward and no-nonsense, while he couched his views in so many caveats as to make them, sadly, almost pointless. Winner: ITVNeither offering were in the league of Nessun Dorma in 1990 or ITV’s unexpected Mexico 1986 banger, but Rascal Flatts’ Life is a Highway began to grate quite early in the tournament, leaving the BBC’s animated titles with iconic scenes and figures from World Cup history recreated looking and sounding vastly superior. Winner: BBCDanny Murphy’s inexplicable decision to start talking about his deceased cat called Bob who ran away in a Royal Mail van just because Norway had bought on a player called Oscar Bobb will haunt the rest of his career. “The game’s not that bad,” deadpanned the BBC’s Steve Bower in response. Winner: In a way, all of us. Except Bob