Who are the BBC commentators for England v Iran at the World Cup 2022?

The England player Harry Kane during the match Italy-England at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium. Milan (Italy), September 23rd, 2022
(Image credit: Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

If you're watching the World Cup 2022 opening game between England and Iran and are wondering who the BBC commentators are, we've got you covered.

Guy Mowbray is the main commentator for the England v Iran live stream, with Jermaine Jenas joining him on co-commentary. 

Guy Mowbray primarily appears on the BBC and BT Sport. While working for Eurosport at the 1998 World Cup, he became the youngest-ever television commentator on a World Cup Final at the age of just 26.

Mowbray has been the primary BBC commentator since 2010. 

Jermaine Jenas made over 270 Premier League appearances in his career before turning to punditry and presenting as a regular on BT Sport and the BBC. A regular pundit on Match of the Day, he also began co-presenting The One Show for the BBC in 2020.

In the studio, Gary Lineker is on presenting duties with Alan Shearer, Rio Ferdinand and Micah Ricards providing expert insight. 

The big man is back in the anchor seat for a sixth time. Gary Lineker is now a legend of broadcasting as well as football, with 48 goals for England putting him fourth on the all-time list, behind Sir Bobby Charlton, Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane. He's England's top scorer in World Cup football with 10 goals, with small part of him no doubt hoping that Harry Kane (on six) doesn't quite break that record this time around.

With 260 goals, Alan Shearer has scored more Premier League goals than anyone else. The former striker scooped the Golden Boot at Euro 96 on home turf and netted 30 goals in just 63 appearances for England before turning to punditry from the 2006 World Cup onwards. Shearer exclusively works on the BBC.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest English defenders of all time, Rio Ferdinand played 81 times for England and was a member of three FIFA World Cup squads. He also won six Premier League titles with Manchester United and captained the Red Devils to the 2008 Champions League. He is most commonly seen on BT Sport as a pundit these days but appears on the BBC during international tournaments. 

Micah Richards never made a World Cup with England but has been one of the most popular pundits on British television following his emergence with Sky Sports.

The broadcasting of the World Cup fixtures are being split between BBC and ITV in the UK, with Ian Wright, Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Graeme Souness among the ITV pundits.

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.