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With three minutes' worth of guaranteed stoppage in every half of every match at World Cup 2026, one of the two British broadcasters has at least sought something useful to do with the downtime.
Many viewers tuning in for England's win over Croatia on Wednesday will have experienced their first taste not only of the mandatory hydration breaks that have already become such a feature of the World Cup, but of the chalkboard set-up on the edge of ITV's set in Brooklyn, New York.
One of the pundits bringing nuggets of wisdom to ITV viewers this summer is former Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes, now the head coach of the United States Women's National Team.
'I wanted to do it like I was teaching my mum'
Hayes is a coach's coach, an analyst who understands that knowledge without the ability to communicate it is just noise. Breaking down what's happening in a match, often in real time, is a skill many possess but few can impart.
During the hydration breaks in both England's game and the later match between Ghana and Panama, Hayes broke out the chalk and explained an underpinning element of the action. Her in-depth punditry style is a conscious choice and the studio blackboard didn't know what had hit it.
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Speaking to FourFourTwo in 2021, Hayes explained that an analytical eye comes naturally to her and revealed that her insight on the UK's primary terrestrial commercial television channel has helped take football tactics to a different audience.
"I didn’t think about it!" Hayes told FourFourTwo. "And I didn’t realise how big… ITV was! I didn’t realise how many people were really tuning in.
"I wasn’t conscious, I just knew that I loved watching football and researching about the game. Giving insight is just natural to me because I do it daily. I just tried to do it like I was talking to my mum in her living room.
"I wanted to do it like I was teaching my mum – and I have! She tells me all the time. So I’d go on screen and say ‘Mum, today I’m going to talk about this player, I want you to notice these things and watch him’.
"Honestly, the amount of older women who come up to me – it’s astonishing."
Hayes takes her punditry levels deeper than her colleagues. Her demonstrable expertise isn't the light-hearted or spicy banter some viewers prefer, but it produces segments that push the education of football analysis just that little bit further.
Horses for courses is the name of the game when it comes to filling a studio with pundits for a major tournament. ITV's producers have pitching the balance nicely this summer and Hayes' tendency towards the deeper dive – and her ability to make the complicated sound simple – is a big part of it.
What did you think of Hayes' chalkboard analysis? Do you want in-game detail while players get the same treatment from their managers? Let us know!
