ITV include classic Arctic Monkeys easter egg in Switzerland vs Qatar coverage

Alex Turner performing with Arctic Monkeys in 2014. — Alex Turner performing with Arctic Monkeys in 2014 (Image credit: Getty Images)

World Cup 2026 continues – did you expect to be hearing Arctic Monkeys on the coverage?

ITV have been widely praised for their World Cup 2026 coverage so far, with a stunning studio to put the BBC to shame and huge names on punditry like Roy Keane and Gary Neville.

It's not unusual for broadcasters to weave in whole playlists of tunes throughout a major tournament – but early-era Arctic Monkeys was a strange one to hear ahead of Switzerland vs Qatar…

Did you notice the Arctic Monkeys reference in ITV's World Cup coverage?

If you're thinking of songs to include by the Monkeys that might have a North American feel to them, perhaps you'd be thinking of AM onwards.

Famously, the band upped sticks from High Green, Sheffield, around 2009 to embrace a more Californian sound – so it was odd to a song from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not on ITV's coverage tonight.

Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka alongside international team mate Silvan Widmer (Image credit: Getty Images)

That early, grittier sound of the band doesn't exactly scream United States, does it? Unless it's Fake Tales of San Francisco.

It's a neat reference from ITV, who played the tune as host Mark Pougatch was going through the line-ups for each team.

Because, the game is of course being played… you guessed it, in San Fran, California, just down from Silicon Valley.

Here at FourFourTwo, we're a big fan of ITV using the Cars favourite Life Is A Highway for the main theme tune, but we're looking forward to which other British indie tunes will pop up as references for this tournament.

Qatar head coach Julen Lopetegui before the international friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Qatar at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. — Qatar head coach Julen Lopetegui (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Wombats' Moving To New York, maybe?

What have you made of ITV's coverage? Leave your comments below…

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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.