Jul 14, 2024; Miami, FL, USA; Argentina forward Lionel Messi (10) midfielder Angel Di Maria (11) forward Lautaro Martínez (22) and defender Nicolas Otamendi (19) celebrate after winning the Copa America Final against Colombia at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
FoxSoccerBy Ken Fang on

Fox’s recently concluded coverage of the UEFA European Championship and CONMEBOL Copa América could not have gone better for the network. With more games of both tournaments on network television, it led to increased viewership numbers and plenty of content during a time that can be known as a very slow period for sports.

Fox Sports had the good fortune of having the Euros and Copa América run concurrently so it could cross-promote games and have fans watch them on the broadcast network, FS1 and in some cases FS2. There was the odd choice of having five UEFA Euro group games placed on Fubo, but we’ll get to that later.

Overall, Fox executives have to be very pleased with their strategy to have Euro games broadcast in the mornings and afternoons with Copa América mostly on FS1. While the United States and México were eliminated from Copa during the group stage, it did have the good fortune of pivoting to Argentina and Lionel Messi which eventually won the championship.

But what about Fox’s presentation? Let’s take a look at how they did for over 80 games during a span from mid-June through mid-July.

THE GOOD

Ian Darke

This goes without saying, but Ian Darke is good. He’s been calling soccer on American television dating back to the FIFA World Cup in 1994 but it was in 2010 when he became a revelation. Since then, he’s been a major part of elite soccer tournaments either on ESPN or Fox. Making him the lead announcer for Euro 2024 was the right call and he was on top of the action. He could work the games alone, he really doesn’t need an analyst, but he was paired with former U.S. National Landon Donovan.

His call of Jude Bellingham’s bicycle kick rescuing England from a loss in the knockout round against Slovakia was classic Ian.

Darke was the cream of the crop of Fox’s soccer announcers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Darren Fletcher

Fletcher was a series of announcers who came to Fox from the United Kingdom. Calling the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Europa League in the U.K., Fletcher was certainly in his element calling the European Championship. Either paired with Warren Barton or Owen Hargreaves, Fletcher was extremely candid on what he saw on the pitch and quite refreshingly so. It’s a trait that’s not often seen in American announcers who might blow over an incident or refuse to call out a referee. Fletcher was very willing to call out what he saw.

Derek Rae

Rae is another veteran soccer announcer who has called games on both ESPN and Fox. He’s the lead play-caller for the Bundesliga on ESPN so tapping him to do games in Germany was a natural progression. Rae was consistently good throughout the semifinals. It would not be surprising to hear Rae on Fox again if the network renews its World Cup contract.

John Strong

When you hear, “45 minutes down, 45 to go” at halftime, you know you’re listening to a John Strong-called game. It also lets you know that it’s time to go to the bathroom. That aside, Strong has been the lead voice for Fox on the World Cup, Gold Cup and Copa América dating back to 2018. He and Stu Holden have held down the fort for Fox on international tournaments since Russia in 2018 and they’ll be in the broadcast booth for the 2026 World Cup. While Strong may not have the gravitas of Darke or Rae, he knows the game and has a very good chemistry with Holden. What the future holds for soccer on Fox after 2026 is unknown, but he’s going to be at the mic until then.

JP Dellacamera

The man who has long held the mantle as the Dean of soccer announcers in the United States, Dellacamera continues to call the game well and mesh with partners whether they’re Aly Wagner for the Women’s World Cup or Cobi Jones for Copa América. Dellacamera went to the quarterfinal stage and if Fox retains the rights to the Women’s World Cup, he’ll likely be the lead voice of that event once again.

Jules Breach

Making her Fox debut hosting the European tournament during the day, Breach had to play traffic cop to the more colorful panel whether she had to hand off to studio panelists Giorgio Chiellini, Ariane Hingst, Alexi Lalas or Daniel Sturridge. Breach is no stranger to American viewers as she has subbed for Kate Abdo on CBS’ UEFA Champions League coverage. She is also a presenter on TNT in the UK for the Premier League. Breach was solid on the desk for Fox during the Euros. Plus, anyone who has to deal with Lalas daily deserves hazard pay.

Rob Stone

I’ll admit Rob Stone may not be everyone’s cup of tea, however, he’s become America’s Soccer Host and Fox’s studio lead for college football and basketball. He’s quite versatile and knows how to push buttons to get candid opinions from his analysts. He’ll be the lead studio host when Fox covers the 2026 FIFA World Cup and possibly beyond if the network is able to extend its contract for the world’s biggest tournament. Stone has been perfect for Fox and his style works for them.

THE FUN

Fox Soccer Now

This online show that streamed live on multiple online platforms including Facebook, TikTok, X, and YouTube was everything Fox’s Euro Today and Copa Today were not. It was a fun watch. Hosted by former USMNT captain Jimmy Conrad and joined by former Colombian women’s midfielder Melissa Ortiz with ex-Leicester City star Wes Morgan, the show would precede and follow every Euro and Copa match which meant long days for the crew. Because the show wasn’t on television, swearing was allowed. In addition, as Colombia advanced into the Copa finals, Ortiz would celebrate by dancing and pouring alcohol for everyone.

And there was a Wheel of Punishment where a wrong prediction from anyone on the panel would have to pay the price live. Fox Soccer Now premiered during the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2022, traveled for the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and continued for this year’s Soccer of Summer. It would behoove Fox to bring this back for the Men’s World Cup in 2026.

Giorgio Chiellini

The former Italian national center-back was a great addition to the Fox studio crew for the Euros. He was a nice offset to Alexi Lalas and provided a lot of fun to the studio. His joy was infectious and it showed on an American television.

Having Giorgio back on the 2026 Men’s World Cup would be welcomed on this end.

THE AVERAGE

Landon Donovan

The USMNT legend was the lead analyst for the Euros. Teamed with Ian Darke, Donovan certainly started off slowly as fans felt he was boring. Donovan certainly improved as the tournament went along and provided some salient points, especially on England’s run to the finals. However, Donovan could have better served on a “B” or even “C” team during the tournament. Donovan certainly did his best, but it wasn’t on the level of Taylor Twellman who was the lead analyst on the previous Euros when it aired on ESPN or Robert Green who worked with Derek Rae. Overall, after a sluggish start, Donovan gets a C+ for his final grade for the Euros.

Carli Lloyd

For her studio work at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Lloyd was nominated for a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Emerging Personality. To be honest, I did not see what the Academy saw. Lloyd did offer some hot takes especially in regards to Women’s National Team and her opinions have led to criticism from fans. She and Alexi Lalas have formed a team and have fired back at critics. As long as Fox has major soccer tournaments, expect to see Lloyd on the network

THE BAD

Failure to criticize CONMEBOL

Fox’s coverage of swarms of fans without tickets trying to get into Sunday’s Argentina-Colombia final at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL was minimal at best. While Spanish language rightsholder Univision went into full news mode showing what was happening outside of the stadium, Fox elected to continue previews of the final with occasional updates from reporter Jenny Taft pitchside. Analyst Stu Holden was concerned for his family’s safety. And Alexi Lalas was saying the crowd pressing into Hard Rock was showing passion for the game.

There was hardly any criticism of CONMEBOL’s organization especially in regards to the condition of the pitches at the various host venues. And there was the high prices of tickets that led to sights of half-empty stadiums. Fox hardly mentioned them.

Considering back in 2018 when Fox aired what amounted to Russian-produced propaganda on Josef Stalin, you know that Fox won’t criticize a broadcast partner.

CONMEBOL Broadcast Issues

During the United States vs. Uruguay match at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, CONMEBOL’s host broadcaster had a camera angle that looked like it was located on the top floor of a high-rise building. It led to a rare instance of John Strong and Stu Holden calling out the camera location.

Just before the first half ended, another camera opened up which was in the traditional angle.

Not only that, there were audio issues during the Argentina-Colombia final which had John Strong and Stu Holden’s call ahead of the action. Fox blamed it on a secondary feed that it had to tap during the first half.

While Fox wasn’t responsible for the production of the games, it was typical of CONMEBOL which had a very bad tournament.

Lexi, Lexi, Lexi

What is there to be said about Alexi Lalas that has already been written? Lalas is who he is. He’s a provocateur who pounds the table and points his finger at the American people. He’s not ashamed of it. Plus there are his takes that make his fellow panelists shake their heads.

Still, Fox will use Lalas as its main studio analyst because he fills the role. And there are times when he can make cogent points, especially after the United States crashed and burned in the Copa Group Stage. However, those are few and far between as Lalas continues to be more of a hot-take artist rather than an analyst, but he is who he is. The more fans realize that Lalas likes to be an entertainer, the likely better off you’ll be but know that you’re not going to get breakdowns of strategy or X’s and O’s. Knowing this, it still doesn’t preclude that putting him in the bad category is for the best.

Fox Shuffles Games to Fubo

Early in the Group Stage of Euro 2024, Fox subcontracted Fubo to stream five games. Their first game, Hungary vs. Switzerland utilized the world feed which was fine, but did not offer a scoreboard so fans didn’t know the score unless they followed along online.

As Fubo isn’t as popular as other streaming services like YouTube TV or Hulu, it led people to either try to find the games or just give up as fans didn’t want to pay for another service. Fox could have used FS2 or even other one of its platforms, but chose Fubo instead leading to lots of confusion. Luckily, this arrangement did not extend to the Knockout Round.

The Fox Soccer of Summer is over and the network will celebrate the ratings from both Euro 2024 and Copa América. There were plenty of positives and a number of negatives. There are things to work on for Fox’s next major tournament, the UEFA Women’s Euro next year and of course, the FIFA 2026 Men’s World Cup and hopefully the network will be ready for both events.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

View all posts by Ken Fang