Thomas Frank will return to public view this summer in an unexpected role, signing a deal with Sport as one of its main World Cup analysts. Across the studio divide, Ange Postecoglou has agreed to work for ITV, setting up a head-to-head between the two former Tottenham managers during football’s biggest tournament.

Frank, 52, has not spoken publicly since Tottenham sacked him in February. He left after winning 13 of 38 games in charge, a run that left him with a 34.2% win ratio, the worst of any permanent manager in the club’s history. Postecoglou’s own recent exit was no cleaner: his 39-day spell at Nottingham Forest ended in October when he was dismissed 18 minutes after a home defeat by Chelsea.

The World Cup will give both men a wide platform. The and ITV share UK rights for the tournament, which has expanded from 32 teams and 64 matches to 48 teams and 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Every game will be shown live somewhere, but only the final on 19 July will be broadcast live by both networks.

For viewers in England, ITV will carry the opening match against Croatia on 17 June, England’s final group game against Panama and the quarter-final if Thomas Tuchel’s side reach that stage. The will show England’s second group game against Ghana, plus knockout fixtures in the last 32, last 16 and semi-finals. It will also air two of Scotland’s group games, against Haiti and Brazil.

The scale of the coverage is part of the draw. The will broadcast 54 games and ITV 51, with the corporation committed to limiting air travel to reduce its carbon footprint. ITV will base its coverage from a New York studio in Brooklyn, presented by Mark Pougatch and Laura Woods, while the team of Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates will stay in Salford studios until at least the quarter-finals.

The rivalry in the studio is likely to land well because both broadcasters know the final can pull huge audiences. When Argentina beat France in 2022, the peaked at 15 million viewers and ITV drew 4.3 million. Frank’s first major media assignment since Tottenham now arrives with that kind of reach attached, and it gives him a direct route back into the game after a winter in silence. The first time he and Postecoglou appear opposite each other, the football may be on the pitch, but the subtext will be in the studio.