I don’t speak Spanish, but Telemundo’s World Cup coverage is a rollercoaster. I’m hooked.
I don’t speak Spanish, but Telemundo’s World Cup coverage is a rollercoaster. I’m hooked.
Patrick Beach celebrates the win over Turkey Stu Forster/Getty Images
By Phil HayJune 24, 2026 1:00 pm EDT UpdatedI studied French and German as a kid, neither of them particularly well. My secondary school offered us the opportunity to learn Spanish but (without wanting to imply that 1990s middle-belt Scotland was slightly stuck in its ways) we were all a little bit scared of it. I distinctly remember people muttering the words “nobody speaks Spanish”. And so the suggestion was canned.
Lots of people do, in fact, speak Spanish, and many have been the times when I wished I weren’t so stupid (about Spanish, I mean, not generally — that’s another column altogether). Spain’s influence on the game of football is vast and as an English-speaking writer in that field, knowing the lingo would have helped me enormously. It would also have allowed me to get to grips fully with one of the best discoveries of my trip to the 2026 World Cup: Telemundo’s television match commentary.
None of what follows is a dunk on Fox Sports. I have no skin in that game, no dog in that fight. What happened was that on day two of the tournament, Fox’s feed at our apartment started flickering, freezing and dropping out. In the ensuing panic, we found our way to Telemundo, the Spanish-speaking broadcaster watched by millions in the United States. I’ve been hooked on it ever since, flying blind without the faintest idea of what is going on in the commentary booth. I can’t recommend the mystery enough.
Conversely, in this scenario, not speaking Spanish is a bonus because it turns Telemundo into a theme-park ride where you’re in the dark and unable to see where the tracks are going next. The enthusiasm of the commentators is unrivalled and scary, bordering on cardiac arrest. I could take them to Peterhead versus Arbroath, north coast of Scotland, middle of December, midweek night with a crowd of 345, and they’d turn it into Lionel Messi’s finest hour. We’re about 40 matches into the World Cup, and I haven’t heard them phone it in once. Every day is a fresh start.
¡GOOOOOL DE ESTADOS UNIDOS! ¡LOCURA EN SEATTLE!
Alex Freeman marca de cabeza, el gol tardó en validarse porque se revisaba un fuera de lugar… ¡EXPLOTA LA AFICIÓN!
USMNT se pone 2-0 arriba sobre Australia. pic.twitter.com/ePfgJkl8x7
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 19, 2026
What I noticed immediately is that on Telemundo, they speak incessantly. Like, all of the time, filling every single second. It made me laugh because in the United Kingdom, we get sniffy about TV commentators talking too much. Those we don’t particularly like, we’d prefer not to speak at all. Televised matches, weirdly, can be ruined by people telling you what’s going on. We’ve got eyes, and we don’t want to know when Brazil versus Ecuador last finished goalless. In the defence of British commentators, many of them take the view that less is more.
Not so Telemundo, and all power to their elbow. Listening to it is like being at the lights with a Mustang next to you, revving its engine. Sometimes it’s roaring, sometimes it’s purring, but it’s always ticking over. How much of the commentary is scripted? They can’t be ad-libbing throughout, surely? I honestly reckon that talking for 90 minutes straight would be beyond me, but the joy of Telemundo would be lessened if they didn’t. They roll their r’s with aplomb — “Cristiano Ronaldo” is manna from heaven — and the notion of a dead rubber doesn’t seem to exist. These guys (it appears to be entirely men on the commentary mics) can go to the well time and again.
Add to that the on-screen scoreboards, which don’t give you ‘New Zealand’ and ‘Egypt’, for example, but ‘Nueva Zelanda’ and ‘Egipto’. I’m aware of how tragic this is going to sound but it reminds me of following Scottish football in the 1980s. When the club I support signed an English guy called Mike Galloway, it felt exotic purely because he wasn’t Scottish. When they signed Juanjo, a Spanish winger with white boots, I thought I was going to spontaneously combust. These are the little things that remind you: there’s a big, wide world out there.
My understanding of Telemundo is that Argentine commentator Andres Cantor is the boy; the king. He delivers his spiel like he’s storming the Bastille and he’s made a trademark of hitting every single finish with a blast of “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!” When Curacao scored against Germany, he kept it going for about 60 seconds. Then he hit us with another. The man has an extraordinary pair of lungs on him and every time he uses them, I find myself thinking that I start heavy breathing getting out of bed.
¡EL PRIMER GOL DE CURAZAO EN MUNDIALES! ¡COMPLETAMENTE HISTÓRICO!
Livano Comenencia es el héroe, empata el juego ante Alemania y convierte un GOL HISTÓRICO. pic.twitter.com/36rtiJuD1K
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) June 14, 2026
But my favourite member of the roster is Luis Omar Tapia, and here’s why. On the third day of the tournament, Australia beat Turkey in Group D. Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach played a blinder. Late in the second half, he dived to keep out a free kick, cueing up Tapia to salute him in a way I don’t think can ever be rivalled or beaten (if you’re in the right territory, skip to 24:10 into this video. You’re welcome). He made Mozart out of a footballer’s name. Best of all, it was off the cuff.
Before these finals, I knew nothing about Patrick Beach. I’d have guessed it was a stretch of sand in Ireland. But from here on, I won’t be able to hear his name without hearing Tapia’s voice in my head. If you happen to be mates with Beach, make sure he listens to it. It’s an ode to his life’s work. He’s missing a trick if he doesn’t make it his ringtone.
I go home from Los Angeles on July 13, so I’ve got a fair amount of Telemundo left. But when I do say adios, it’s one of the things I’ll miss most about the World Cup. Certain things take control of your life. Minus four games a day, Cantor, Tapia, and Patrick Beach, I’m not sure how anyone expects me to cope.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
