England fans hint at possible good omen Three Lions will reach Euro 2024 semi-final after dramatic Slovakia comeback
ENGLAND fans were delighted after finding out England’s quarter-final clash with Switzerland will be broadcast on the BBC.
And that means the Three Lions will avoid the dreaded “ITV curse” that has historically plagued them.
The Three Lions face the Swiss on Saturday looking to book their place in the last four after a less-than-convincing campaign.
England’s latest calamity came in their 2-1 victory over Slovakia.
Gareth Southgate‘s side conceded inside 25 minutes and needed a 95th-minute bicycle kick from Jude Bellingham to push the game into extra-time.
Harry Kane‘s header within a minute of the additional 30 ensured England would not go home yet – with the game broadcast on ITV.
Many fans believe the channel is “cursed” when it comes to England because the Three Lions have struggled in matches shown by them.
England have played on ITV 32 times in major tournaments since 1998, winning just eight.
They have drawn 14 and lost 10 on the channel, including the 2022 World Cup quarter-final against France.
The BBC on the other hand boast a far better record, and showed England’s 3-0 win over Wales and 6-2 victory over Iran in the Qatar World Cup.
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The BBC also aired England’s first two Euros games, including the 1-0 win over Serbia and has broadcast 20 wins out of 29.
Though perhaps more crucially for England, they will avoid Germany, France, Portugal and Spain until the semi-final stage.
Taking to X, one fan wrote: “BBC has first pick of the quarter finals. Phew.”
Another said: “Good news, the BBC have the first pick of the Euro 2024 quarter finals. We should win.”
A third wrote: “Just been announced BBC will show the England game Saturday afternoon, so glad not to endure ITV.”
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The Rest is Entertainment podcast shed some light on how the BBC and ITV share coverage of the tournament.
Co-host Marina Hyde explained: “ITV and the BBC share out games at the Euros and, in fact, all tournaments.
“They take it in turns to pick matches but last time around it was ITV’s turn to pick first.
“You can choose anything right from the start, it’s like a draft.
“But ITV thought, ‘OK, we’ll do semi-final pick one because we think England will do well in this tournament’.
“So, the BBC then counter with their next pick – and this is what happened in the room, we’re giving you the inside track here – they countered with quarter-final pick one.”