ITV's Laura Woods dines out with BBC's Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer

ITV presenter Laura Woods poses with the BBC’s Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer at a classy Japanese restaurant in Qatar… as the broadcasting rivals let their hair down on a night out before the World Cup final

  • Laura Woods, 35, posed happily for a picture with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer 
  • The ITV presenter posted a snap with her BBC rivals on her Instagram on Friday
  • They were at a classy Japanese restaurant in Qatar as they work at the World Cup
  • The trio relaxed at Zuma Doha on Al Maha Island ahead of the tournament final 
  • Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results

ITV’s Laura Woods has been pictured smiling alongside the BBC’s Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer in Qatar. 

The presenter is working at the World Cup for ITV, with Match of the Day host Lineker and experienced pundit Shearer working for rival channel BBC.

But that didn’t stop the trio posing happily for a snap at the classy Japanese restaurant Zuma Doha on Al Maha Island, as they relax ahead of the tournament final on Sunday.

ITV presenter Laura Woods (centre) has been pictured smiling alongside BBC rivals Gary Lineker (left) and Alan Shearer (right) as they relax in Doha ahead of the Qatar World Cup final

Woods also let her hair down with ITV pundit and former England footballer Eni Aluko (right)

Woods taking to her Instagram page, posted a video of herself opposite what looked like Danny Murphy as chocolate fondue was served at the table, before standing between Lineker and Shearer for a picture.

The 35-year-old then pouted next to colleague and former England footballer Eni Aluko as the duo let their hair down. 

Earlier this month, Woods spoke exclusively to Sportsmail about covering Saudi Arabia shocking Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the group stage, and watching ITV pundits Roy Keane and Graeme Souness arguing on air.

Woods, who also works for Talksport, is working for TV channel ITV at the Qatar tournament

She said: ‘I’ve never been at a football game when I’ve experienced anything like that before in my life. And the narrative, of course, is that it’s going to be Messi’s fifth and final World Cup, he could win it and all that romance. 

‘Then, all of a sudden, the script gets completely ripped up. And you’re covering the script being ripped up with Roy sat to your right, Graeme and Joe Cole to your left. 

‘You’re looking around at these fans who are just on their feet, banging drums, singing, dancing the entire time and you’re like: ‘Wow! How did I get here?’ It’s incredible.’

Match of the Day’s Lineker (pictured) and experienced pundit Shearer are there for the BBC

The two broadcasters are having a TV battle to produce the best World Cup coverage and attract the most viewers. 

Sportsmail’s Daniel Matthews had his say on which channel did it better.

Following the conclusion of the Round of 16 fixtures on Tuesday, the World Cup entered a two-day break – the first days since the tournament began that there are no fixtures.

ITV select an all-female on-screen panel for a men’s World Cup game for the first time ever, as presenter Seema Jaswal (left) was joined by Karen Carney (right) and Eniola Aluko (centre)

While Lineker addressed the human rights issues in Qatar in his opening monologue at the start of the organisation’s coverage – as the two channels battled for TV supremacy

And, during the game, hard-talking pundit Roy Keane scored the ‘golden goal’ in the clash after finishing past the BBC’s Micah Richards, who was in goal for his employers in Qatar. 

Keane then wheeled away and ripped off his shirt, flailing it above his head before he jumped over a wheelie bin and was mobbed by teammates.

After England’s group-stage win against Wales, which set up a last-16 meeting with Senegal, Lineker aimed a sly dig at rival broadcasters ITV as he announced the details of the clash.

Roy Keane scored the winning goal in a friendly match between ITV and the BBC in Qatar

The pundit couldn’t help but poke fun at an unfortunate statistic that ITV hold, saying: ‘England finished top and will take on Senegal at 7pm on Sunday. And that’s on live on, well – uh – ITV. Oh well.’  

The comment refers to a recent statistic that showed the Three Lions have an appalling record when broadcast on the BBC’s rival channel. England have played 31 matches in World Cup history, with 16 going to the BBC and 15 going to ITV. 

They’ve won 12 of their matches shown on the nation’s primary broadcaster – a 75 per cent win rate – compared to just two wins from their ITV appearances. Although England beat the African side, they lost against France in the quarter-final – on ITV.




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