Coronation Street and Emmerdale axed tonight as England face Croatia in 2026 FIFA World Cup

FOOTBALL’S coming home to ITV tonight as the usual soap line-up makes way for England’s opening World Cup match.

The channel will not be airing Coronation Street or Emmerdale ahead of the Three Lions’ Group L clash with Croatia, which kicks off at 9pm.

Both soaps have been wiped from the schedule and replaced by ITV’s build-up coverage and live broadcast of the match.

Coronation Street usually airs on weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1, with episodes available to stream on ITVX.

Emmerdale, meanwhile, airs on weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and is also available on ITVX.

Tonight, the Three Lions take on Croatia in their first match of the tournament, with millions of fans expected to tune in from home.

England are in Group L alongside Croatia, Ghana and Panama, and since the tournament got underway soap schedules have been thrown into chaos, with episodes regularly moved, delayed or pulled altogether.

The soaps will also be off air on Thursday, with Bosnia v Switzerland being shown live instead.

Normal scheduling will resume on Friday, when Emmerdale returns to its usual 8pm slot, followed by Coronation Street at 8.30pm.

The World Cup is being played across the United States, Canada and Mexico, meaning many matches are kicking off in the evening for UK viewers, disrupting the usual TV schedules

However, if you’re not a football fan, Channel 4 will still be airing Location, Location, Location at 9pm, going head-to-head with the match.