​We’re down to the last few games of the 2026 men’s World Cup. On Wednesday, we should be in for an instant classic semifinal between Argentina and England in Atlanta. However, legendary English play-by-play announcer Ian Darke unfortunately won’t be calling the game. In fact, he’s done announcing games altogether at this tournament.The reason is simple.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFox has elected to ride with its lead announcing team of John Strong and Stu Holden through the final stage of the tournament. Darke is not the lead World Cup announcer for the network. The 72-year-old actually called his last game of this World Cup between Argentina and Switzerland in Kansas City during the quarterfinals, where Argentina prevailed 3-1 in extra time. That’s a huge bummer to hear about Darke, to say the least.Barring an official retirement announcement, it sure seems like Darke, who will be in his mid-70s by then, will likely be back for the 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Depending on who gets the broadcast rights for that tournament, he very well might be the lead announcer for it, too. Hearing more of Darke’s voice throughout would surely be a very welcome gift for English-speaking soccer fans.This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why isn’t Ian Darke announcing England vs. Argentina at the World Cup?