Ian Wright has emotional reunion with son Bradley live on air after 'not seeing him for 18 months'

After more than a year apart, Ian Wright reunited with his son, Bradley Wright-Phillips, in an emotional on-screen moment during ITV's coverage of the World Cup in Brooklyn, New York.

Wright and Wright-Phillips are both working as pundits for ITV at this summer's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

And ahead of Switzerland's 1-1 draw against Qatar on Saturday afternoon, a game in Group B that featured an extra-time equaliser from Julen Lopetegui's side, the pair embraced in the picturesque ITV studio.

As you can see from the footage below, Wright walked over to greet his son, who is one of the top scorers in Major League Soccer history, before they shared a hug.

"Look at you son, I love you bro," said the former Arsenal and England striker.

Wright-Phillips replied: "I haven't seen you in a year and a half and this is where we meet, it's not bad."

A short time later, Wright Sr paid tribute to his son. "I'm so pleased for him, I'm so pleased to be here. It's just brilliant to see him after everything that happened to him in England and how he managed to get here [in the US]," he said.

"For him to get to where he's got to, the pride, even just to hear him speak so wonderfully there..."

"It's just brilliant to see him here" ❤️

Ian Wright and son, Bradley Wright-Phillips, together in NYC! pic.twitter.com/NmaH3a8GBs

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 13, 2026

Wright-Phillips, who scored 126 goals in 240 games for the New York Red Bulls, went on to speak about his time in Major League Soccer, and the significance of a trip to Brooklyn, when he was just 14 years old.

"He spoke about the journey and I remember the first time I got on a plane...we came to Brooklyn," he said. "I picked up a shirt, it was MetroStars, which is now New York Red Bulls, and that was in 1999...what number was I? No.99."

Who is on punditry duty for ITV at the World Cup? Here is a full breakdown

In total, ITV will show 51 of the 104 matches at this summer's World Cup, including two England group stage matches.

Mark Pougatch, who has worked with ITV since 2015 and will anchor both of England's group stage matches, will be ITV's chief sports presenter.

Laura Woods, who is TNT Sports' lead presenter and covers England women's national team matches for ITV, has also signed up, and her first game was Australia's 2-0 win over Turkey on Sunday.

Finally, Semra Hunter will be presenting World Cup coverage for the first time with ITV. She is best known for her coverage of Spanish football across a wide range of media and television outlets.

There will also be a special co-presenter for some matches, with Man vs Food host Adam Richman anchoring what has been described as "culturally focused segments" during the tournament.

ITV's World Cup team in full

Presenters

• Mark Pougatch
• Laura Woods
• Semra Hunter
• Adam Richman (co-presenter)

Pundits

• Roy Keane
• Gary Neville
• Ian Wright
• Ange Postecoglou
• Juan Mata
• Karen Carney
• Emma Hayes
• Patrick Vieira
• Duncan Ferguson
• Jobi McAnuff
• Bradley Wright-Phillips
• Christina Unkel (referee analyst)

Commentators

• Sam Matterface
• Seb Hutchinson
• Jon Champion
• Joe Speight

Co-commentators

• Lee Dixon
• Ally McCoist
• Lucy Ward
• Andros Townsend