09/18/26 08:44:00
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09/18 08:42 CDT A new stage for 'GOOOOL!': Andrs Cantor's next move is to
Netflix for Women's World Cup
A new stage for 'GOOOOL!': Andrs Cantor's next move is to Netflix for Women's
World Cup
By JOE REEDY
AP Sports Writer
Andrs Cantor and his iconic "GOOOOL!" call will be part of Netflix's coverage
of next year's FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil.
The streaming giant has added Cantor to its broadcast team for its Spanish and
English broadcasts in the United States and Canada.
"I've been doing the most high-profile games for the last 40 years, so I want
to keep on doing them," Cantor said in an interview with The Associated Press.
"Streaming is where everyone is consuming not only sports nowadays, but pretty
much everything. This is a new chapter for me. It's a new challenge, and I know
that this will be one of my finest going forward."
Cantor had been with Telemundo since 2000 after 13 years with Univision.
Netflix gained the rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups in December
2024. It marked the first time that FIFA unbundled the men's and women's World
Cup broadcast rights. Fox carried the previous three Women's World Cups in
English while Telemundo had the Spanish-language broadcasts.
"I took a gamble when I moved (in 2000). Univision was the powerhouse of
Hispanic television. They had all the rights, and I moved to Telemundo because
I wanted the challenge of building something nice in the world of Hispanic TV,"
Cantor said. "And certainly after 27 years with them, I can say that we
obviously had a great run and the challenge was met with all the expectations
that I have."
Cantor has called 14 World Cups, which includes four Women's World Cups. He
called the first one in 1991 and the last three. The 63-year-old Cantor, who
was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, considers Carli Lloyd's goal from midfield
in the United States' 5-2 win over Japan in the 2015 final in Vancouver one of
his top three goal calls.
The recent Men's World Cup produced even more dramatic moments that Cantor
called, from Argentina's dramatic wins over Egypt and England to Spain's
victory in the final.
"I've been following the U.S. game for many years, and I got very excited about
what I had seen prior to the Belgium match. That was a very high note, and so
were the Argentina games," he said. "My style is to broadcast every game like
it were my last and with lots of passion. And obviously when you have passion
with some internal feelings, even though I need to be detached emotionally, but
I'm not going to lie to anybody that we all wanted the U.S. to do well in the
last World Cup."
The Women's World Cup will take place June 24-July 25. The 32-team tournament
will begin and end at the Estdio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
Cantor also will cover the final draw for the tournament on Dec. 11. The
breakdown of how many games he will call in English and Spanish is still being
determined.
Cantor had doubts about an expanded field before the 2023 tournament in
Australia and New Zealand, but those were quickly allayed by the quality of the
matches.
"I think the world is catching up to the superpowers. The women's game is much
more competitive than it was, let's say, 15 years ago, to say the least. And
the fact that it's being played in Brazil, and with the enormous strides that
their women's national team has made and such a soccer-crazy country, I think
that it is going to be terrific."
Netflix will announce more announcers and studio analysts as the tournament
approaches.
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