Sunday, 14 June 2026

2026 FIFA WC - Referee appointments for Group Stage starting from Match #17

Appointments of match officials at 2026 FIFA World Cup, Group Stage. 

Szymon Marciniak POL meets again Argentina 



Match #17
Group I
16 June 2026, 21:00 CET
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
FRANCE - SENEGAL 
Referee: Alireza Faghani AUS/IRN 
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis AUS 
Assistant Referee 2: James Lindsay AUS
Fourth Official: Sandro Schärer SUI
Reserve AR : Stéphane De Almeida SUI 
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

Match #18
Group I
17 June 2026, 00:00 CET
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
IRAQ - NORWAY 
Referee: Pierre Atcho GAB 
Assistant Referee 1: Boris Ditsoga GAB 
Assistant Referee 2: Amos Abeigne Ndong GAB
Fourth Official: Amin Mohamed Omar EGY 
Reserve AR : Mahmoud Abouregal EGY
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

Match #19
Group J
17 June 2026, 03:00 CET
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
ARGENTINA - ALGERIA 
Referee: Szymon Marciniak POL 
Assistant Referee 1: Tomasz Listkiewicz POL
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Kupsik POL 
Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh NZL 
Reserve AR : Isaac Trevis NZL 
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

Match #20
Group J
17 June 2026, 06:00 CET
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara
AUSTRIA - JORDAN 
Referee: Dahane Beida MTN
Assistant Referee 1: Jerson Emiliano dos Santos ANG 
Assistant Referee 2: Elvis Noupue CMR
Fourth Official: Oshane Nation JAM
Reserve AR : Caleb Wales TRI 
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

Match #21
Group L
18 June 2026, 01:00 CET
BMO Field, Toronto
GHANA - PANAMA 
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE 
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE 
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Khalid Alturais KSA
Reserve AR : Mohammed Alabakry KSA
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

Match #22
Group L
17 June 2026, 22:00 CET
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
ENGLAND - CROATIA 
Referee: Clément Turpin FRA
Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pagès FRA 
Fourth Official: Katia Garcia MEX 
Reserve AR : Sandra Ramirez MEX 
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

Match #23
Group K
17 June 2026, 19:00 CET
NRG Stadium, Houston
PORTUGAL - DR CONGO
Referee: Abulrahman Al Jassim QAT 
Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Marri QAT 
Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Almaqaleh QAT
Fourth Official: Abongile Tom RSA 
Reserve AR : Zakhele Thusi Granville Siwela RSA
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

Match #24
Group K
18 June 2026, 04:00 CET
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
UZBEKISTAN - COLOMBIA
Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG 
Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG 
Fourth Official: Juan Calderon CRC
Reserve AR : Juan Carlos Mora CRC 
Vidéo Assistant Referee: 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : 

57 comments:

  1. When did Faghani change his ARs? I know Schchtenin retired but I’m sure Beecham is still on the FIFA list?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good choice! Anxious to see Marciniak in this match really challenger. Argentineans claim of all and Algerians have hard style

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yep,Marciniak really suited for this match.

    Argentina with their dark arts and all things possible with Algeria's aggresive style that is sometime borderline.

    Everyone expects Argetnina to win easily and match to be easy going.

    I would totally disagree,Algeria is very competitive and can make very challenging match for Polish ref.

    ReplyDelete
  4. CAF referees fully exploited at the start of the tournament

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea, so that they can be sent home early in case of the slightest controversy.

      Delete
  5. I have reservations about the specific appointment of Szymon Marciniak: After already having refereed Argentina in 2018 and twice in 2022 (including the final), he will be officiating this team for the fourth time in his sixth World Cup appearance. Especially in the group stage, with its numerous options, such a one-sided assignment is really avoidable. There are plenty of high-profile matches befitting his reputation besides Argentina games.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What does the presence of the Egyptian referee Amin Omar as the fourth official mean? Does this mean that his tournament journey has ended after the first match?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Is Elvis Noupue originally a part of Beida's crew or joined them after Artan left the tournament?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They had been appointed together in CAF matches, and it seems that in CAF plenty of refs don't have ARs from same nation.I think Beita and Artan share 2 ARs and Noupue joined Beida's team all make sense. Anyway, hoping more refs with 1AR will get chance to step in the court as Referee.

      Delete
  8. Two fun facts:
    - Amin Omar was appointed as fourth offical who has 2ARs
    - Dahane Beita was appointed with team coming from different nations(But actually they had been appointed together in CAF Confederation Cup 2025 1st leg)

    So I'm curious whether refs with 1 AR with them will be appointed as Referee or not, it seems to be unclear now:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's clear that after Artan affair, now FIFA is pushing CAF.
    Impossible to think that they had planned all these appointments at the beginning of the tournament for them.
    Yes, a bigger WC with more teams, but still... if we think back how CAF referees were used in most of FIFA competitions!

    On these appointments: Marciniak again with Argentina for the fourth time in last three WC editions.
    2018 Argentina - Iceland (controversial, maybe somebody can rememer what happened and discussed on the blog).
    2022 Argentina - Australia and Argentina - France
    Maybe it's too much? Collina behind such choices.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have to say, Kawana-Waugh as a 4th is a big deal too. Wow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He has one AR with him. This was entirely predictable and expected.

      Delete
  11. Predictions for tmrw

    Portugal DR Congo Barton
    Uzbekistan Colombia Taylor
    England Croatia Turpin
    Ghana Panama Eskas

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My prediction

      Portugal–DRCongo:Barton
      England–Croatia:Turpen
      Ghana–Panama:Pinheiro
      Uzbekistan – Colombia: Nyberg

      Delete
    2. Mine are
      POR-COD: Tejera
      ENG-CRO: Zwayer
      GHA-PAN: Pinheiro
      UZB-COL: Nyberg

      Delete
  12. Only five european referees gets match until and two may be gets tomorrow for sure 7 european referees have no match for the first round in group stages

    ReplyDelete
  13. For tomorrow, Ghana-Panama is considered a more balanced game than England-Croatia. It seems like the Croatians are viewed as clear outsiders. I am curios if this will be reflected also in the choices of the referees or not.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sandro Schärer is the 4th official in the Brazil - morocco game today, and we see that he has been appointed as 4th official once again..."

    ReplyDelete
  15. Can be the same scenario like Qatar with Argentina getting just UEFA referees?

    If Faghani is liked by Tapia and company, I see him getting the game against Austria…Obviously UEFA is expected in the game VS Jordan.

    ReplyDelete
  16. A question for the experts here.

    Do you expect FIFA’s confederation neutrality to be broken for the MD2 game between Argentina 🇦🇷 and Austria 🇦🇹?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No. Multiple candidates for that match that wouldn't break confederation neutrality. Faghani, Ramos, Elfath first that come to mind

      Delete
    2. But didn’t they have European referees in all WC2022 games?

      Delete
    3. No need to break neutrality this early in the tournament and I will be surprised to see a UEFA team there except for the VAR team

      Delete
  17. Who do you guys think is doing ENG vs CRO? Maybe Barton or Tejera? I would've rather had Sampaio or Valenzuela be saved for this match. Maybe they go with a UEFA ref? Possible for 3 UEFA refs on that matchday. I would save Turpin for MEX vs KOR though. I personally don't like seeing a UEFA ref on a all UEFA match :/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But this is standard FIFA practice: After István Kovács officiated PSG's Champions League final last year, he refereed the same team again two weeks later at the Club World Cup (I wouldn't have nominated a UEFA referee for that). Szymon Marciniak is officiating Argentina for the fourth time in his sixth World Cup match. And UEFA derbies at the World Cup group stage are practically always officiated by UEFA referees (even though there are plenty of non-UEFA games for them).

      Delete
  18. I think you all have noticed a very particular detail in Marciniak's picture above :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, you mean that plastic surprise watch that looks like it came out of a gumball machine?

      Delete
    2. Any idea why Claus/Herrera have not been used yet?

      Delete
  19. The missing support referees are indeed interesting. Not only Claus and Herrera, but also Ma Ning and Al Ali haven't been appointed yet.
    I think, there are three possible explanations:
    1. They aren't planned as pure support referees, but will get a game on the pitch with a "rented" AR2. Claus and Herrera certainly have the quality for that, while Ma could fill the East Asian spot.
    2. They aren't available for some reason, e.g. health issues
    3. The idea is to send out the 4th officials for 2 games in 3 days to a certain region and then to return to Miami. So the 4 missing ones would do 2 games on MD2, while some of the others stay in Miami during that time.

    Or a combination or something else...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Official

    Portugal–DRCongo:Al-Jassim
    England–Croatia:Turpin
    Ghana–Panama:Nyberg
    Uzbekistan – Colombia: Taylor

    ReplyDelete
  21. Portugal vs DR Congo
    Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim QAT
    Assistant Referee 1: Taleb Al-Marri QAT
    Assistant Referee 2: Saoud Al-Maqaleh QAT
    Fourth Official: Abongile Tom RSA
    Reserve AR : Zakhele Siwela RSA
    Vidéo Assistant Referee:
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 :
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 :

    England vs Croatia
    Referee: Clement Turpin FRA
    Assistant Referee 1: Nicolas Danos FRA
    Assistant Referee 2: Benjamin Pages FRA
    Fourth Official: Katia Garcia MEX
    Reserve AR : Sandra Ramirez MEX
    Vidéo Assistant Referee:
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 :
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 :

    Ghana vs Panama
    Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
    Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
    Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Soderkvist SWE
    Fourth Official: Khalid Al-Turias KSA
    Reserve AR : Mohammed Al-Abakry KSA
    Vidéo Assistant Referee:
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 :
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 :

    Uzbekistan vs Colombia
    Referee: Anthony Taylor ENG
    Assistant Referee 1: Gary Beswick ENG
    Assistant Referee 2: Adam Nunn ENG
    Fourth Official: Juan Calderon CRC
    Reserve AR : Juan Carlos Mora CRC
    Vidéo Assistant Referee:
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 :
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 :

    ReplyDelete
  22. Of all fourth officials who has made more than one appearance:
    Schärer, García, Nation, Tom and Araki perform their duties in the same stadium while Ortega, Calderón and Al-Turais are in the same regions (FIFA divided cities into three regions).

    ReplyDelete
  23. As expected, a UEFA referee for ENGCRO. On one hand, you can argue that they know the respective teams particularly well. On the other hand, I think that at a World Cup with enough non-European games, all UEFA referees should be used exclusively there. Surely, a high-profile referee from another confederation would also be happy to officiate such a UEFA derby once.

    ReplyDelete
  24. More than happy to have Turpin. A well known quantity, there will be no surprises
    Perfect referee for the match as he does not need to make himself centre of attention

    ReplyDelete
  25. Spain vs Cabo Verde

    Referee: MAKHADMEH Adham (JOR)
    Assistant Referee 1: AL KALAF Mohammad (JOR)
    Assistant Referee 2: AL ROALLE Ahmad (JOR)
    Fourth Official: ROJAS Andres (COL)
    Reserve AR : GUZMAN Alexander (COL)
    Vidéo Assistant Referee: DICKERSON Joe (USA)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : ALMARRI Khamis (QAT)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : FU Ming (CHN

    ReplyDelete
  26. No Pinheiro for ENG-CRO, our legend Ahmed won't be pleased. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Left for Ahmed Abdiaziz, Pinheiro should be officiating all the matches including all the Semi finals and final, even if the match involves Portugal

      Delete
  27. Belgium vs Egypt

    Referee: RAMON ABATTI (BRA)
    Assistant Referee 1: DANILO MANIS (BRA)
    Assistant Referee 2: RAFAEL ALVES (BRA)
    Fourth Official: ORTEGA Kevin (PER)
    Reserve AR : ORUE Michael (PER)
    Vidéo Assistant Referee: SOTO Juan (VEN)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : GONZALEZ Leodan (URU)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : DEL CERRO GRANDE Carlos (ESP)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay

    Referee: MARIANI Maurizio (ITA)
    Assistant Referee 1: BINDONI Daniele (ITA)
    Assistant Referee 2: TEGONI Alberto (ITA)
    Fourth Official: FISCHER Drew (CAN)
    Reserve AR : BARWEGEN Micheal (CAN)
    Vidéo Assistant Referee: DI BELLO Marco (ITA)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : BEBEK Ivan (CRO)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : BRISARD Jerome (FRA)

    ReplyDelete
  29. IR Iran vs New Zealand

    Referee: RAMOS Cesar (MEX)
    Assistant Referee 1: MORIN Alberto (MEX)
    Assistant Referee 2: BISGUERRA Marco (MEX)
    Fourth Official: ARAKI Yusuke (JPN)
    Reserve AR : MIHARA Jun (JPN)
    Vidéo Assistant Referee: MIRANDA Erick (MEX)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : SAN Fedayi (SUI)
    Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : DANKERT Bastian (GER)

    ReplyDelete
  30. I’m a bit surprised by Marciniak’s appointment with Argentina. I think the match does not need him, there are other European referees who can officiate this match. Moreover, there is a chance that Argentina plays against Uruguay in R32 and Marciniak is a perfect fit there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Which match would need him?

      Delete
    2. Let's stop acting as if some matches are more important than others. This is a World Cup and every single match is important, at least there is not dead rubber matches yet. Is your point that no other referee asides Marciniak is capable of officiating Uruguay Argentina in the event that such happens? Let's not put the cart before the horse.

      Delete
    3. I’m just saying Marciniak would be the best choice if that scenario unfolds.
      And after a famous QF in 2022, I would always save Marciniak for a hot KO-game involving Argentina.

      Delete
  31. Match day 1 appointment done and dusted:
    Awaiting features for Zwayer, Kovacs, Eskas, Pinheiro, Ivan Barton and Christian Garay. Quite interesting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When I look at the list of upcoming (still unfilled) games, Switzerland - Bosnia and Herzegovina immediately catches my eye. A game that reminds me of Switzerland - Serbia eight years ago under Dr. Felix Brych which ended with a media storm against him – I wonder if FIFA will nominate Felix Zwayer for this match?

      Delete
    2. I‘m not sure that Eskas and Pinheiro will get an appointment as main referee.

      Delete
    3. You miss that every referee participate for the tournament gets at least one game

      Delete
    4. They will get, a minimum of 2 games each

      Delete
    5. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  32. I am not sure that zwayer gets a match as a main referee mr bundesligafan 😁😁😁

    ReplyDelete
  33. I hope when Tori Penso (and co) get a match, Katia Garcia alongside her assistant are their knights in shining armour on the sidelines to make it the second match in WC History to have an all-female officiating team! Maybe even add Tatiana Guzman into the VAR Booth to make it 7 female officials!

    Would also be a nice touch as it’d be an all (North) American on-field team!

    ReplyDelete
  34. My MD2 predictions
    Czech Republic – South Africa: Tori Penso, Kathryn Nesbitt, Brooke Mayo (all USA), Omar Al Ali (UAE) – Joe Dickerson, Armando Villarreal (both USA), Tatiana Guzman (NCA)
    Switzerland – Bosnia-Herzegovina: Cristian Garay, Jose Retamal, Miguel Rocha (all CHI), Ma Ning (CHN) – Juan Lara (CHI). Antonio Garcia (URU), Hernan Mastrangelo (ARG)
    Canada – Qatar: Juan Benitez, Milciades Saldivar, Eduardo Cardozo (all PAR), Dario Herrera (ARG) – Nicolas Gallo (COL), Leodan Gonzalez (URU), Raphael Toski (BRA)
    Mexico – South Korea: Felix Zwayer, Robert Kempter, Christian Dietz (all GER), Raphael Claus (BRA) – Bastian Dankert (GER), Willy Delajod (FRA), Bram van Driessche (BEL)

    USA – Australia: Istvan Kovacs, Mihai Marica, Ferencz Tunyogi (all ROU), Kevin Ortega (PER) – Dennis Higler (NED), Ivan Bebek (CRO), Jerome Brisard (FRA)
    Scotland – Marocco: Drew Fischer, Michael Barwegen, Lyes Arfa (all CAN), Andres Rojas (COL) – Erick Miranda, Guillermo Pacheco (both MEX), Juan Soto (VEN)
    Brazil – Haiti: Espen Eskas, Jan Engan, Isaak Bashevkin (all NOR), Khalid Al-Turais (KSA) – Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL), Marco di Bello (ITA), Shaun Evans (AUS)
    Türkiye – Paraguay: Ilgiz Tantashev, Andrey Tsapenko, Timur Gaynullin (all UZB), Osmane Nation (JAM) – Khamis Al-Marri (QAT), Abdullah Al-Shehri (KSA), Fu Ming (CHN)

    Netherlands – Sweden: Michael Oliver, Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring (all ENG), Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (NZL) – Jared Gillett (ENG), Willy Delajod (FRA), Bram van Driessche (BEL)
    Germany – Ivory Coast: Gustavo Tejera, Nicolas Taran, Carlos Barreiro (all URU), Sandro Schärer (SUI) – Antonio Garcia, Leodan Gonzalez (both URU), Juan Lara (CHI)
    Ecuador – Curacao: Joao Pinheiro, Bruno Jesus, Luciano Maia (all POR), Katia Garcia (MEX) – Fedayi San (SUI), Mahmoud Ashour (EGY), Hamza El-Fariq (MAR)
    Tunisia – Japan: Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez, Jose Naranjo Perez, Diego Sanchez Rojo (all ESP), Abongile Tom (RSA) – Carlos del Cerro Grande (ESP), Bastian Dankert (GER), Joe Dickerson (USA)

    Spain – Saudi-Arabia: Ivan Barton (SLV), Henry Pupiro (NCA), David Moran (SLV), Omar Al-Ali (UAE) – Tatiana Guzman (NCA), Juan Soto (VEN), Raphael Toski (BRA)
    Belgium – Iran: Facundo Tello, Juan Belatti, Gabriel Chade, Dario Herrera – Hernan Mastrangelo (all ARG), Nicolas Gallo (COL), Erick Miranda (MEX)
    Uruguay – Capo Verde: Glenn Nyberg, Mahbod Beigi, Andreas Söderkvist (all SWE), Pierre Atcho (GAB) – Dennis Higler (NED), Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL), Ivan Bebek (CRO)
    New Zealand – Egypt: Francois Letexier, Cyril Mugnier, Mehdi Rahmouni (all FRA), Yusuke Araki (JPN) – Jerome Brisard (FRA), Marco di Bello (ITA), Fu Ming (CHN)

    Argentina – Austria: Alireza Faghani, George Lakrindis, James Lindsay (all AUS). Juan Calderon (CRC) – Shaun Evans (AUS), Mohammed Obaid (UAE), Khamis Al-Marri (QAT)
    France – Iraq: Cristian Garay, Jose Retamal, Miguel Rocha (all CHI), Andres Rojas (COL) – Juan Lara (CHI), Antonio Garcia, Leodan Gonzalez (both URU)
    Norway – Senegal: Ismail Elfath, Corey Parker, Kyle Atkins (all USA), Khalid Al-Turais (KSA) – Armando Villareal (USA), Guillermo Pacheco (MEX), Abdullah Al-Shehri (KSA)
    Jordan – Algeria: Maurizio Mariani, Alberto Tegoni, Daniele Bindoni (all ITA), Ma Ning (CHN) – Marco di Bello (ITA), Jared Gillett (ENG), Fedayi San (SUI)

    Portugal – Uzbekistan: Yael Falcon, Maximiliano del Yesso, Facundo Rodriguez (all ARG), Raphael Claus (BRA) – Hernan Mastrangelo (ARG), Raphael Toski (BRA), Mahmoud Ashour (EGY)
    England – Ghana: Adham Makhadmeh, Ahmad Al-Roalle, Mohammad Al-Kalaf (all JOR), Sandro Schärer (SUI) – Joe Dickerson (USA), Tatiana Guzman (NCA), Erick Miranda (MEX)
    Panama – Croatia: Ramon Abatti, Danilo Manis, Rafael Alves (all BRA), Omar Al-Ali (UAE) – Juan Soto (VEN), Fu Ming (CHN), Nicolas Gallo (COL)
    Colombia – DR Congo: Felix Zwayer, Robert Kempter, Christian Dietz (all GER), Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (NZL) – Bastian Dankert (GER), Willy Delajod (FRA), Ivan Bebek (CRO)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Its impossible that joao pinheiro officate a game like ecuador vs curacao also its impossible a referee officate two game in one round

      Delete
  35. Predictions for tmrw

    Czechia South Africa Fischer
    Mexico South Korea Kovacs
    Switzerland Bosnia Pinheiro
    Canada Qatar Garay

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for writing a comment on our blog!