Appointments of match officials at 2026 FIFA World Cup, Group Stage.
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| 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 :
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 :
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 :
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 :
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 :
When did Faghani change his ARs? I know Schchtenin retired but I’m sure Beecham is still on the FIFA list?
ReplyDeleteGood choice! Anxious to see Marciniak in this match really challenger. Argentineans claim of all and Algerians have hard style
ReplyDeleteYep,Marciniak really suited for this match.
ReplyDeleteArgentina 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.
CAF referees fully exploited at the start of the tournament
ReplyDeleteYea, so that they can be sent home early in case of the slightest controversy.
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteWhat 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?
ReplyDeleteIs Elvis Noupue originally a part of Beida's crew or joined them after Artan left the tournament?
ReplyDeleteThey 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.
DeleteTwo fun facts:
ReplyDelete- 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:)
It's clear that after Artan affair, now FIFA is pushing CAF.
ReplyDeleteImpossible 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.
I have to say, Kawana-Waugh as a 4th is a big deal too. Wow.
ReplyDeleteHe has one AR with him. This was entirely predictable and expected.
DeletePredictions for tmrw
ReplyDeletePortugal DR Congo Barton
Uzbekistan Colombia Taylor
England Croatia Turpin
Ghana Panama Eskas
My prediction
DeletePortugal–DRCongo:Barton
England–Croatia:Turpen
Ghana–Panama:Pinheiro
Uzbekistan – Colombia: Nyberg
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
ReplyDeleteFor 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.
ReplyDeleteSandro Schärer is the 4th official in the Brazil - morocco game today, and we see that he has been appointed as 4th official once again..."
ReplyDeleteCan be the same scenario like Qatar with Argentina getting just UEFA referees?
ReplyDeleteIf Faghani is liked by Tapia and company, I see him getting the game against Austria…Obviously UEFA is expected in the game VS Jordan.
A question for the experts here.
ReplyDeleteDo you expect FIFA’s confederation neutrality to be broken for the MD2 game between Argentina 🇦🇷 and Austria 🇦🇹?
No. Multiple candidates for that match that wouldn't break confederation neutrality. Faghani, Ramos, Elfath first that come to mind
DeleteBarton
DeleteBut didn’t they have European referees in all WC2022 games?
DeleteNo 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
DeleteWho 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 :/
ReplyDeleteBut 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).
DeleteI think you all have noticed a very particular detail in Marciniak's picture above :)
ReplyDelete