Thursday, 18 June 2026

2026 FIFA World Cup Match 25: Czech Republic - South Africa (discussion)

Tori Penso follows the steps of Stéphanie Frappart, being the second woman to officiate at Men's World Cup. A full female trio to handle Czech Republic - South Africa. 


Match #25
Group A
18 June 2026, 18:00 CET
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
CZECH REPUBLIC - SOUTH AFRICA 
Referee: Tori Penso USA 
Assistant Referee 1: Brooke Mayo USA
Assistant Referee 2: Kathryn Nesbitt USA
Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh NZL
Reserve AR : Isaac Trevis NZL
Vidéo Assistant Referee: Tatiana Guzman NCA
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 1 : Joe Dickerson USA 
Assistant Vidéo Assistant Referee 2 : Mohammed Obaid Khadim UAE

71 comments:

  1. Red and white stripes? Or i see wrong?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That’s looks really good

      Delete
    2. Call me a scrooge but not a fan of the stripes on the kit.

      Delete
    3. There is also a blue one.
      Honoring Letexier's and Turpin's performances by wearing the French flag. ;)

      Delete
    4. Lmaoo @philipp probably for the 250th anniversary of US especially with a US ref.

      Delete
  2. Great to see Penso looking thrilled to be there before kick off, looking relaxed and ready for action

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did I miss something or were South Africa awarded a free kick after one of their players pushed an opponent in the back on 21 minutes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, probably saw the foul and accidentally pointed in the wrong direction. Clear Mistake.
      Besides that solid performance so far

      Delete
    2. Full-Sequence: https://streamable.com/zx7s57

      Delete
    3. She whistled for a handball by the Norwegian player.

      Delete
  4. She's had a good read on challenges so far. A couple of challenges that have been careless where it would be easy to get it wrong and say they were reckless

    ReplyDelete
  5. Correct YC for reckless challenge and good for allowing the advantage to be played and then cautioning at the next stoppage.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Clip YC 33': https://streamable.com/tlcubl

      Delete
  6. Correct yellow card. God knows how the SA player is complaining about it

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good YC, generally realy like her performance so far

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good interpretation of deflection vs deliberate play for that offside

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ​At first glance, it looked like a wrong offside call to me, but I'm probably mistaken.

      Delete
  9. Offside call, I did not see where it was acutally?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Initial ball forward. The ball came of the head of the Czech defender but correctly judged as a deflection and the offside was given when the attacker then got the ball

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

      Delete
  10. Another correct YC and well managed on the protests by the South Africans who are behaving disgracefully.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Really solid performance by Penso so far (38 mins). I particularly like her communication style; controlled body language, smiling and she keeps the conversation short without being dismissive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree. The personality with the players is very positive but also to the point. I did not watch her referee much in the Women World Cup but she is quite solid.

      Delete
  12. YC for RSA5: Persistent infringement or dissent?

    ReplyDelete
  13. About situation in 21 minute, where we have pushing from RSA and foul for RSA called,was there handball that she saw?

    ReplyDelete
  14. A fairly positive first half performance from Penso and team. Strong foul detection and sanctions applied consistently with good use of advantage applied throughout. AR2 has applied herself well with good judgement on a few situations. Very personable and has a lot of soft skills when handling players which is working so far. 2 correct YC's (one for reckless and one for persistent or dissent) and hopefully she will continue this in the second half which I think may present more challenges for her. Only minor complaint of note would be the the overrule when AR2 incorrectly signaled a throw in and the incident on 21'.

    ReplyDelete
  15. https://www.instagram.com/p/DWbKkYIDAfC/?igsh=MW9kcmp0eWo2MXNwOQ==

    ReplyDelete
  16. Quite obvious offside missed by AR1 on 55'

    ReplyDelete
  17. In the first half, Tori change decision given by AR2 Kathryn Nesbitt, who awarded a throw in to the Czech Republic instead of South Africa. With all the communication tools available at this level, they will be disappointed not to have communicated each other early. Overall she remained in control and handled the misconduct decisions correctly.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Having a good game although very central positioning and when defence start to break runs looking ahead leaving play directly behind her. With no direct vision of potential challenges

    ReplyDelete
  19. Clip YC 75': https://streamable.com/231ft9

    ReplyDelete
  20. Replies
    1. Yeah I think SPA was better there. Great GK call between the crew right after it though.

      Delete
    2. It was so clear to be missed. That was poor

      Delete
    3. Clip: https://streamable.com/ch75fu

      Delete
  21. Missed a clear yellow card in the 78th minute for holding by a Czech player.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Well spotted handling and PK

    ReplyDelete
  23. Super PK decision, and performance as a whole

    ReplyDelete
  24. Looked like it hit the arm that was slightly away from body so correct decision.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Very good spot of the penalty kick, broadcaster without the best replays but I think last one was OK for confirming the call!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. +1. Needed the very last replay to solve it.

      Delete
  26. The same with Haiti Scotland 78 min but was not given by ghorbal

    ReplyDelete
  27. Missed 2YC for RSA number 4 for blocking an opponent without ball in the middle on 89'

    ReplyDelete
  28. RC for SAF #14 violent conduct ? No replay but i see it very clear at 88:25

    ReplyDelete
  29. It's one of them, some people from some countries won't like it, with the argument it is a natural position as it is very natural for arms to be out when rotating/turning. But we know FIFA don't see it like that, open arm so punishable and a very good spot

    ReplyDelete
  30. She was about to lose this personal "duel" with Czech player, who didn't want to obey to referee, but the US official saved herself in "corner" by insisting (at least the player was hearing for a while). This shouldn't be done if one is not sure about the outcome.
    However, personal opinion, she is by far better than Frappart, if we want to make a comparison between them, in terms of body language. The French referee rather never appeared in such mood. But of course she has her style, personally I prefer Tori Penso's one, especially very communicative eyes when she warns and books players.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I don't think it was offside in 90+1'

    ReplyDelete
  32. Another one of the best performances of the tournament, not on Turpins level from yesterday obviously but still very good, she should definitely get a 2nd game

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very very good. I‘m convinced that she will get a second game.

      Delete
  33. Good performance from Tori. Obviosly some minor mistakes in technical way-decision making, as also some mandatory Yellow card misses. Very good fitness,positioning, also communication on high level. Expect to see her one more time in GS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. +1. Unfortunately, Brooke's and Kathryn's performances were somewhat lackluster today, which caused the overall performance to drop slightly...

      Delete
  34. In summary for this contributor the first half performance was significantly better than the second asides from getting the key penalty decision in the second half correct. Unfortunately as the game progressed "smaller" fouls were incorrectly identified or missed which created an air of inconsistency towards the end of the game. Additionally Penso significantly deteriorated in terms of positioning soly relying on using the centre of the pitch the move up and down which led her to the inconsistencies mentioned.
    Overall I would class this as an expected level performance with areas for improvement. First half showing as the KMI's along with her soft personable skills are certainly a reason to award her a second match (maybe even a R32) but I would be surprised to see her progress further unless she rectified the areas for improvement.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Very good performance with correct PK and good leadership. Unfortunately, I think that there will be BW on her grade beacuse of 89' missed 2yc for RSA number 4, which is sad because of otherwise fantastic refereeing.

    ReplyDelete
  36. 89' looks like a push, didn't watch a replay, maybe not violent conduct, player already booked so second YC possible, but yes, in such a tournament...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No Replays in the TV Broadcast...
      Clip Live action: https://streamable.com/8dw4bc

      Delete
  37. Watching the penalty again there may have been input from AR1. Penso appears to be the wrong side to see the hand and she does have a brief glance over to AR1. Either way a very good call

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I was watching again as well, honestly hard for Penso to make an assessment by herself from that position.

      Delete

Thank you for writing a comment on our blog!