As a reward for an impressive World Cup campaign, Venezuelan referee Jesús Valenzuela has been appointed to officiate the third-place Game an all-European clash between France and England.
Match #103
Third Place Game
18 July 2026, 23:00 CET
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
FRANCE - ENGLAND
Referee: Jesús ValenzuelaVEN
Assistant Referee 1: Jorge Urrego VEN
Assistant Referee 2: Tulio Moreno VEN
Fourth Official: Jalal Jayed MAR
Reserve AR: Zakaria Brinsi MAR
Video Assistant Referee: Leodan Gonzalez URU
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : Armando Villarreal USA
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 : Carlos Del Cerro Grande ESP
Standby Video Assistant Referee: : Juan Soto VEN
Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Juan Lara CHI
Good luck to Jesus Valenzuela!
ReplyDeleteI think ability to stay awake will be highest on his list of capabilities
ReplyDeleteThe holding before the second may suggest ofr but the goal was allowed
ReplyDeleteIt was fleeting and normal contact. No one would expect an OFR for that
DeleteAgree. No problem at all.
DeleteCouple of good offside decisions by AR2, other than that very little work needed from Valenzuela.
ReplyDeleteNot sure about offside by AR1. Think that would have stood
ReplyDeleteI think the knee was off, very tight though
DeleteFrance already on holidays. Peaceful performance by Valenzuela.
ReplyDeleteYou would have thought France might have bothered for their boss who is leaving
ReplyDeleteAn almost complete lack of concentration. Embarrassing
ReplyDeleteEasy game to referee ,thanks to both teams attitudes .
ReplyDeleteTotally different game now
ReplyDeleteSo what happened at minute 58. Broadcast didn’t show. Whistle was blown and the ball was in the goal but disallowed.
ReplyDeleteCommentators said Mbappe went for goal thinking the ball was in play after supposedly touched by Konsa.
DeleteI might be thinking different to everyone, but Valenzuela is having a really poor 2nd half, doesn’t seem any effort in his, 2/3 mandatory cautions missed. I for one thought he had 0% chance of the final, let alone the 3rd place play off.
ReplyDeleteI think by this WCs standard of only book what you must, the management of this match has been just fine. The players' accepting it thus far
DeleteWe had no replay of the possibly holding and DOGSO/SPA by the French player on the English player just before the 3rd French goal. The directors have been told to hide controvesial plays, it's disapponting. Referee was super far away from the play, VAR also didn't intervene but I would argue it is the same APP. Just unsure if it was a foul or not.
ReplyDeleteEasy and correct no penalty call
ReplyDeleteSo so so poor !! How is that no yellow 78 min ????
ReplyDeleteMinute 78 clear YC not shown to French player, grabbing and holding Fernch player by the shirt to stop a promising counter-attack.
ReplyDeleteThe referee is having a poor half, it's good to fly under the radar but that don'est mean forgiving clear YC...
Haha embarrassing now this is … cramp ! Ne ding treatment … poor preparation
ReplyDeleteOh shut up will you, you are negative negative negative about everything whenever you come on here, its well over 30 degrees Celsius and the game is end to end, would be challenging without the heat. Try it yourself rather than being a petty old keyboard warrior
DeleteWho are u even to judge him. Which world cup did u officiate?
DeleteAgree A16.
DeleteThis is one of the most physically demanding match for the referee considering the style of both teams today and the weather.
Shame on Castrilliman, “poor preparation” is unacceptable
Yeah same thing with Felix. Super high match and ref can't have cramps tho.
DeleteUnfortunately as Zwayer’s advancement through the tournament, the cramp issues were seen very negatively (especially from the fitness focused Collina) and therefore it can only be seen in a similar fashion. It’s not been negative, it’s just the high expectations that are put on these professional referees taking part in a tournament that is the pinnacle of world football.
DeleteSome cramps
ReplyDeleteI'm not quite sure being frustrated a player is down injured immediately after you as the referee being off with cramp is the best look, even if the player was trying it on. Agree with the above, 78' was a YC that shouldn't have been forgiven
ReplyDelete85' Super clear penalty, correctly given
ReplyDeleteNow easy and Correct decision to award PK
ReplyDeleteCorrect penalty call. I guess it was not a hard call, but still important to get it right!
ReplyDeleteWhy do you expect cautions in this match when you have seen 102 matches before with the same instructions??
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThere is no impact of the result with the decisions in this match. Be satisfied!
ReplyDeleteRabiot stopping two counterattacks without being carded... I guess it's fun to say at the end of the match that you showed no Yellow Cards, but it's not a compliment when you don't show these clear ones...
ReplyDeleteCommentators: The referee is in the way again!
ReplyDeleteI think, when stopping the game because the player was on the floor (debatable whether it's correct to stop), you should use clear body language to let people know you will add this time at the end... Point at the clock at least.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure calling for the stretcher as soon as someone is down is entirely necessary. I get it saves time if needed, but making the medics run across the pitch time and time again seems a little unfair (he clearly didn't need it)
ReplyDelete+1
ReplyDeleteWill how many min will add now
ReplyDeleteVery poor to stop the match so early. Players were clearly fighting for individual awards for most goals, it was being very entertaining for neutrals, there were 7 minutes given but we had already had ONE GOAL and ONE INJURY, this already comfortably requires AT LEAST two more minutes, there is a goal at 7m15s and you don't allow at least 1-2 minutes more? Terrible management of the added time.
ReplyDeleteThe last goal was at +5:30, and there was in total about 90sec added with final whistle around +8:30 which was in total okay I would say
DeleteFunny to see the AR on the pitch to avoid the England player on the sideline.
ReplyDeletePoor time management, but considering it was a pure exhibition game I guess it doesn't matter
ReplyDeleteGood performance, very easy game. About the critisicm for missed YCs and not enough added time: I would say none of that matters really, since the YCs would be very late anyway and the 2 difference score means the result would not change.
ReplyDeleteEverythin makes a difference when you judge a performance. But I disagree about the added time not making a difference. It might've made the difference between Mbappé being the best scorer or not. These things need to be taken into acount when a referee decides to shorten a game.
DeleteAside from discussing any decisions in detail, Valenzuela and his team received standing ovations from like the whole stadium. Sometimes satisfying both teams is more important than 1 or 2 missed YCs
ReplyDeleteWhat standing ovations? No fan actually applauds the referee, unfortunately.
DeleteWanted to note that FIFA will be very happy with this assignment in comparison to last WC, which we all know was a disaster. Big improvement on this ambigious game and props to the crew today and much deserving medals.
ReplyDeleteGood game by Valenzuela. Congrats to him!!!
ReplyDeleteI must admit that this game was challenging for me to watch. It had a feel of a friendly between the two teams especially when France forgot to play in the first half. As such I’m not sure how much can be read into the match. Optics wise the cramp is not ideal plus we know how Collina prises physical conditioning but there were no big KMI’s or OFR’s to really impact him negatively. Management wise both teams just wanted to play football and didn’t have any difficulties of the other matches.
ReplyDelete