Spain - Austria in the Round of 32, full European clash to be officiated by Glenn Nyberg. The Swedish referee at his third game in the tournament.
Match #84
Round of 32
2 July 2026, 21:00 CET
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
SPAIN - AUSTRIA
Referee: Glenn Nyberg SWE
Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi SWE
Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderkvist SWE
Fourth Official: Dahane Beida MTN
Reserve AR: Elvis Noupue CMR
Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski POL
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 1 : Fedayi San SUI
Assistant Video Assistant Referee 2 :Shauns Evans AUS
If Nyberg were to deliver an exceptional performance today, how slim are his chances to get a further game?
ReplyDeleteDepends how exceptional ;)
DeleteIt'll be interesting to see how the balance between meritocracy and experience plays out as the tournament progresses.
DeleteGreat enforcement of new rule of corner changing to gk for too slow
ReplyDeleteActually I think it was VAR correcting an incorrectly awarded corner to a goal kick.
DeleteThe 5-second rule does not apply to corner kicks. The VAR determined it was not a corner kick and therefore a goal kick was awarded.
DeleteGood verbal warning to Cucurella.
ReplyDelete8' Full-Sequence: https://streamable.com/yvrz6z
ReplyDelete13' Clip: https://streamable.com/2gfp6s
DeleteDoes anyone else find Nyberg’s behavior—constantly touching and hugging the players—a bit over the top? Or is it just me?
ReplyDeleteNyberg lost any respect he had after allowing that theatrical shouting at the linesman by Cucurella.
ReplyDeleteYou lost all my respect when you called him a linesman
Delete14’ the communication with Alaba is extremely ”Glennish” - telling players he understands their reaction/behaviour but he is also emphasising why this cannot go on. The main message is ”I’d rather help you to act correctly than punishing you”
ReplyDelete15' Full-Sequence:
Deletehttps://streamable.com/z94y6r
And this is a problem? If the intention is to guide players to correct and fair play then how is that not a good management style?
DeleteI was just analyzing Glenn’s communication style. Which he has had his entire career and is one of the reason he has reached so far. Even though English is not my mother tongue, I actually cannot see me writing a single problematic thing about that style. My apologies if my choice of words made you think I find Glenn’s style a problem.
DeleteHandball at 22'?
ReplyDeleteYes. The defendet pushed the ball forward with is hand….
Delete22' Full-Sequence:
Deletehttps://streamable.com/3ge75e
First 25 minutes so far so good from the swedish referee Nyberg
ReplyDeleteClear foul by Spain #22
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DeleteAbsolutely, I said it yesterday and here I think that the foul is correct, no consistency between games because of this secession to change minds of refs who did it for their entire career
DeleteGoal disallowed on field for Spain imo 50/50 with the incident
ReplyDelete29' Full-Sequence:
Deletehttps://streamable.com/phu51l
what
ReplyDeleteGood on field call to disallow the Spain goal for obstruction on the goalkeeper.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an "On Field" application of what happened in Germany - Paraguay after OFR...
ReplyDelete100% has to be called after the Germany call, either both or fouls or neither. I think neither is better, but it’s a point of focus from fifa
Delete+1
DeleteSo should we judge incidents in our match based on what has or hasn’t been called in other matches?
DeleteAt a major international tournament, matches should generally have the same standard applied. Pretty straightforward concept.
DeleteIf the decision in the other game has been labelled as correct by our referee boss: Yes, of course.
DeleteSome people will say too soft, but I think good decision to give foul on GK.
ReplyDeleteWhat if a GK clatters into a player having missed a cross ,is that now a foul
Delete30' I think we call that a Collina foul, in the fact there was a player within 1m of the goalkeeper. To everyone else, never a foul. We can't fault Nyberg for this nonsense interpretation
ReplyDeleteDecision in line with Collina directives IMO.
ReplyDeleteDarren Cann says its consistent with previous decisions from the tournament, just consistently wrong
ReplyDeleteVery good, Nyberg. *That* is what counts as a foul on the goalkeeper. Not that light touch with no impact on the Paraguayan goalkeeper. Make a note of that, Jayed. Hahaha.
ReplyDeleteTwo top decision from Nyberg, first one not to call handball in 22, then dissalow goal after obvious obstruction of goalkeeper.
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ReplyDeleteNyberg forced to give a foul ,to toe the line with Collina and save face after the German non goal
ReplyDelete04:00 Correct decision to wave play on. No penalty. Lamine puts his standing leg across the defender and initiates the contact himself.
ReplyDelete07:10 Correct corner kick for Spain. You can see how strong Glenn is in his communication here. He immediately gets the player to calm down and earns his trust. How many referees at this tournament, with a more authoritarian approach, would have ended up turning the player against them in this situation? Quite a few.
12:15 Good intervention against unsporting behaviour by Spain. A clear public warning at exactly the right moment.
14:10 Excellent reading of the situation. He allows it to develop for a moment before blowing with perfect timing as Austria’s No. 8 obstructs a Spanish player near the technical area. He also gives him a verbal warning for the obstruction. This is exactly the kind of situation that needs to be managed. Had he simply ignored it and hoped it would resolve itself, it could easily have created unnecessary frustration later in the match.
27:05 He starts the five-second countdown far too late before Spain restarts play with a throw-in following the cooling break.
29:40 Unfortunately, a ghost free kick is awarded to Austria’s goalkeeper following the corner. It leads to a Spanish goal, which is then disallowed. I don’t see any unfair challenge or foul here that justifies giving the goalkeeper a free kick.
27' Full-Sequence:
Deletehttps://streamable.com/ogxm9u
I can understand your point of view, but unlike the situation involving Jayed in the Germany vs. Paraguay match, this time there were grounds to disallow Cucurella's goal.
DeleteSeveral Spanish players were blocking the Austrian goalkeeper's view, and the resulting physical entanglement prevented him from reacting to the play. You might think Nyberg made the wrong call, but he did have grounds to disallow the goal.
Corner to Spain. Spain’s No. 22 stands in front of the goalkeeper and slightly leans his body into him with his left arm, which may have affected the goalkeeper’s ability to reach the ball. However, it is still very minimal contact and, in my view, within the limits of fair physical contest in the penalty area between an outfield player and the goalkeeper. If Spain win, nobody will care about this situation.
DeleteCollina will be happy with the foul decision
ReplyDeleteI’m unfortunately worried that he won’t be at all.
DeleteIt obviously helps if Spain win, as that shifts the focus elsewhere.
DeleteWell what I saw from discussion here, it obvious that goalkeeper should be killed or with broken legs or arms, that somebody should be staisfied with offensive foul called. Sorry to said like this,but its only way to descirbe it.
ReplyDelete+1(,000).
DeleteI couldn’t agree more.
Absolutely agree
Delete+1
DeleteThat’s nonsense. The keeper has the advantage of being able to use his hands so why are they overprotected. Makes no sense
DeleteThe problem is what happens if a gk comes for a cross misses it and goes in to an opposition players is this now a foul on the keeper or a penalty
ReplyDeleteCollina's ego and inability to admit and accept when one of his referees has made a mistake. Now leaves us with this. FIFA "invented" something to justify and back one of its referees.
ReplyDeleteAnd now each and every time a GK is touched or impeded a call will be expected and or demanded.
Agree with you on this one.
DeleteArbiter : fantastic take on Collina and his actions.
DeleteA straightforward first half from Nyberg in an easy football focused game. Not much to report other than the key correct decision of disallowing the Spain goal for obstruction on the goalkeeper which is correct and in line with other incidents at the tournament. Other than that he has communicated well and allowed play to follow whenever possible. Not a world class performance in a highly demanding match but you can only referee what's in front of you and Nyberg has refereed it well.
ReplyDelete*play to flow
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ReplyDeleteHalf time, overall very good performance by Nyberg all KMI's correct hopefully the crew keeps it up through the game and second half to come which both teams will be more desperate
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Taylor or Oliver would have disallowed this goal. There have been 100 goals just like this in the PL
ReplyDeleteif it had happened in the Champions League,a lot of referees would have given a goal.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI don't think so but regarding Germany incident OFR expected and for the PL a lot of no foul in APP
DeleteWell at this WC they should be disallowing this goal.... This is not the premier league, so that's irrelevant..
DeleteNyberg has had a good first half ,he has had to follow Collina directive on goalkeepers because if he hadn't ,it would have ended his chances of anymore games.
ReplyDeleteI think the general consensus on here is Collina has had his turn and its time for him to retire
ReplyDeleteOverall, a solid first half from Nyberg. Communicative, good timing in his signals, finding the right free kicks and using strong public verbal warnings with the players. I remain doubtful about the whistle at the corner, but apart from that, it was a first half at the expected level.
ReplyDeleteGlenn Nyberg in pair with Fisher should be role models about what to expect in physics and stamina on this level. Just observe his way of allways make sure he’s in right position. Great first half! Great communication with the players!
ReplyDelete+1
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ReplyDeleteI am quite astonished that no-one referred to the referee blowing his whistle only after the goal had been scored. If he deemed there had been an infrigement on the goalie, then he should have intervened much earlier.
ReplyDeleteWait and see principle should still be applied
DeleteNo, delayed whistle to allow VAR to review is a good thing
DeleteBy waiting until the goal had been scored, this allows VAR to check the goal as per the VAR protocol. It is always better to disallow a goal given than disallow before the ball has crossed the goal line as then VAR can not check.
Delete+1
DeleteJonas Eriksson, working for Swedish TV, focused on FIFAs approval of the German disallowed goal, saying that there is now a precedent to whistle fouls when players have minimal contact with goalkeeper. Hence, the Spanish goal had to be disallowed in order to maintain consistency.
ReplyDeleteCollina should have just kept his mouth shut. But his ego was stronger and he chose to conjure up some made up
Delete"directive" to bail out one of hid referees who had clearly made a mistake.
Right that's much more believable that this being a directive... It's not like the premier league became a circus because of those situations.... Anything to avoid admitting you were wrong... Collina also didn't need to mention it, was hardly the first controversial decision of this world cup, but sure i guess.
DeleteSpeaking of Eriksson, has he gotten over his grievance with UEFA? I recall an interview where—as they say in England—he really let rip at European officials for not getting the chance to referee high-profile finals. He was the top contender to officiate the 2016 Champions League final in Madrid, but due to competition from Clattenburg, he had to settle for the Europa League final between Liverpool and Sevilla.
DeleteIf you ever read his book the answer is quite clear. Not the most favourable view of Collina as the boss either
DeletePersonally I would prefer a YC here, but regarding the FIFA directives I think one must admire the communication skills from Nyberg managing the austrian coach.
ReplyDelete46:15 This is exactly what I mean. How many referees at this tournament would simply have let this go? Glenn deals with it himself, walks over to the Austria coach, who responds with a thumbs-up, and the unsporting behaviour immediately stops. The message is sent to everyone.
ReplyDelete47:20 Excellent intervention by the assistant referee through both his body language and flag. He correctly awards a free kick to Spain in his corridor. He initially waits for the referee, but when no signal comes, he steps in himself. This is a mandatory free kick, so the intervention is absolutely correct despite the referee being relatively close. I also think he sold the decision very well.
54:00–55:00 It looks like two correct play-on decisions in fair challenges, followed by a clear push in the back, resulting in a free kick for Spain. There was a risk of the temperature rising during the preceding situations, but I don’t think he could have handled it differently. Blowing for Austria in the second incident after Yamal had clearly looked for a free kick in the first would have been inconsistent.
ReplyDeleteOnce he awards the free kick, the way he calms everything down with his body language is outstanding. He asks the Austrian player who committed the foul to check on the Spanish player lying on the ground, and calmly de-escalates the whole situation. World-class match management.
Sad to see the Spanish players' antics. Lots of exaggeration, rolling around. Well, it looks like your average La Liga game so not all too surprised.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/DWbKkYIDAfC/?igsh=MW9kcmp0eWo2MXNwOQ==
ReplyDelete62:00 Austria’s player sprints at full speed but slows down once he realizes the goalkeeper is coming out and will reach the ball first. The goalkeeper, however, is high in the air, and the Austrian player collides with him while he’s airborne, causing the goalkeeper to land awkwardly.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a difficult incident because it can also be viewed as the goalkeeper coming out in an uncontrolled manner and putting himself at risk of colliding with the attacker. An attacking free kick would not have been well accepted, and a free kick to the goalkeeper—who is left injured—is the expected decision. Most importantly, the referee recognizes the seriousness of the situation and stops play immediately.
Agreed, a goalkeeper can completely go through an attacker to get to the ball, but the attacker is expected to step out of the way and let the keeper have the ball.
Delete73' minutes not so much to report and the second half is turning into a masterclass from Nyberg
ReplyDeleteGreat solution from Nyberg on the mass confrontation, calm and collected. Easily defusing the situation.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree. Much prefer the come on, get on with it discussion, on the first confrontation, if no one has done anything which is clearly punishable. Seems to have been a one off, all calmed now. Very good!
DeleteManagement 75' Full-Sequence:
Deletehttps://streamable.com/b9l67x
Hahaha, this is getting ridiculous. Seven or eight players fighting and pushing each other after the whistle, yet still no cards. It looks more like a combat sport than football. The referee has completely lost the players’ respect, and so have the Laws of the Game.
ReplyDeleteI don’t agree. Why give yellow cards and escalate a situation that can easily be calmed down with good leadership and communication, something Nyberg demonstrated in a fantastic way!
DeleteYou are absolutely right that cautions are missed here, at least one for each team. However, the wider context matters: this is the World Cup, and we have seen clearly how the instructions to referees have looked throughout the tournament.
DeleteThat said, I absolutely do not agree that he completely lost the players’ respect here. The decision is accepted well, and the level of acceptance remains high despite the intensity of the situation.
Calmed down? Look what Cucurella got from behind…
DeleteHaha masterclass. Useless as he stands back and watches a melee in the middle of the pitch. He might actually have the bottle to get his card out soon
ReplyDelete75:00 A mass confrontation follows the free kick awarded to Austria. In line with the tournament’s approach of keeping cards to an absolute minimum, I think this is managed well. He speaks to the players involved and gives them a clear verbal warning.
ReplyDeleteThe only criticism is that the optics are not ideal with so many players surrounding him. He could have isolated the two players he wanted to speak to much more clearly before addressing them.
That said, had this been one of his domestic league matches, I think a caution for one player from each team would have been mandatory. Here, however, he chose to manage the situation through management instead, and it was accepted
What is the point of verbal warning honestly!? Players going to be involved the next time without hesitation…
DeleteI understand the point, but a verbal warning is not always about preventing the same player from doing it again. It is also about sending a clear message to everyone: “I have seen it, I am dealing with it, and the next step can be stronger.”
DeleteIn a situation like this, it creates breathing space in the match, lowers the temperature and gives the referee a visible way of showing control without immediately going to cards. Of course, in a domestic league this may well be a caution for both teams, but in the context of this World Cup and the way referees have been instructed, I can understand why he chose to manage it verbally.
For me, the key question is whether the players accepted it and whether the situation calmed down. In this case, I think it did.
Clear YC on 83' for SPA/reckless.
ReplyDeleteClip: https://streamable.com/usn8p5
DeleteNyberg with the «Yael Pérez way» of showing a YC
*YP way - whistle in the mouth and looking away
DeleteWhat just happened in the 83rd minute? Someone explain to me this flashing of a yellow thing. Never seen it before
ReplyDeleteNyberg put in a solid, firm performance—even though some might take issue with the disallowed goal in the first half or the brief scuffle in midfield that was resolved without cards. Ultimately, however, none of that changed the fact that Spain was far superior to Austria. I believe the Swede will get further opportunities to officiate in the knockout stage.
ReplyDeleteDD:
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, your play by play narration and your campaigning for Nyberg is getting boring and stale.
I'm sure the people commenting are watching the game. So your play by play is unneeded. Also the amount of praise your heaping on Nyberg is getting creepy.
That was this nights most bitter comment!
DeleteI appreciate your opinion, but I genuinely thought this was a very good refereeing performance, and I believe performances like this should be recognised.
DeleteThe reason I go through the incidents in detail is to make it clear why I reach my conclusions, especially for those who haven’t watched the match. That also means I’m happy to point out the situations I disagree with. For example, I thought play should have continued on the disallowed goal from the corner, and I also felt the management and disciplinary outcome of the mass confrontation could have been better.
So it’s not about defending every decision the referee makes. It’s about trying to assess the overall performance as fairly and objectively as possible. If my posts aren’t for you, that’s absolutely fine—you can simply choose not to comment on them.
Refsplaining doesn't make your adoration of Nyberg any less sus and/or cringe. Change my mind.
DeleteYou’re free to think that. I prefer discussing specific decisions and match management instead of questioning motives.
DeleteYou win buddy! You're the undisputed champ!
DeleteYou've dethroned that one person who has an abnormally creepy level obsession, adoration, and "fanboydom" for Joao Pinheiro.
Champ, I hope you keep the same level of obsession and adoration towards other referees not named Nyberg.
Amazing. Finished a game without a coach holding the ball hostage or a player lying down on the penalty spot.
ReplyDeleteVery mature performance from nyberg. Big debate on disallowed goal. But given result this will be passed by. The mass
ReplyDeleteConfrontation was more a heated exchange which he simply observed and dealt with in a calm fashion earning more respect. Very good personality and decision making skills. Perhaps he has now arrived on the world stage along with his established peers
Well,very good Nyberg in football foucsed game,with some hard but correct decision. I forgot to comment corrected corner in 1h which is extremley unimportant, but I think that it is aplicated as some internal unwritten protocol,better on tight situation called corner ,because it can be corrected,than goal kick that can not be revoked. So , expect Nyberg at least once more in stages start with quarterfinals.
ReplyDeleteOverall, another very solid performance from Glenn Nyberg. Excellent communication, calm authority and outstanding match management throughout. His timing in interventions was consistently strong, he identified the right fouls, used public verbal warnings effectively and repeatedly de-escalated potentially difficult situations with his personality rather than cards.
ReplyDeleteI remain unconvinced by the free kick awarded to the goalkeeper from the corner that led to Spain’s disallowed goal, and I also believe cautions were missing during the mass confrontation. However, with Spain comfortably winning 3–0, the disallowed goal will naturally receive very little attention.
Given the World Cup context and the tournament’s clear emphasis on keeping cards to a minimum, I can understand the overall approach he took.
For me, this was another example of how personality, communication and proactive match management can achieve control without constantly relying on disciplinary sanctions. It was not an easy match, and it could easily have slipped away from a referee with weaker proactive management and less game understanding. Nyberg’s ability to read the temperature, act early and calm situations down was a key reason why the match never really got out of control. For me, he really strengthened his chances of receiving further appointments in the tournament.
Very well said!
DeleteFull time in Los Angeles very good performance from Nyberg and also convincing on the eye job well done from the officials
ReplyDeleteWell let's be honest, Nyberg was fine, it was a straightforward game and he refereed exactly what was out there with no fuss or drama. It was a decent performance with one mandatory YC and all other "non" YC's managed by Nybergs personality and following the FIFA directive. As I stated in the first half not a world class performance due to the easy nature but certainly a positive performance indeed.
ReplyDeleteI think Collina has confidence in the ability of Nyberg and his assistants. After all, the only finals he has officiated to date were sanctioned by FIFA: the 2023 U-20 World Cup final and last year's Arab Cup final.
ReplyDeleteI hope Rosetti places greater value on the Swede and recognizes his potential for European finals (which haven't happened so far).
Have anyone reflected that Nyberg often got comments that ”it was an easy game” and at the same time ”to much communication”? Well, in my opinion the great communication is his key to get ”easy games”. And that’s worldclass imo. This was not his last game.
ReplyDeleteI agree. His proactive approach, good communication and willingness to take the expected decisions early build trust with the players. That’s a big reason why his matches often stay calm.
Delete+1
DeleteWhilst I agree with the general principle of the comments above my reflection on that it was an easy game was the fact there were not a lot of "major" flashpoints to deal with. Mostly I accept down to the qualities mentioned above but a fair chunk of that was down to the game, the teams and the overall feel of the game in an all European clash with two football focused teams where we had a clear favourite.
Deleteexcellent communication and player management ,nice to see the 3 officials working as proper team and assistant helping Nyberg by flagging for free kicks ,some others could learn from this.
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ReplyDeleteAs for the upcoming match, I think Eskås will face his biggest challenge of the tournament so far.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, one of the two legends (CR7 or Modrić) will be eliminated from the World Cup, and officiating this game is undoubtedly a great honor.
And that’s not the only reason. I believe he needs to stay alert to avoid losing control of the match. I say this because, during the Scotland vs. Brazil game where he served as the fourth official, he had a tense exchange with Ancelotti over Vinícius Jr.'s disallowed goal; regarding the goal that was ultimately allowed, the Italian manager said to Eskås: "Go on, tell him to disallow it now."
Given that, the Norwegian will need to remain focused to ensure that any issues during the match don't spiral completely out of control.
Very good Nyberg let the game flow perfectly and did a good job, managed the conflict really well
ReplyDeleteReally liked his performance. I think 4th appointment would be deserved, but doubt he will get it.
ReplyDeleteHe will get one .Sweden out and he follows all of Collina directives
Delete