Named referee for the match between the Republic of Ireland and Portugal
Portugal, winning or drawing, will only need to score again at home to Serbia, on Sunday, at Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, to qualify directly for the Qatar certificate.
The Spaniard Jesus Gil Manzano will referee Portugal’s match in the Republic of Ireland, on Thursday, the penultimate in the European group A qualifying for the World Cup’2022, announced this Tuesday at UEFA.
In Dublin, Manzano, 37 years old, international since 2014, will be assisted by compatriots Iñigo Prieto and Ángel Nevado, with Alejandro Hernández acting as video referee (VAR).
Portugal, winning or drawing, will only need to score again at home to Serbia, on Sunday, at Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, to qualify directly for the Qatar certificate.
The referee, who was born in Don Benito, a town 100 kilometers from the Portuguese border, between Elvas and Badajoz, has already refereed a match for the Portuguese national team, which ended with the triumph of the team of quinas, in Luxembourg, by 2-0, then the count towards the qualification for the European’2020.
Benfica, on three occasions, and FC Porto, on one, also have European matches refereed by Gil Manzano. In November 2019, in the group stage of the Champions League, Manzano figured in the game sheet for the two-goal draw by the reds in the visit to Germans Leipzig.
Manzano’s other two games in the presence of Benfica were the Portuguese well-placed visit to Galatasaray’s Turkish side (2-1), already in the knockout phase of the Europa League, on February 14, 2019, and the defeat of the home team of eagles, 2-0, against the Swiss of Basel, in the 2017/18 Champions League.
The dragons also drew under the direction of Manzano on German soil, by 1-1, against Schalke 04, in September 2018, also in the regular phase of the Champions.