The referee for Portugal’s opening game at the 2022 World Cup is already known – News
FIFA announced, a moment ago, the refereeing team for Portugal’s first game in the World Cup, against Ghana, which will take place this Thursday, at 19:00 (mainland Portugal time), at Estádio 974.
Ismail Elfath, from the United States of America, will be the leader of the refereeing team, which also includes two assistants from the same country and, in the role of fourth official, the French Stéphanie Frappart, who is one of the three referees designated by FIFA for the right .
Leading the video refereeing team will also be the North American Armando Villarreal, with a Canadian, an Italian and an Australian completing the quartet supporting the refereeing team on the ground.
Ismail Elfath, the man with the whistle, is 40 years old and has been international since 2016 and has already crossed paths with Portugal but in an under-20 World Cup, in 2019, having directed the meeting with Argentina and which ended with the Portuguese defeat by 2- 0 . In that game, as a curiosity, the starters were Diogo Dalot and Rafael Leão and on the bench was Diogo Costa, just to mention the players who are, this Tuesday, at the service of the National Team in Qatar. This referee Viria will direct the final of this U-20 World Cup, between Ukraine and South Korea.
Elfath was also present at the Tokyo Olympics last year, having refereed two group stage games and one of the quarter-finals. In December 2019, he refereed the semi-final of the Club World Cup between Flamengo, then owned by Jorge Jesus, and Al-Hilal.
The other Group H game, between Uruguay and South Korea, will be refereed by Frenchman Clément Turpin.