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FourFourTwo
Sport
Joe Mewis

Who is the referee for France vs Iraq?

Desire Doue of France celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the international friendly match between Colombia and France at Northwest Stadium.

France lived up to their pre-tournament billing when they dispatched Senegal 3-1 in their opening Group I clash last week.

The spotlight had firmly been on Kylian Mbappe and the Real Madrid man did not disappoint, scoring twice to claim top spot in France's all-time leading goalscorer list.

Next up for Les Blues is an Iraq side were left licking their wounds after Erling Haaland netted twice in a 4-1 victory for Norway in their opening clash.

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Drew Fischer will be the man in the middle of this Group I clash (Image credit: Getty Images)

Kick-off is set for 4pm local time (10pm UK time) at Philadelphia Stadium, in the United States.

With France knowing that a win will seal a place in the knockouts, they will want to ensure there are no slip-ups ahead of their final group stage match against Nroway, while Iraq will be looking for a shock result that would reignite their hopes of progression.

Iraq were at the wrong end of a 4-1 defeat to Norway in their first game (Image credit: Getty Images)

The referee for this match will be Drew Fischer, who will be taking charge of his first-ever World Cup match.

The 45-year-old from Canada has been a FIFA referee since 2015, with the majority of his career so far being spent in the MLS, where he was named the league's Referee of the Year in 2024 and 2025.

Fischer has also been a regular presence at the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the Gold Cup and was also a Video Match Official at the 2022 World Cup on Qatar.

Running the lines for Fischer will be fellow Cannucks Micheal Barwegen and Lyes Arfa.

Swiss whistle-merchant Sandro Schärer will be the fourth official in Philadelphia, with his compatriot Stephane De Almeida as the reserve.

Kylian Mbappe netted twice in France's opener (Image credit: Getty Images)

Up in the VAR booth, it will be American Joseph Dickerson.

He will be assisted by Uruguayan official Antonio Garcia.

One extra wrinkle to this evening's clash is that forecasted storms in the Philadelphia region may cause the match officials to trigger FIFA's bad weather protocols and delay the match.

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