The World Cup final is football’s biggest game.
Every action will be analysed, as well as every decision by the referee and it is therefore vital FIFA get the appointment of the match officials correct.
With the game still a few days away we look ahead to who might be given the opportunity.
Play our FREE match predictor and win £1k
Who will referee the World Cup final
One thing is for sure, neither Michael Oliver or Anthony Taylor will not be refereeing the final, even if England do not reach it.
They are not allowed to referee any games that England take part in, but they are also banned from officiating any Argentina games due to the tensions surrounding the Falklands War in 1982.
It is also unlikely to be Ivan Barton, who is refereeing the first semi-final between France and Spain.
The Salvadoran referee has taken charge of three games already at the tournament, including Turkey’s clash with Paraguay where he sent off Miguel Almiron for covering his mouth when in confrontation with Mert Muldur.
FIFA have also tried to keep a confederation neutrality rule in place for the tournament. Should two teams from two different confederations be playing, they have tried to ensure the referee is from another confederation worldwide.
The only time this was broken is when Argentina (CONMEBOL) faced Switzerland (UEFA) and Portugal’s Joao Pinheiro was in charge.
When England played Croatia and Norway, Clement Turpin was the official at the heart of the action, but because they are both European and so is he, it is not seen as a major issue.
So who are some of the favourites to take charge of the final?
Szymon Marcinak
Polish referee Macinak took charge of the 2022 World Cup final and would make history should he be appointed as he would be the first man ever to referee two finals.
In 2022 he gave three penalties in the final, one to Argentina and two to France and has taken charge of several other games at the tournament so far, including Argentina’s game against Algeria in the group where he did not send off Lionel Messi.
In 2023 he refereed the Champions League final as well as the Club World Cup final. He is more likely to get the game should it be England against France or Spain, given FIFA’s confederation neutrality stance.
Alireza Faghani
England fans will be all too familiar with Faghani who sent off Jarell Quansah in the Three Lions epic win over Mexico in the Azteca.
Faghani is likely one of the front runners for the appointment on 19 July given he has already refereed some high profile games at the tournament this summer including France vs Senegal, Colombia vs Portugal and England vs Mexico.
In the France vs Senegal game he decided to not give a penalty for a challenge on Kylian Mbappe despite being recommended a review by his VAR team and watching a replay at the pitch side monitor.
FIFA may take this as a sign of strength and trust him to take charge of the most important game in football.
Ismail Elfath
Elfath has taken charge of three games so far at the 2026 World Cup, including Japan vs Netherlands, Uruguay vs Spain and Brazil vs Norway.
In the Brazil vs Norway game he gave two penalties to A Selecao, with Bruno Guimaraes missing the first one.
He sent off Agustin Canobbio in extra time of Uruguay vs Spain as the former crashed out of the tournament in the group stage.
Clement Turpin
Should England make the final and Turpin be appointed much will be made of Thomas Tuchel previous comments regarding his officiating.
Tuchel said, "I'd give him a one out of 10. He was absolutely terrible," after he sent him from the touchline in 2023 during a clash between Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
He has previously taken charge of the Europa League and Champions League final, so would be arriving with plenty of big game experience.
Football fans will also point out he has a striking resemblance to Arsenal and Belgium’s Leandro Trossard, and we are pretty sure they aren’t related.
