World Cup 2026 Referee Selection

Why not? Probably about a year out from selection and the discussion got going in the UEFA thread here: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/u...ns-2024-2025-rs.2132014/page-12#post-42859061 Candidates attending the most recent UEFA seminar are in that post. When I or someone else has time, we can go back and pull some other data points and confederational attendees. This post is useful for knowing how many officials are to be selected per continent, though horse trading of one or two spots has happened right at the end for some of the most recent tournaments, so it's a guide and not written in stone: Una vez definido el formato del Mundial2026 FIFA empezará el proceso de selección y preparación de árbitro para el torneo. Inicialmente se plantarían 39 árbitros + 9 reservas como selección final para el mismo. Por CONMEBOL serían 8+1.AFC, CAF, CONCACAF 6+2 OFC 1+1UEFA 12+1— ArbitroInternacional (@ArbitroInteBlog) March 14, 2023 @Mikael_Referee please feel free to add anything useful at the moment, particularly from CAF/AFC/OFC/CONMEBOL!

Villarreal's career shows just how hard it is to make it as a referee to the World Cup no matter what you do and how well the odds are stacked in your favor. Everything was set up for him to officiate at a World Cup. With the exception of, maybe, Marrufo, I can't think of a single US referee that was pushed and groomed to go to a World Cup more than Villarreal. Around 2014-2015, Geiger, himself, said the Villarreal was going to be the next US referee at the World Cup. Villarreal did pretty much everything right from an off field perspective and has been a consistent performer in MLS and yet, for a multitude of reasons, he just didn't have "it" to officiate at a World Cup.I agree, but I emphesize that he "didn't have 'it'" as you said. TBQH, he often turned away from conflict, stuck to the center of the field, and didn't have the presenence that others (including Katia Garcia) have. Marrufo had a decisive presence, and even when he swallowed 2CTs there was still no doubt he was in charge. Villarreal alwasy struck me as Geiger 2.0--only the weaknesses of Geiger were amplified in him. Both Geiger and Villarreal had very good management in 95% of situations where foul recognition was key. But Geiger could step up to deal with things (Columbia not withstanding) in a way tha Villarreal never really did. Villareal shines in MLS where players know and trust him. But I agree that he doesn't have the "it" that is needed for the WC

No Australian candidate or is Faghani under the Australian flag? I can't believe he's gonna be back?

So only Penso and Garcia remain as females on the candidate lists? Weren’t Yamashita, Boudadi, Alves and the Europeans at initial seminars last year?

No Armando makes me sad, he’s a top ref.

And I think Beida of Mauritania was the referee some of us were impressed by, no?Lots of people have been impressed by him so that checks out. He had the AFCON final and is still just 33. I don’t know how they found this guy in Mauritania but he looks to be the real deal.

Omar Artan from Somalia? He would be a great choice as a standby official for 2026 imo. Yes, It's this guy from Somalia.

I'm biased as an American but I'm genuinely curious how Barton continues to be kept at such high levels. He has howler after howler in CONCACAF competitions. His temperature management is... lacking.Well I think a large part of that perception is that he, as the top-regarded Central American referee, often gets a lot of very difficult matches (notably USA vs Mexico) that have a tendency to explode. So naturally he’s had a few matches that have gone off the rails, but that’s to be expected given the degree of difficulty.

So only Penso and Garcia remain as females on the candidate lists? Weren’t Yamashita, Boudadi, Alves and the Europeans at initial seminars last year?I think you mean “Karboubi” but yes, Wasn't there an Ethiopian or Eritrean referee that did very well at the last AFCON? Youngish guy but we were all very high on his management of some difficult games and he progressed further than anyone expected.I think you’re referring to the Ethiopian, not particularly young but still younger than some of the candidates listed above, Bamlak Tessema Weyesa. IMO he’s a good referee with a very unique style who deserved a chance with the whistle at a World Cup (he went as a reserve back in 2018).

Restating my comment from the UEFA thread: Maybe this is just my personal opinion (it probably is) but I would rather see both of Nyberg and Meler over Gil Manzano. And probably over Makkelie too, honestly. Unfortunately I doubt it’ll work that way. It kinda sucks that there’s a 50% increase of teams but UEFA is only getting, at best, a 25% increase in referee allotment. I’d trust any of the above referees a lot more than I’d trust the sixth ranked CAF or AFC referee, of course. That’s always been how it worked to an extent, but this allocation makes the problem even worse.

It won't. To be blunt, FIFA is done with Villarreal as a referee. It's not so much that Dickerson has passed Villarreal, necessarily; it's just that Villarreal's time is up. Dickerson is on the candidate list--which was a surprise to me, honestly--as a backup to Elfath and, seemingly, as planning for 2030. But there's almost no scenario where Villarreal gets back in the fold, from what I understand and observe. And a Mexican sinking his own chances plays no role here--if that does anything, it just elevates someone else as the backup Mexican. And all that might be irrelevant because of Ramos' position and my belief that Garcia will likely go as a reserve. I should add, because the above paragraph might be misintepreted, that Villarreal will likely be a top VAR at WC26. It's not that FIFA is done with him overall, but he just doesn't have a path to getting a whistle.Villarreal's career shows just how hard it is to make it as a referee to the World Cup no matter what you do and how well the odds are stacked in your favor. Everything was set up for him to officiate at a World Cup. With the exception of, maybe, Marrufo, I can't think of a single US referee that was pushed and groomed to go to a World Cup more than Villarreal. Around 2014-2015, Geiger, himself, said the Villarreal was going to be the next US referee at the World Cup. Villarreal did pretty much everything right from an off field perspective and has been a consistent performer in MLS and yet, for a multitude of reasons, he just didn't have "it" to officiate at a World Cup.

Wasn't there an Ethiopian or Eritrean referee that did very well at the last AFCON? Youngish guy but we were all very high on his management of some difficult games and he progressed further than anyone expected.Omar Artan from Somalia? He would be a great choice as a standby official for 2026 imo.

What are your guys thoughts on Dickerson as a ref since you say “surprisingly”? I can’t accurately judge performance but he was from somewhere near my area (as is Rivas) so I do hope the best for them. But I have heard him a few times on inside video review and the way he talks very angrily and even swears at players was quite interesting to see from a professional refereePersonally, Joe Dickerson is my favorite ref in MLS. That doesn't necessarily mean he's the best, but he obviously has a lot of potential. I really like his personality/communication/personality on the field, his fitness, and I feel like he nails a great "highlight reel" call every other time I watch him, usually aided by very good positioning. Of course, I'm not watching things as closely as PRO/Concacaf/FIFA so take my analysis with a Surprisingly because he's never been to a FIFA event as a referee. And within CONCACAF, Vazquez was the referee who went to Gold Cup behind Villarreal. And Rivas was the other American referee who had a CCL games last spring. So a decision was made to tap Dickerson at some point in summer 2024 or later and I'm not sure what it stemmed from. Has nothing to do with his abilities on the merits.I'll also throw Szpala's name into the mix, as he is currently the only American to have done 2 Concacaf Champions Cup matches so far this year and the only one with a second-leg match in the most recent round. I reiterate my comment from an earlier thread that I have no absolutely no idea what Concacaf's plans are for each of the six(!!!), seven when you include Tori Penso, men's referees behind Elfath and Villarreal. You mentioned arguments for Rivas, Vasquez, Dickerson, now Szpala might in the mix too, Gonzalez must be fairly well-regarded if they bucked the soft cap on age to let him in... And after all that you still have Freemon, too. On the topic of the two, Szpala actually reminds me a lot of Dickerson just with a different personality. I think both could have very successful international careers. It does seem very late for Dickerson to join the World Cup process, especially if he actually does wind up going. But it's not unheard of; there have been some referees who got into the mix really late and still got into the World Cup (Andres Matonte (URU) was the example last time around, I think?).

Dickerson is on the candidate list--which was a surprise to me, honestly--as a backup to Elfath and, seemingly, as planning for 2030.What are your guys thoughts on Dickerson as a ref since you say “surprisingly”? I can’t accurately judge performance but he was from somewhere near my area (as is Rivas) so I do hope the best for them. But I have heard him a few times on inside video review and the way he talks very angrily and even swears at players was quite interesting to see from a professional referee

I think you mean “Karboubi” but yes, I believe so. I think you’re referring to the Ethiopian, not particularly young but still younger than some of the candidates listed above, Bamlak Tessema Weyesa. IMO he’s a good referee with a very unique style who deserved a chance with the whistle at a World Cup (he went as a reserve back in 2018).It would appear that I invented a new referee, yes. Apologies. And I think Beida of Mauritania was the referee some of us were impressed by, no?

Come to think of it, I’m looking at the last Asian Cup roster from early 2024, and you have to dig really deep to find six candidates IMO, plus a reserve, especially if they want to move on from the old guard in any way: - Mohamed (UAE) will be 47 and wasn't at the recent seminar, so I think we can assume he’s out. - Faghani (IRN/AUS) will be 48 but I guess he’s the first choice? - Ma Ning (CHN) will be turning 47 but I guess he’s there? - Al-Kaf (OMA) is probably a safe bet (he’ll be a nice and young 44) - Tantashev (UZB, will be 43) has a decent chance I guess but hasn’t been very inspiring whenever I’ve watched him semi-recently. - Maybe Adham Makhadmeh (JOR)? - Al-Jassim (QAT) might sneak in but I think this would be a reach. And then I guess you take two names from Japan, South Korea, and/or Australia (I think Shaun Evans is decent but it will depend if FIFA wants to take two “Australian” referees). I don’t know much about any of the KOR or JPN candidates but there’s probably one or two serviceable names in there, right? So lots of question marks, especially if any more of the 47+ crowd gets ruled out.