Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio has been selected to officiate the opening match of the FIFA World Cup clash between Mexico and South Africa. Sampaio will lead a trio of Brazilian officials at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for Thursday’s Group A inaugural game. Assisting him will be fellow Brazilians Bruno Pires and Bruno Boschilia.
Sampaio previously refereed matches at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and served on the video assistant referee (VAR) team during the 2018 tournament in Russia.
FIFA has put together a record number of match officials for the expanded 48-team competition, including 52 referees and 88 assistant referees. However, the United States has barred entry to one referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan from Somalia, who was slated to become the first Somali referee in a World Cup match.
The appointments of referees for each game are typically revealed two to three days before the match.
