England play Argentina on Wednesday night in a mammoth World Cup semi-final showdown in Atlanta.
The game represents a rekindling of one of the biggest rivalries in international football, given the two sides have not met in a competitive match since the 2002 World Cup.
The man tasked with keeping law and order between the two great rivalswill be Moroccan-born American Ismail Elfath.
Born in Casablanca, Elfath moved to the US after winning a government ‘diversity lottery ticket’ when he was just 18.
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After arriving in America, he studied for a degree in mechanical engineering in Texas while also playing for local USL League Two side Austin Lightning.
Elfath’s move into refereeing was motivated by his dissatisfaction at the standard of officiating, and he eventually became a professional referee in 2011.
Since then, he has established himself as one of the best officials in North America having won the MLS Referee of the Year award in 2020 and 2022.
While the majority of Elfath’s refereeing experience has come in the MLS – the highest league in US football – he was also involved at the last World Cup.
The 44-year-old, who officiated three games in Qatar, famously sent off Vincent Aboubakar for taking his shirt off after scoring a dramatic winner for Cameroon against Brazil in the group stage.
Elfath is perhaps something of a good omen for Argentina, given he was the fourth official for the World Cup final, which the South Americans won on penalties against France.
There’s potentially further good news for Lionel Messi in particular, who has won all five Inter Miami games that Elfath has taken charge of.
England vs Argentina will be the fourth game that Elfath has officiated at this summer’s World Cup.
He took charge of the group stage fixtures between Netherlands and Japan, and Uruguay vs Spain, as well as Norway’s Round of 16 win over Brazil.
Spain’s 1-0 triumph over Uruguay saw Elfath award a red card to Agustin Canobbio for a foul on Pau Cubarsi in stoppage time.
Norway’s 2-1 victory over Brazil, meanwhile, saw him miss an obvious penalty for Carlo Ancelotti’s men, before his blushes were spared by VAR.
Overall, Elfath has brandished eight yellow cards across his three games in charge at this year’s World Cup – at an average of 2.7 bookings per match – in addition to his one red card.