I believe France had 6 in 1990. Which, given there were 24 teams, might be considered more impressive (leaving aside any arguments--in either direction--regarding the fact that those referees were also serving as linesmen).
Villarreal support VAR (AVAR3) with Tello. So every PRO official there save Elfath is working the QFs.
Yep, I think this is exactly right, and as a bonus, was pretty easy to do and preserved a ton of optionality. Now you're done with CONMEBOL and you can narrow selection to a handful of UEFA referees and that one "surprise" referee from CONCACAF (as opposed to the other surprise from CONCACAF, who's your CONCACAF #1 in 2026 unless a 44-year-old Elfath has that slot). The only prediction I'm semi-confident in before QFs is Elfath on ARG-BRA. If you're going to try to have him in at all, and not just go full UEFA - and if you weren't, I think he'd be Sampaio's 4th - you can't save him for the Final b/c either Portugal or Morocco could be in it after QFs, plus you've seen he has the right tone to manage it. Again maximizes your options for mixing the UEFA referees based on (primarily) France.
I’m not quite certain Elfath fits on Brazil-Argentina. I waffle on this. I kind of hope he does because that semi is the only obvious option for him, but at the same time I think he might more likely be a contingency plan for the final. Bluntly, Argentina-Brazil as a WC semi might be one of the most challenging matches in recent WC history. It doesn’t exactly scream “man managing referee from the United States.” And if Elfath had a game like the group stage or had an incident like in MLS Cup, it could be disastrous. So I wonder how much his two recent performances has glossed over the previous two in FIFA’s mind. I could easily see Orsato slotting there. Then the other side depends on the matchup but probably Marciniak. That then creates a situation where Elfath can get the final unless it involves Portugal… and, maybe, even then? I don’t know. Part of me is souring on the idea he will be used. But, of course, we haven’t seen the matchups yet. Netherlands-Brazil, for example, would almost certainly be his, I think. But Argentina-Brazil semi is in another stratosphere. We haven’t seen a game like it in quite some time.
The more we talk about this the more I woe the fact that we lost out on a Brazil - Argentina final in Rio in 2014. Stupid Germans had to ruin all the fun. It does feel like a lot depends on the matchups. I wonder how much political juice the Brazilian lobby has left in the tank. If Brazil beats Argentina en route to the final, will they want to lose the “last word” by having a UEFA referee in a break of confederation neutrality? Perhaps in that case, a North American has a shot (I say “North American” instead of “Elfath” because I’m still not giving up on Ramos. I will die on this hill!) In a perfect world without political influence, I think giving UEFA a sweep of these final three games would be the most likely scenario. I just wonder how much of a fuss Seneme and his gang would put up about that. The only things I’m sure about right now is that Orsato has a semifinal and Marciniak has either a semi or a final. But which one that is depends on who the third referee is, which depends itself on results and performances. It could really be anyone: Elfath, (Ramos! ), Lahoz, Turpin, Oliver, maybe they’re still holding out on Makkelie, maybe Sampaio has some backing if Brazil gets booted by Croatia!
It’s kind of a shame Brazil-Argentina didn’t happen four years ago. Rocchi or Kuipers (for totally different reasons) would have been fun to watch on that one.
How much would a CRO/ARG SF shake up things? I’m not versed on the inner workings of WC assignments but I would think this would be the most likely matchup for Elfath to get a whistle.
To be clear, I still think Seneme--er, Sampaio--is done. But I agree this opens up Elfath to the semifinal if it's against Argentina. Morocco still has to lose, though?
I wonder what Netherlands-Croatia would be. Sort of think FIFA would still put Elfath there--especially if the other side is Portugal v England/France. Four UEFA teams with three UEFA referees just wouldn't fly, which helps Elfath.
This really could be this simple right now: Elfath - Croatia v ARG/NED winner Orsato - FRA/ENG v POR/MAR winner Marciniak - Final If you don't want to deviate from that, you don't have to. The alternative seems to be: Orsato/Marciniak semis Turpin/Oliver/Mateu final But is a UEFA trifecta palatable?
We know POR or MAR will be in the semi. Would you rather give him the guarenteed other semi or risk not being able to use him if one of those makes the final?
No idea. I don't think they are great. Would Argentina bite on a US referee against England? I don't think so. Maybe France more likely? But the bigger question is whether it's better for Elfath to be saved for a WC Final he might not be able to get (or might not be the first choice for) or to be used on a WC Semifinal. And I don't know the answer to that either. I would guess, at this point, that Elfath would be FO on the Final if he gets shutout otherwise.
Right. Also we are making a big assumption in this calculation. He's not even necessarily the first choice if he CAN get the Final. I'm starting to come around to the idea that Elfath could see Portugal again, though. Not that I think he will. But that he could. The controversy wasn't that bad. Like Elfath would see Portugal before Makkelie, for example.
If Ronaldo is clearly relegated to the bench and Portugal didn't object, I could see it. Not sure if they would want him though after how that first match went overall.
Yeah and there's no reason to gamble. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that this is now all very simple. Elfath on SF1 Orsato on SF2 Marciniak on the Final I think the only thing(s) that could make me reconsider at all would be France losing (so door open for Turpin) and Morocco winning (but I'm not even sure that affects Elfath). I think I predict the above and will stick to it.
If Mateu Lahoz had any shot of the final before this game I think his screen time in ARG-NED has quashed any of those ideas.