Who are the referees for England vs Argentina?

England are set to face Argentina on Wednesday July 15 at Atlanta Stadium, with a place in the World Cup final against Spain on the line. Spain confirmed their place in the final at the New York/New Jersey Stadium by beating France 2-0 in the first semi-final. England started the tournament strongly by beating Croatia 4-2, but followed it up with a draw against Ghana and an unconvincing victory against Panama to secure top spot in their group. The Three Lions then survived a big scare against DR Congo in the round of 16, needing a late comeback behind a Harry Kane brace to advance with a 2-1 victory. From there, Jude Bellingham delivered two magnificent performances. He scored back-to-back braces against Mexico in the round of 16 and Norway in the quarter-finals, including the overtime winner against Norway that sent England into the semi-finals. Argentina also had a good start to the tournament, winning all three of their group stage matches, but their journey to the round of 16 was far from easy. The defending champion needed overtime to defeat Cape Verde, 3-2, in the round of 16. Argentina then lost 2-0 to Egypt and needed three goals from the 79th minute to complete a dramatic 3-2 comeback. In the quarter-finals, Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1 after extra time. Alexis Mac Allister gave Argentina the lead before Switzerland equalized, but things changed when Breel Embolo was sent off in the 72nd minute. Julián Álvarez scored the go-ahead goal in the 112th minute before Lautaro Martínez added a late insurance goal. Lionel Messi has remained critical of everything Argentina does, scoring eight goals in six matches at this World Cup. Who are the referees for England vs Argentina? American referee of Moroccan origin Ismail Elfath will be the chief referee of the semi-final which will take place at home in the United States. This is Elfath’s second World Cup after also officiating at the 2022 tournament. This will be his fourth appearance at the 2026 World Cup after refereeing the Netherlands’ 2-2 group stage draw with Japan, Spain’s 1-0 victory over Uruguay and Norway’s 2-1 victory over Brazil in the round of 16. The semi-final will be the highest-level World Cup match that Elfath has officiated as central referee. Messi also has a positive history with Elfath. The American was the fourth referee in Argentina’s victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final. Since Messi joined Inter Miami in 2023, he has also won all four matches in which Elfath was the referee. Fellow Americans Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins will serve as Elfath’s assistants, while Italian Maurizio Mariani will be the fourth official. Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States) Assistant Referee 1: Corey Parker (United States) Assistant Referee 2: Kyle Atkins (United States) Fourth Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)