ATLANTA — FIFA has announced that American referee Ismail Elfath will take charge of Wednesday's World Cup semifinal between Argentina and England.
Elfath will be assisted by fellow Americans Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins. The match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta kicks off at 3 p.m. ET.
This will be the fourth game of the World Cup for Elfath, who took charge of group-stage matches between the Netherlands and Japan, as well as Uruguay and Spain.
Elfath also officiated Norway's 2-1 win over Brazil in the round of 16.
The 44-year-old is well known to American fans, having officiated MLS matches since 2012. In 2016, he became a FIFA referee and worked at his first World Cup in 2022.
Elfath was born in Morocco and came to America in 2001 at the age of 18 after winning a diversity visa lottery. He now resides in Texas.
Since taking charge of his first MLS match, Elfath has earned a reputation as one of North America's top officials.
He has been tasked with a number of high-profile games including the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup final between Toluca and Tigres, as well as the 2022 MLS Cup between the Philadelphia Union and LAFC.
Elfath also served as the fourth official at the 2022 World Cup final between France and Argentina.
He has been named MLS Referee of the Year twice as well, winning the award in both 2020 and 2022.
Source: USA Today
