England v Argentina fixtures have long been charged affairs, from Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” to David Beckham’s red card. Several referees, including Ali Bin Nasser and Kim Milton Nielsen, are already part of that history as Ismail Elfath prepares to take charge of Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal.
Elfath was born in Casablanca, Morocco, and represents the United States as a match official.
At this summer’s tournament he has overseen three games: Japan’s 2-2 draw with the Netherlands, Spain’s 1-0 win over Uruguay and Norway’s 2-1 victory against Brazil in the round of 16. Across those matches he issued six yellow cards and one red, the latter shown to Uruguay’s Agustín Canobbio and described as one of the clearest dismissals of the tournament.
Elfath was also part of the officiating team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, serving as fourth official for the final between Argentina and France. His recent appointments include the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup final between Toluca and Tigres and the 2022 MLS Cup between Philadelphia Union and LAFC.
For the England-Argentina semifinal he will be assisted by Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins.
Elfath’s name has surfaced in connection with Lionel Messi because of several high-profile matches the referee has worked involving the Argentine. He was fourth official when Messi scored twice in the 2022 World Cup final on the way to a penalty shootout win over France, refereed the 2023 Leagues Cup final in which Messi scored Inter Miami’s only goal before another shootout victory over Nashville SC, and has taken charge of three MLS wins featuring Messi. Information from PA contributed to this report.
