Everything we know about the World Cup final referee confirmed for Spain vs. Argentina

Reaching a World Cup Final is the pinnacle for any football player, but that extends to the officials too. FIFA assembled the 52 best referees, 88 assistants and 30 specialists VARs, from all across the globe, to come together for this tournament, all of whom are aspiring to be chosen to take charge of the final.

Well, that honor has been bestowed upon Slavko Vinčić. He is a 46 year old Slovenian, who has been FIFA listed since 2010, so ahead of the biggest match of his long career, what more do we know about him and his team?

World Cup 2026 Final officiating team

Yes, as many as eight officials are on duty at every World Cup match this summer, three of which will be in the VAR room, which will be on site in New Jersey, moving away from International Broadcast Centre in Dallas. Let's hope we are not talking about any refereeing controversies come full time.

Nevertheless, what should expect from Vinčić? Well, he is a very experienced referee, so let's take a closer look at his statistics.

Slavko Vinčić's major tournament matches

Vinčić is clearly an official governing bodies UEFA, FIFA and others trust to be in charge of huge matches. At club level, as well as his day job in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, he has recently taken charge of numerous high-profile derbies in both Türkiye and Greece, flown in due to accusations of bias thrown at local referees, meaning a neutral figure is required.

He also took charge of this season's Champions League quarter-final second leg between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, as well as the competition's final between Real and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley two years ago.

On the international scene, he does not tend to be particularly card-happy, usually a good trait in an official. Across 11 matches at World Cups and Euros, Vinčić has brandished just 37 yellow cards, which is a pretty low average. He produced a first-ever World Cup red card earlier in this tournament, sending off Ecuador's Piero Hincapié in the dying embers of their 2-0 defeat against Mexico at the Azteca. The Arsenal defender was dismissed for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent in an aggressive or confrontational manner, a new rule for this summer.

That said, Vinčić did oversee two feisty games during last summer's FIFA Club World Cup, also in the United States. Both times, he brandished a whopping nine yellow cards and one red, first dismissing Kevin Castaño of River Plate during their goalless draw with Monterrey at the Rose Bowl. A week later, he oversaw Chelsea's extra time victory over Benfica, a match that featured a two-hour weather delay in Charlotte, after which he sent off Gianluca Prestianni for two bookable offenses in four minutes.

This will be just Vinčić's second-ever Argentina match; the first was that infamous 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia at the very start of the last World Cup in Qatar. He awarded Argentina an early penalty at Lusail Stadium and did not book any of their players, while the Saudis collected six cautions.

In the meantime, he has overseen four Spain matches to date, starting with their goalless draw against Sweden at Euro 2020 and then la Roja's UEFA Nations League semi-final victory over Italy in Enschede three years ago. At Euro 2024, Vinčić booked three Spain players, including Rodri, as they beat Italy 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen. He then took charge of their semifinal triumph over France, cautioning Jesús Navas and Lamine Yamal, two men with a 22-year age gap.

Put succinctly, Vinčić is one of the best, most experienced referees around, but let's just hope his performance goes unnoticed on Sunday, as that is a sign of a top-class official.

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