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England will face Argentina on Wednesday, July 15 at Atlanta Stadium, with a place in the World Cup final against Spain at stake. Spain confirmed its place in the final at the New York/New Jersey Stadium by defeating France 2-0 in the first semifinal.
England started the tournament strongly by beating Croatia 4-2, but followed up with a draw against Ghana and an unconvincing win over Panama to secure top spot in their group.
The Three Lions then survived a major scare against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the round of 32, needing a late comeback behind a Harry Kane brace to progress with a 2-1 win. From there, Jude Bellingham gave two magnificent performances. He scored back-to-back braces against Mexico in the round of 16 and Norway in the quarter-finals, including the extra-time winner against Norway that sent England to the semi-finals.
Argentina also got off to a good start in the tournament, winning all three of their group stage matches, but their path through the knockout rounds has not been easy.
The defending champion needed overtime to outlast Cape Verde, 3-2, in the round of 32. Argentina then went down 2-0 against Egypt and needed three goals from the 79th minute onwards to complete a dramatic 3-2 comeback.
In the quarterfinals, Argentina beat Switzerland 3-1 in extra time. Alexis Mac Allister gave Argentina an early lead before Switzerland equalized, but the game 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 continued to be instrumental in everything Argentina does, scoring eight goals in six games at this World Cup.
Who are the referees for England vs. Argentina?
(Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Moroccan-born American referee Ismail Elfath will be the main referee for the semi-final to be played at home in the United States.
This is Elfath’s second World Cup after also refereeing in the 2022 tournament. It will be his fourth assignment at the 2026 World Cup after refereeing the 2-2 group stage draw between the Netherlands and Japan, Spain’s 1-0 victory over Uruguay and Norway’s 2-1 round of 16 victory over Brazil.
The semi-final will be the highest level World Cup match in which Elfath has officiated as center referee.
Messi also has a positive history with Elfath. The American served as the fourth official during Argentina’s victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final. Since Messi arrived at Inter Miami in 2023, he has also won all four matches in which Elfath was a 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)
