👀 Copa opener to have Brazilian officials, take a look | OneFootball

FIFA made it official this Monday (8) that Wilton Pereira Sampaio will be tasked with officiating Mexico versus South Africa, the opening match of the World Cup.

The referee from the Goiás federation will be joined by assistants Bruno Pires (GO) and Bruno Boschilia (PR).

Wilton Pereira Sampaio is heading to the third World Cup of his career. After being part of the video assistant referee (VAR) team in 2018, he made his on-field debut at the Qatar World Cup.

And he was the "main attraction" because of Jude Bellingham's reaction during France's win over England in the quarterfinals. 

📸 Julian Finney - 2022 Getty Images

Raphael Claus (SP) and Ramon Abatti Abel (SC) are the other Brazilian referees who will work at the World Cup.

The list of assistants also includes Danilo Manis (SP), Rafael Alves (RS) and Rodrigo Figueiredo (RJ), while Rodolpho Toski Marques (PR) will work on VAR. 

Mexico and South Africa will face off next Thursday (11) from 4 p.m. (Brasília time) at the Azteca. 

It will be a "rematch" after the same teams played the opening game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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