Wilton Sampaio will referee Mexico vs South Africa when the World Cup opens on Thursday, June 11 at 8pm, putting the Brazilian match official back on one of the biggest stages in football after a bruising previous tournament. The appointment means Sampaio, who has officiated more than 250 games across domestic and international competitions, will take charge of the first match of the event.
For England supporters, the name still carries baggage. Sampaio oversaw England's 2022 quarter-final loss to France, a match that drew heavy criticism from players and fans after Harry Maguire said the performance was “really poor” and complained of “five, six fouls in the first 15 minutes,” while Gary Neville called it “an absolute nightmare.”
That is what makes the assignment notable now. A referee whose work in that game was widely questioned has been handed the opening fixture at a World Cup that will begin under a global spotlight, with Mexico and South Africa fronting the tournament’s first kick-off while the officiating team is drawn from across Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, France and Chile.
The match team around Sampaio includes Brazilian assistants Bruno Pires and Bruno Boschilia, Paraguayan fourth official Juan Gabriel Benítez and Colombian VAR chief Nicolas Gallo, with France's Jérôme Brisard and Chile's Juan Lara supporting in the video room. The opener itself will also carry the usual ceremony of a World Cup launch, with Shakira and Burna Boy set to feature before play starts.
What remains unanswered is why FIFA decided to place Sampaio in the tournament's opening match after the criticism that followed his 2022 performance. For now, the governing body has backed him with the most visible appointment on the calendar, and the first judgment will come quickly in Mexico vs South Africa on Thursday night.
