Who will be the referee for the England-Ghana FIFA World Cup 2026 match?

England are set to take on Ghana in the second match of Group L of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This will be only the second meeting between the two sides, having last played out a 1-1 draw in March 2011.

Who will be the referee for the England-Ghana FIFA World Cup 2026 match?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup match between England and Ghana will be officiated by Honduran referee Said Martinez.

Martinez made his debut in the Honduran league in 2013, becoming the youngest-ever referee in the league’s history. He has been a fixture in the league ever since. Since his debut, he has refereed eleven final matches of the Honduran play-offs. The 34-year-old has been an international FIFA and CONCACAF referee since 2017. This was Martinez’s first FIFA World Cup, but his second match, having refereed the match between Qatar and Switzerland. Notably, he became the first Honduran to officiate a FIFA World Cup match.

Throughout his career, Martinez has refereed 311 matches in all competitions, handing out 1313 yellow cards (average 4.22 per match) and 106 red cards (average 0.34 per match).

The reason Martinez became a referee was mainly to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was also a referee. His nickname is “ The mathematician (“the mathematician”), with a completed mathematics education, and in addition to being a referee, he also works as a mathematics teacher.

Full list of referees/match officials for England vs Ghana

• Referee: Said Martinez

• Assistant referee 1: Walter Lopez

• Assistant referee 2: Christian Ramirez

• 4th official: Ning Ma

• Reserve assistant referee: Fei Zhou

Published on June 23, 2026