Who will be the referee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 between Portugal and Croatia?

Portugal and Croatia meet in a decisive Round of 32 match at Toronto Stadium in Canada on Thursday.

Portugal arrive for the match having finished second in Group K after dropping crucial points against group winners Colombia and DR Congo.

Meanwhile, Croatia will hope to continue the momentum of back-to-back wins against Panama and Ghana.

Who will be the referee for the Portugal-Croatia match at the 2026 World Cup?

Norwegian referee Espen Eskas will officiate the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on Thursday.

The 38-year-old has been on FIFA’s international referee list since 2017 and has established himself as one of UEFA’s most important match officials.

He has overseen matches in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Nations League and European Championship qualifiers, and is known for his calm decision-making under pressure.

Coincidentally, the Norwegian official is younger than Portuguese captain and talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

Eskas previously featured in the Group H match of this World Cup between Spain and Cape Verde.

Throughout his senior professional career, Eskas has officiated 417 matches, calling out 1353 of them yellow cards and 23 direct red cards. That translates to an average of 3.24 yellow cards, 0.06 red cards and a total of 3.30 cards per match.