Paraguay will face France in the round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the Philadelphia Stadium on Saturday.
Paraguay come into the match after Germany were eliminated on penalties in the previous round after the match finished 1-1 in regular time. France, on the other hand, comes into the match after a convincing 3-0 win over Sweden.
Who will be the referee for the 2026 FIFA World Cup match Paraguay – France?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup match between Paraguay and France will be officiated by Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev.
Tantashev has been a referee since 2008 and made his debut in the Uzbekistan Super League in October 2010. This was the first FIFA World Cup for the 42-year-old, and the match will be his third of the edition after taking charge of two group stage matches.
In his career, Tantashev has been in charge of 308 matches in all competitions, handing out 1257 yellow cards (4.08 per match) and 80 red cards (0.26 per match).
Since his debut, Tantashev has been a regular in the Uzbekistan Super League. He has also become a reliable referee for the Asian Football Confederation and was assigned to the 2024 AFC Champions League Final and the 2025 AFC Champions League Elite Final.
Interestingly, the Uzbek official has also taken charge of a play-off match in the Indian Super League, officiating the second leg of the 2020 semi-final between FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC.
Full list of referees/match officials for Paraguay vs France
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Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev
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Assistant referee 1: Andrey Tsapenko
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Assistant referee 2: Timur Gaynullin
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4th official: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim
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Reserve assistant referee: Taleb Al-Marri
Published on July 4, 2026
