England vs Iran takes place on Monday in the 2022 World Cup. But who is the referee taking charge of the Group B fixture?
The match will take place in the capital of Qatar, Doha, at the Khalifa International Stadium. It holds 40,000 fans, according to FIFA's official guide, although reports suggest that there will be a number of empty seats, with FIFA struggling to sell tickets for the game.
Regardless, the Three Lions will kick off their campaign against an Iran side they have never played a recorded competitive match against.
Should Gareth Southgate's side pick up the victory, it would be their first win of any kind since March, when England defeated Ivory Coast 3-0 at Wembley.
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They are on a six-match winless streak, having not won a game in their Nations League group.
The game against Iran, who are managed by Carlos Queiroz, will kick off at 1pm UK time, the first of three World Cup games on the day.
Here are the confirmed match officials for England vs Iran:
England vs Iran: Who is the match referee, and other officials?
England vs Iran will be officiated by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, with the match being his first appointment at a senior World Cup. He took charge of several matches at the 2021 Copa America, including the third place play-off between Colombia and Peru.
He has officiated 24 games in the Brazilian top division this season, and is one of two referees from his home country at the World Cup.
Both teams may have to watch their discipline, given that Claus has shown 10 red cards in his matches this season - an average of one every 2.4 games.
As per Refereeing World, the other match officials for England vs Iran are as follows:
- Assistant Referees: Rodrigo Figueiredo (Brazil), Danilo Manis (Brazil)
- Fourth Official: Kevin Ortega (Peru)
- VAR Official: Leodan Gonzalez (Uruguay)
- Assistant VAR Officials: Julio Bascunian (Chile), Martin Soppi (Uruguay), Juan Martinez Munuera (Spain), Juan Belatti (Argentina)
Topics: England, Football World Cup, Qatar
Ryan Smart