Alireza Faghani to referee France vs Senegal at 2026 World Cup Group I opener

Alireza Faghani has been appointed as the referee for France’s 2026 World Cup Group I opener against Senegal at New York Jersey Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm UK time.

The Iranian-Australian official brings considerable experience to the assignment. Faghani is perhaps best remembered for overseeing the 2018 World Cup group-stage meeting between France and Argentina — a match widely regarded as one of the tournament’s all-time classics — which France won 4-3. That game alone produced eight bookings and a penalty inside the first 15 minutes.

More recently, Faghani took charge of Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over PSG at the Club World Cup, held in the United States last summer. He averages more than four bookings per match across his career and has refereed 119 A-League games, 62 AFC Champions League Elite fixtures, and three Olympic Games matches. The France vs Senegal tie will be his seventh World Cup appointment.

Faghani will be assisted by fellow Australians George Lakrindis and James Lindsay on the lines, while compatriot Shaun Evans takes responsibility for VAR duties.

France arrive as one of the tournament’s leading contenders, having reached two consecutive World Cup finals — winning in 2018 and finishing as runners-up in 2022 — and scoring seven goals across 210 minutes of final football. A third successive final appearance would see them equal Brazil’s long-standing record.

Senegal, meanwhile, are a side France cannot afford to underestimate. The West Africans were previously recognised as Africa Cup of Nations champions before a subsequent court ruling complicated that status, and they carry genuine quality into the 48-team tournament, which introduced five new rules ahead of its opening match last Thursday.