Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed appointed for Germany vs Paraguay World Cup clash in Boston

Jalal Jayed of Morocco has been confirmed as the referee for Germany’s FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-32 tie against Paraguay in Boston on Monday.

The 39-year-old arrives at this assignment having already officiated two matches at the tournament — Germany’s 7-1 group-stage rout of Curaçao and Portugal’s 5-0 thrashing of Uzbekistan. Despite the goals flowing freely in both games, Jayed has kept his cards firmly in his pocket, issuing just two yellows across the pair: one to Uzbekistan’s Odildzhon Khamrobekov and one to Portugal’s Renato Veiga.

Jayed will be assisted by fellow Moroccans Zakaria Brinsi and Mostafa Akarkad on the lines. China’s Ming Na takes the fourth official role, with Fei Zhou serving as reserve official. The VAR operation will be led by Tatiana Guzmán of Nicaragua, supported by Morocco’s Hamza El-Fariq as assistant VAR and Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Alshehri as support VAR.

The match carries notable weight for Germany, who — despite topping Group E — have not won a World Cup knockout game since lifting the trophy in the 2014 final in Brazil. Their path to the last 32 was unconventional: a 7-1 demolition of Curaçao and a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast were enough to see them through even after a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in their final group game.

Paraguay qualified from Group D in third place, recovering from an opening 4-1 loss to the United States with a 1-0 victory over Turkey and a goalless draw with Australia that confirmed their progression.