Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić will take charge of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ final between Argentina and Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday 19 July, describing the opportunity as an “incredible honour”. The 46-year-old from Maribor, Slovenia, was informed of his appointment by Pierluigi Collina, FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer and Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, and said he was taken aback by the news. “So, first of all, a shock. Then happiness. I was shaking, so it’s an incredible honour to get the (FIFA) World Cup final,” he said. “It’s something that… it’s only a dream for a referee, for a young referee when they start. So, I’m very proud, very proud of myself, my team.“ The appointment makes Vinčić the 23rd person in history to referee a FIFA World Cup final, and the first from Slovenia. “First of all, it’s very difficult to put everything into words, but I’m very proud to represent my country, Slovenia, in the biggest sporting event in the world,” he said. “So, yeah, I’m very proud. My team is very proud and we will do our best.”

Vinčić is an experienced referee who has taken charge of a number of top games in European and international football. He officiated at UEFA EURO 2020 and then took charge of the 2022 UEFA Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers F.C. Two years later he officiated in the 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid and took charge of games at UEFA EURO 2024, including the semi-final between France and Spain. Last year he refereed games at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ in the United States. This is the Slovenian’s second FIFA World Cup – he took charge of two games during FIFA World Cup 2022™ in Qatar. So far in this tournament, Vinčić has officiated Brazil v. Morocco and Jordan v. Algeria in the group stage and Mexico v. Ecuador in the round of 32. Vinčić was quick to share the credit for his achievement with the officiating team around him, in particular his assistant referees Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič. “So, refereeing is all about teamwork. So, without them, without Tomaž and Andraž, this is not possible,” he said. “I’m really happy that I have had them throughout my career, throughout our careers. We are really good friends, a good team, and thanks to them.” Jordanian Adham Makhadmeh will serve as the fourth official for the final, with his compatriot Mohammad Al-Kalaf as reserve assistant referee.

Mr Collina said the major factor behind the appointment to the final was performance throughout the tournament. “It’s… a long process. There are many pieces of the puzzle but they have had to be combined all together to get the picture of the final referee, and it’s something that goes (on) through the competition,” he said. “Of course, the performances are [what] matter the most. Of course, the matches they refereed before, also the fact that his team is not playing (in) this competition, but mainly performances. At the end of the day, it’s what really matters.” Mr Collina said it was always a special feeling to announce the appointment. “Well, what you have just seen is one of the most emotional moments in the competition, when we announce the match officials appointed for the two finals, for the bronze final and the gold final, and of course it’s emotional for the referees, but it is very emotional also for me,” he said. “This is the third time I [have done] it in a FIFA World Cup and, again, I always feel the goosebumps when I do that.” Vinčić said his preparation would follow the same rigorous pattern that has carried him through the tournament. “So, preparation will not change much. So, we will analyse again the teams, even though we have been following them for these last 40-plus days,” he explained. “So, we will analyse the teams. We will stay focused, try to be mentally fresh, physically fresh, and we will do our best so that we will not be a topic after the match.”

For the third-place playoff between France and England at Miami Stadium, Venezuela's Jesús Valenzuela has been appointed as referee, and will be assisted by compatriots Jorge Urrego and Tulio Moreno. Morocco’s Jalal Jayed has been named the fourth official and fellow Moroccan Zakaria Brinsi the reserve assistant referee. The video assistant referee teams for both matches have also been confirmed. Leodan González of Uruguay will serve as VAR for the Bronze Final between France and England on Saturday, supported by American Armando Villarreal as assistant VAR, and Spaniard Carlos Del Cerro Grande on support VAR. For Sunday's final, German official Bastian Dankert takes on the VAR role, assisted by Colombian Nicolás Gallo, with Qatari official Khamis Al Marri providing support.