Clément Turpin leads the refereeing team for Croatia and England clash in Dallas
The Croatia and England match in the first round of Group L at the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be refereed by a French officiating team led by Clément Turpin, one of the most experienced European referees of the past decade. According to the current refereeing delegation for the match, Turpin will be assisted along the touchlines by his compatriots Nicolas Danos and Benjamin Pagès, while Mexico's Katia García has been appointed as the fourth official. The refereeing lineup report also includes Sandra Ramirez from Mexico, who will serve as the reserve assistant referee. The match is scheduled for Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, in the wider Dallas area. FIFA's match preview lists the kick-off at 3 p.m. local time, or 10 p.m. Central European Summer Time.
It is one of the most striking matches at the opening of Group L because it brings together two European national teams with a deep mark on recent major tournaments. Croatia played in the 2018 World Cup final and finished third four years later, while England enters this tournament with high expectations after a run of strong results on the European and world stage. In its official Group L overview, FIFA points out that, alongside England and Croatia, Ghana and Panama are also in the same group, making the schedule especially demanding because each national team has three matches to secure progression to the knockout phase. In the new World Cup format, according to FIFA's competition rules, the two best national teams from each of the 12 groups advance, along with the eight best third-placed teams.
Experienced French referee for a high-profile match
Clément Turpin is among the best-known referees in UEFA's elite category, and FIFA included him among the 52 main referees selected for the 2026 World Cup. In April, FIFA announced that a total of 170 match officials had been selected for the tournament: 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, from all six confederations and 50 national associations. In explaining the selection, FIFA stated that the selection process lasted more than three years and that decisions were based on the quality and consistency of performances at the highest level. Turpin's appointment for this kind of match fits such a criterion because it is a match with major sporting and competitive stakes already at the start of the group.
Turpin has already officiated a series of matches at the highest European club level, and UEFA appointed him in 2022 as referee of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France. A year earlier, he was the main referee of the Europa League final between Villarreal and Manchester United in Gdańsk. Those matches further strengthened his status as an official who is regularly entrusted with matches in which the pressure is extremely high, and where control of rhythm and communication with players are just as important as the application of the rules itself. In European competitions he has often appeared with assistants from France, and Danos and Pagès have already been part of his refereeing environment at major UEFA matches.
The refereeing team for the match in Dallas is composed as follows:
- Main referee: Clément Turpin, France
- First assistant referee: Nicolas Danos, France
- Second assistant referee: Benjamin Pagès, France
- Fourth official: Katia García, Mexico
- Reserve assistant referee: Sandra Ramirez, Mexico
Katia García and Sandra Ramirez are an additionally interesting part of the refereeing lineup because, ahead of the tournament, Concacaf announced that García and American referee Tori Penso are the only women among the main referees selected for the 2026 World Cup. The same confederation stated that, alongside them, the officials from the region also include assistant referees Brooke Mayo, Kathryn Nesbitt and Sandra Ramirez, as well as video match official Tatiana Guzman. García's role in Dallas will be fourth official, which means she will be responsible for communication with the benches, monitoring substitutions, the technical areas and assisting the main referee in the organizational parts of the match. Reserve assistant referee Sandra Ramirez will be ready to step in if one of the assistant referees is unable to continue the match.
Why the first group match is especially important
The first match in a group often does not directly decide progression, but it can strongly shape the rest of the tournament. In Group L, after England, Croatia plays Panama on June 23 in Toronto, and closes the group against Ghana on June 27 in Philadelphia, according to FIFA's competition schedule. After the match with Croatia, England plays Ghana in Boston and then Panama in New York, namely at New York New Jersey Stadium. Such a schedule means that the points won in Dallas could have great value both for the standings at the top of the group and for possible calculations around third places, although both national teams enter the tournament with the ambition of securing progression without relying on additional criteria.
FIFA's competition system with 48 national teams has expanded the number of matches to 104 and introduced an additional knockout round, the round of 32. Because of that, the group standings have broader consequences than before: according to the official tournament bracket, the winner of Group L goes into a match against one of the third-placed national teams from other groups, while the second-placed team in Group L faces the second-placed team from Group K. That does not mean that any path is simple, but it confirms that opening against a direct competitor can influence the entire tournament schedule. In that context, stable refereeing and clear criteria from the first minute will be an important part of the match.
For Croatia and England, their head-to-head meetings carry additional historical weight. In its overview of their previous meetings, FIFA recalls the 2018 World Cup semi-final in Moscow, when Croatia beat England 2:1 after extra time and reached the World Cup final for the first time. In that match, Kieran Trippier put England ahead, Ivan Perišić equalized, and Mario Mandžukić scored the winning goal in extra time. Three years later, at the European Championship played in 2021, England beat Croatia 1:0 in the group at Wembley, according to UEFA's match report. Because of that recent history, the new clash in Dallas comes with an already existing competitive narrative, but also with enough new circumstances not to be merely a continuation of old stories.
Dallas as one of the central stages of the tournament
Dallas Stadium is one of the busiest stadiums of the 2026 World Cup. FIFA's host city page states that Dallas will host nine matches, including five group-stage games, knockout-phase matches and one semi-final on July 14. Local organizers for Dallas emphasize that the stadium is located in Arlington, in the center of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, and for the purposes of FIFA's competition it uses the tournament name Dallas Stadium. Outside the tournament context, the venue is known as the home of the Dallas Cowboys team in American football, but during the World Cup, FIFA's rules on signage, branding and match organization apply.
The England and Croatia match is played in the early stage of the tournament, but after the competition has already opened and after the first matches in other groups. This increases the level of comparison because both national teams will take the pitch at a moment when some of their direct and indirect rival teams have already played their first matches. In such circumstances, the pressure is not only the result of Group L, but also the broader impression of how the favorites and bearers of continental quality handle their first tournament appearance. For referees, this usually means a match in which it is necessary to establish an early standard for duels, dissent, delaying the game and behavior in the technical areas.
Turpin's refereeing style is often described through calmness, authority and experience in high-intensity matches, but the key test always comes in concrete situations. Matches such as Croatia and England often bring many duels in midfield, set pieces in dangerous areas and potentially sensitive decisions in the penalty area. In modern tournament football, the refereeing team does not function only through the main referee, but as a coordinated team in which the assistants, fourth official and video match officials must communicate promptly and clearly. Although the available delegation for this match does not list all details of the video officiating team, FIFA's tournament as a whole is being conducted with an expanded set of video match officials who were specially selected for the competition.
The broader significance of the Croatia and England duel
The sporting weight of the match also stems from the position of the two national teams in international football. In the last two editions of the World Cup, Croatia has built a reputation as a team that can withstand high pressure in the knockout phase and play extra time or penalty shootouts without losing its competitive structure. England, in the same period, has regularly been among the national teams expected to make a deep run into the tournament, and its squad traditionally attracts great attention because of players from the strongest English league and the biggest European clubs. In such a balance of strength, the first match does not bring only three points, but also the initial answer to the question of how the teams have adapted their plans for the tournament in North America.
FIFA's match preview describes the clash as a meeting of European heavyweights who are playing again after the 2018 semi-final. Although such previews naturally emphasize the attractiveness of the duel, the facts confirm that this is one of the group matches with the greatest international interest. Croatia and England belong to different football profiles: Croatia often relies on midfield control, experience and the ability to survive demanding phases of the match, while England has a broad pool of athletic and attack-minded players. Such a contrast can increase the number of situations in which the referee must distinguish permitted physicality from a foul that stops a promising attack.
For Turpin and his assistants, the rhythm of the match in a large stadium, in front of an audience that will include many neutral spectators and fans of both national teams, will also be a challenge. World Cups often bring a different acoustics and communication dynamic from club competitions, because stadiums are filled with a mixture of languages, fan groups and protocols specific to FIFA competitions. Assistant referees Danos and Pagès will have an important role in assessing offside and fouls along the touchline, especially if the match is played with quick switches of the ball toward the wings. Fourth official García will be key to calming the benches, especially during substitutions, stoppage time and possible tactical interruptions.
An opener that can steer the whole of Group L
Group L is one of the groups in which the first round immediately brings a meeting between two national teams with realistic ambitions for first place. The other match of the same round, between Ghana and Panama in Toronto, will also influence the initial table, but attention will largely be directed toward Dallas. In a format with the eight best third-placed national teams, a defeat in the first round is not necessarily decisive, but a draw or victory against a strong opponent can significantly reduce the pressure before the remaining two matches. That is why the decisions of the refereeing team will also be under particular scrutiny, especially in situations that could change the course of the match.
The source text describes the match as one of the most high-profile openings of Group L, and the verified schedule and context confirm that it is a match that combines competitive importance, the history of head-to-head meetings and the great experience of the refereeing lineup. Turpin comes to Dallas with the reputation of a referee who has already officiated the biggest European finals, and his French assistant team has continuity of work at a high level. The addition of Mexican female officials in the roles of fourth official and reserve assistant referee fits into the broader FIFA and Concacaf context of greater representation of women in elite refereeing. The first whistle on June 17 will open not only Croatia's and England's path in the tournament, but also one of the most interesting stories at the start of Group L.
Sources:
- FIFA Match Centre – official data on the England - Croatia match, date, kick-off time and stadium (link)
- FIFA – preview of the England - Croatia match and Group L context (link)
- FIFA – overview of Group L and the schedule of Croatia, England, Ghana and Panama (link)
- FIFA – rules for progression from groups and criteria for qualification to the knockout phase (link)
- FIFA – official announcement on the selection of referees and refereeing teams for the 2026 World Cup (link)
- UEFA – appointment of Clément Turpin for the 2022 Champions League final (link)
- UEFA – appointment of Clément Turpin for the 2021 Europa League final (link)
- FIFA – report on the 2018 World Cup semi-final between Croatia and England (link)
- UEFA – official data on the England - Croatia match at Euro 2020 (link)
- FIFA – official Dallas host city page and data on Dallas Stadium (link)
- Concacaf – announcement on Katia García, Sandra Ramirez and other female officials selected for the 2026 World Cup (link)