FIFA has entrusted Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic to call the shots at Sunday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 grand final between Spain and Argentina at the famous MetLife Stadium.
Vincic, a 46-year-old who has been refereeing for FIFA since the 2010s, will be in charge of arguably the biggest match of his career. He was a man to watch during the 2022 UEFA Europa League finale and the year’s Champions League matches, and these two events together could well mean a few extra lines in his CV.
The World Cup finals have been his sixth overall, and this would be his fourth game of the tournament.
Vincic has a long list of interactions with both teams as well. The Spanish had him twice in a row on their path to Euro 2024 glory; first a group-stage 1-0 win over Italy and then a dramatic 2-1 semi-final against France. The young Lamine Yamal equalled the score and sent a shock wave through the spectators with his sublime curler into the top corner.
Vincic’s record against Argentina is scarce but memorable. The referee of Messi’s team in their 2-1 upset loss to Saudi Arabia in the very first game of the 2022 World Cup put an end to Argentina’s unbeaten streak of 36 matches. However, it was indeed Vincic who granted Argentina a penalty early in the day’s events; Messi converted it, of course. In total, he handed six yellow cards to the Saudi Arabian players.
Vincic, in this World Cup final, will probably be a target of massive criticism from both teams; on one hand, Spain is aiming for just the second ever World Cup in their history, and on the other hand, Argentina will be trying to keep their title for the second straight time.
