Szymon Marciniak got into the World Cup final? FIFA finally revealed the truth!
American referee Ismail Elfath will officiate the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and England. FIFA has therefore still not appointed Szymon Marciniak.
What does this mean? There are only three solutions left. There are four matches left until the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but only two remain to be appointed as referees. On Monday (i.e. July 13) we informed that Szymon Marciniak had not been appointed to coach the France-Spain semi-final.
As it turns out, the same is true in the case of the second semi-final, Wednesday’s Argentina-England competition. Referee Ismail Elfath, the representative of the USA, received the privilege of conducting a key meeting in the context of the fight in the medal zone.
FIFA is waiting with Szymon Marciniak? The Pole is one step away from his second World Cup final
Coming back to the referee from Płock, since Elfath will officiate the semi-final, the FIFA Referees Committee automatically does not expect him to whistle in the cup game. Marciniak may therefore be selected either for the 3rd place match on Saturday (i.e. July 18) or in the grand final on Sunday (i.e. July 19).
The third, most sad scenario is the final departure of the Polish referee from the World Cup without the opportunity to officiate any(!) match in the knockout phase of the World Cup. It seems that the Pole did not cause the FIFA Referees’ Committee to treat him in such a way with his work in the group stage. Especially since in several situations the Polish referee withstood the pressure, despite the stakes of the matches.
Foreign media predict that the Pole’s biggest rival in the final is Romanian Istvan Kovac.
World Cup 2026. Where and when to watch the greatest football World Cup in history?
From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams took part in the main tournament.
The title from four years ago is defended by the Argentines. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times. More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay.
The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).
Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.
