Slavko Vincic will referee the 2026 World Cup final: His record with Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Lamine Yamal’s Spain

I 2026 World Cup the final is fast approaching, and every little detail surrounding Sunday’s grand finale at MetLife Stadium will be under the microscope of the entire world. FIFA recently announced that the Slovenian official Slavko Vincic appointed referee for the tournament decider. The high-profile work immediately sparked discussions about his historical record with Lionel Messi‘s Argentina and Lamine Yamal’s Spain.

Vincic, 46, has put together an impressive international career since earning his FIFA badge in 2010, often calling marquee matchups in Europe and on the international stage. At club level, his impressive resume is highlighted by officiating the 2022 UEFA Europa League final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers, and 2024 UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

The Slovenian international made his World Cup debut in Qatar, where he was given two caps, and added three more duties to his tally during the 2026 tournament. Sunday’s highly anticipated final will mark his sixth World Cup appearanceand the fourth of this current campaign, which represents the absolute pinnacle of his managerial career.

Yamal’s Spanish record with Vincic

Given his status as one of UEFA’s top referees, Vincic has had many opportunities to oversee Spain in competitive European matches. His history with La Roja he returned for a 2017 friendly against Colombia, which was followed by a Euro 2020 group stage match against Sweden, and a UEFA Nations League semi-final against Italy in 2023, although all of those games came first. Lamine Yamal‘s international success.

However, Vincic has been the man during two key games in Yamal’s young international career. Both happened at the same time Spainwinning campaign for Euro 2024, which starts in Beat Italy 1-0 in the group stage then follows i 2-1 semi-final win against Francewhere the young player scored his famous long-range equalizer.

look again

Lamine Yamal’s amazing coincidence: His first matches against Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi are both finals.

Vincic’s record with Messi’s Argentina

Because of the geographical separation, Vincic naturally crossed paths In Argentina much less than Spain. However, the Slovenian referee was on his nose one of the most shocking and painful moments in the modern history of Argentine football.

The only time Vincic has refereed the Albiceleste was during their opening match of the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In that game, Saudi Arabia made history 2-1snapping Argentina’s 36-match unbeaten streak and the only time Messi’s side have ever lost with Vincic on the field.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi talks to referee Slavko Vincic.

Regardless of the final result, the referee’s decisions that day went in favor of the South American champions early on. In just the seventh minute, Vincic awarded Argentina a penalty after Leandro Paredes was brought down during a corner kicka controversial decision, allowing Messi to open the scoring, before handing out six yellow cards to the Saudi Arabian players while keeping a clean sheet against the Argentines.

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