Referee Said Martinez officiated the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Qatar and Switzerland. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

England are set to take on Ghana in both sides’ second Group L match of the FIFA World Cup 2026. This will be only the second meeting between the two sides, having last played out a 1-1 draw in March 2011.

Who is the referee for England vs Ghana FIFA World Cup 2026 match?

The England vs Ghana FIFA World Cup 2026 match is set to be refereed by Honduran referee Said Martinez.

Martinez made his debut in the Honduran league in 2013, becoming the youngest-ever referee in the league’s history. He has been a regular in the league since. Since his debut, he has refereed eleven Honduran league playoff final matches. The 34-year-old has been a FIFA and CONCACAF international referee since 2017. This has been Martinez’s first FIFA World Cup, but his second game, having refereed the fixture between Qatar and Switzerland. Notably, he became the first Honduran to officiate a FIFA World Cup match.

Throughout his career, Martinez has refereed 311 games in all competitions, issuing 1313 yellow cards (average 4.22 per match) and 106 red cards (average 0.34 per match).

Notably, the reason Martinez became a referee was to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was also a referee. His nickname is “ El Matemático” (”the mathematician”), having completed a maths degree, and alongside refereeing, also working as a maths teacher.

Full list of referee/match officials for England vs Ghana

• Referee: Said Martinez
• Assistant Referee 1: Walter Lopez
• Assistant Referee 2: Christian Ramirez
• 4th Official: Ning Ma
• Reserve Assistant Referee: Fei Zhou

Published on Jun 23, 2026