The man who England labelled an 'absolute nightmare' will referee the opening match of the 2026 World Cup. Wilton Sampaio, the Brazilian official who took charge of England's agonising quarter-final loss to France in Qatar, has been appointed for Mexico vs South Africa — a decision that will reignite memories of a performance Harry Maguire described as 'really, really poor'.
Sampaio awarded two penalties to England that night at Al Bayt Stadium, but it was the fouls he did not give that infuriated players and fans. Observers believed the official missed multiple incidents, including fouls on Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane that would have ruled out France's opener. Saka was eventually fouled in the box, earning a spot-kick, but the damage was done. Later, after Olivier Giroud restored France's lead, Sampaio pointed to the spot again when Mason Mount was brought down — only for Harry Kane to blaze his penalty over the bar. England were out.
“Wilton Sampaio, criticised by England after their 2022 World Cup exit, will referee the 2026 opening match.”
Speaking after the match, Maguire did not hold back. 'Really poor, very poor. From minute one: five, six fouls in the first 15 minutes, not one yellow card. For me, it’s a foul for the first goal, on Bukayo. I can’t really go into explaining how bad [Sampaio’s] performance really was. I don’t want to go into too much, because I’ll end up getting fined, but it was really, really poor.'
Gary Neville, working for ITV, was even more blunt. 'The referee, I thought he had an absolute nightmare. An absolute joke of a referee. I am not saying that was all down to England’s defeat, people will say that’s excuses, but he was just a bad referee. Rank, bad.'
Despite that widespread criticism — from England fans, at least — Sampaio has been given the honour of officiating the tournament's curtain-raiser in 2026. He will be joined by fellow Brazilians Bruno Pires and Bruno Boschilia as assistant referees, with Paraguayan Juan Gabriel Benítez as fourth official. The VAR is led by Colombian Nicolas Gallo, with Frenchman Jerome Brisard and Chilean Juan Lara providing support.
The Mexican and South African teams will now face a referee who has refereed over 250 games across domestic and international competitions — but whose most famous night left an entire nation feeling hard done by. With the 2026 World Cup about to begin, all eyes will be on whether Sampaio can keep a quieter time of things this time around.