Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic will officiate the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday.
He will be joined by compatriots Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic -- who will serve as assistants -- while Jordan's Adham Makhadmeh will be the fourth official.
The news was shared on Thursday by governing body FIFA, with a video also posted on social media of an emotional Vincic finding out.
"So, first of all, a shock. Then happiness. I was shaking, so it's an incredible honour to get the World Cup final," Vincic said. "It's something that ... it's only a dream for a referee, for a young referee when they start. So, I'm very proud, very proud of myself, my team.
"It's very difficult to put everything into words, but I'm very proud to represent my country, Slovenia, in the biggest sporting event in the world. So, yeah, I'm very proud. My team is very proud and we will do our best."
Who is Slavko Vincic? The background
As well as officiating in Slovenia's top flight, Vincic has been an international-listed referee for FIFA since 2010 and has plenty of experience in big games.
In Europe, Vincic has been the referee for a total of 72 Champions League and Europa League matches, including knockout fixtures and finals.
Most notably, he was the man in the middle for the 2022 Europa League final between Frankfurt and Rangers, and the 2024 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Dortmund.
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He has refereed in two European Championships and two World Cups.
He hadn't handed out a single red card in 10 major international tournament fixtures until sending off Ecuador's Piero Hincapié in the 2-0 round-of-32 defeat to Mexico, as the Arsenal defender hid his mouth when speaking to Santiago Gimenez.
Vincic did not see the incident but showed Hincapie a red card after being advised by the video assistant referee (VAR) to watch the incident on the pitchside monitor.
Earlier in the competition, he officiated two group games; Brazil vs. Morocco, and Jordan vs. Algeria.
Slammed by Madrid, praised by Jose, and a losing record for Argentina
Vincic has averaged just three yellow cards per game in his five World Cup matches, a rate that is under the final average of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but over the 2026 edition.
He has been known to wield cards in the past, though, with reds handed out in both his Club World Cup games last summer, while he drew criticism from Real Madrid for his officiating in the Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Bayern Munich in April.
Madrid were leading 3-2 at the Allianz Arena -- with the tie level at 4-4 and heading for extra time -- when substitute Camavinga was dismissed in the 86th minute after being shown a second yellow card for an innocuous challenge on Harry Kane.
Jude Bellingham called the red card "a joke" as he passed through the mixed zone, adding: "Two fouls [by Camavinga], two yellow cards."
Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa said: "You can't send a player off for a thing like that. I think the referee didn't even know that [Camavinga] already had a yellow card."
He has drawn praise from current Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho, though.
After being drafted in to referee Galatasaray vs. Fenerbahce in 2025 -- amid Mourinho's complaints about Turkish referees -- the then-Fener boss said: "The performance of the referee was a top performance.
"Anyone, not just from this country but also abroad, watched a big football match. I think the man responsible for that was the referee."
Vincic, meanwhile, has refereed four Spain games before, with the European giants unbeaten in those fixtures, while his only time officiating Argentina was a famous defeat for Lionel Scaloni's side.
Vincic's debut was Argentina's shock 3-2 opening loss to Saudi Arabia, something they of course managed to bounce back from as they went on to win the tournament.