Portugal vs. Ghana: Who is the referee for Group H match in 2022 World Cup?

The World Cup wraps up the first round of Group H play late Thursday morning when Portgual and Ghana meet at the 974 Stadium in Doha. The match gets started at 11 a.m. ET and will air on FOX.

The Thanksgiving match will feature an American officiating crew led by referee Ismail Elfath. He is a Moroccan immigrant to the United States and has risen to the top of MLS in that time. Earlier this month, he was the referee for the MLS Cup Final, handing out four yellow cards and one red card in LAFC's win over Philadelphia. His most notable international experience was at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. He was referee for two group stage matches and the Japan-New Zealand quarterfinal match. He handed out six yellow cards in the QF, seven in the Spain-Argentina group stage match, and two yellow, one second yellow, and one red in the Brazil-Ivory Coast group stage match.

Portugal is a sizable favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook with -245 odds to win Thursday's match. Ghana is a +750 underdog while a draw is listed at +370. Portugal isn't a favorite to win the whole tournament, but is sitting at +1300 odds for the title. This comes in fairly disappointing finishes in recent years. They finished 13th in 2018 after a Round of 16 exit, 18th in 2014 after a group stage exit, and 11th in 2020 after a Round of 16 exit. This followed a 2006 fourth place finish. They face a Ghana squad that failed to qualify in 2018, but has been trying to get back to the heights of 2006 when they qualified for the knockout stage and 2010 when they reached the quarterfinals.

Total cards for Thursday's match is set at 4.5 with the under priced at -165 and the over at +120. Elfath's officiating crew for the match will include the following, with roles and nationalities included (h/t Law 5 – The Referee):

• Assistant Referee 1: Kyle Atkins (USA)
• Assistant Referee 2: Corey Parker (USA)
• Fourth Official: Stephanie Frappart (FRA)
• Reserve Assistant Referee: Karen Diaz Medina (MEX)
• Video Assistant Referee: Armando Villarreal (USA)
• Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Drew Fischer (CAN)
• Offside Video Assistant Referee: Alessandro Giallatini (ITA)
• Support Video Assistant Referee: Shaun Evans (AUS)
• Standby Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Elvis Noupue (CMR)

  
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