Who is the referee for Brazil vs Japan?

Brazil vs Japan will be refereed by Maurizio Mariani of Italy.

Co-hosts Canada got the ball rolling on the round of 32 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over South Africa, courtesy of a Stephen Eustaquio injury-time winner on Sunday.

Over the next five days, 15 more teams will join Jesse Marsch's side in the next round, starting with either Brazil or Japan, who face off in Houston on Monday.

Referee confirmed for Japan vs Brazil

Vinicius Junior — Brazil topped Group C to set up a clash against Japan (Image credit: Getty Images)

This South America vs Asia clash is the first of a Monday triple-header, with Germany taking on Paraguay in Boston before the Netherlands and Morocco lock horns in Monterrey.

Brazil topped Group C with two wins and a draw and will face a Japan side who also went unbeaten in the group stage when they held the Netherlands and Sweden to draws, either side of a 4-0 stroll against Tunisia to finish second in Group F.

Joao Pinheiro took charge of Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group stage — Joao Pinheiro is at his first major international tournament (Image credit: Getty Images)

Overseeing this match will be referee Maurizio Mariani.

This will be the Italian's third match of the tournament so far, after he took charge of Uruguay and Saudi Arabia's 1-1 draw in Group H, plus Colombia's 1-0 victory over DR Congo.

The 44-year-old has yet to brandish his red card this summer and has so far issued just four yellows in his two matches to date.

Mariani officiated the UEFA Conference League final between Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano last month.

He will be joined by his countrymen Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni at the NRG Stadium in Houston, who will be acting as assistant referees.

Referee Maurizio Mariani during the World Cup 2026 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Switzerland's Sando Schaerer will be on fourth official duties, with Stephane De Almeida serving as the reserve official.

Details of the VAR crew are yet to be confirmed at the time of writing.

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For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.