Who is the referee for New Zealand vs Egypt?

Omar Al Ali will make his first World Cup outing — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Group G is shaping up as one of the more interesting quartets at this summer's World Cup.

None of the four sides have dazzled yet in a highly competitive group that also contains Belgium and Iran, who met earlier on Sunday.

That sets the stage for one of New Zealand or Egypt to put themselves in command with a game still to play and a place in the knockout rounds at stake.

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Who is the referee for New Zealand vs Egypt?

Omar Al Ali was a reserve official at the Club World Cup last year — We can only hope for more of this kind of theatrical posture (Image credit: Getty Images)

Kick off is set for 8pm local time (2am UK time) at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Egypt were pegged back to a 1-1 draw against Belgium in their opening game, while New Zealand twice took the lead against Iran only to end up sharing a 2-2 stalemate.

Omar Al Ali has taken charge of some high-profile games

Omar Al Ali has refereed in the AFC Champions League (Image credit: Getty Images)

The referee for this game will be Omar Al Ali, who is taking charge of his first ever World Cup game.

The 38 year old from the United Arab Emirates has been refereeing on the international stage since 2015.

Al Ali is a regular presence in the UAE Pro League and in the AFC Champions League, and served as a back-up official at last summer's Club World Cup.

Running the lines are fellow Emirati Mohamed Al-Hammadi and Qatar's Taleb Al-Marri.

Peruvians Kevin Ortega and Michael Orue will be the fourth official and reserve referee, respectively.

Egypt star Mohamed Salah — Mo Salah is set to feature for Egypt (Image credit: Getty Images)

Heading up the VAR is another official from the UAE, Mohammed Khamid.

Assisting him in the booth is the involuntarily twitchy Shaun Evans, who hails from Australia. We're sure the Kiwis are delighted with that.

American Armando Villarreal round out the lineup as the support VAR.

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Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.