Who is the referee for Portugal vs DR Congo?

Houston, United States - April 13, 2023: Aerial view of both the NRG Stadium, home to the NFL&apos;s Houston Texans, and the historic Astrodome, the first indoor sports arena, now listed as a historic site shot via helicopter from an altitude of about 600 feet — Arrowhead Stadium welcomes Argentina and Algeria for their World Cup 2026 bow (Image credit: Getty Images)

The day's World Cup fixtures get underway in Texas and one big name is looking to follow in the footsteps of others as he starts what should be his final major tournament.

World Cup 2026 was supercharged on Tuesday by headline-grabbing performances from Erling Haaland of Norway and Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Wednesday sees Cristiano Ronaldo join the fray.

Portugal take on DR Congo at NRG Stadium and Ronaldo can become the first player to score at six World Cups. Who will be awarding all the free kicks he shoots from regardless of Austin MacPhee's plans?

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Referee appointment for Portugal vs DR Congo

The first Group K match in Houston today will be officiated by one of the leading referees from the AFC confederation.

Abdulrahman Al-Jassim is a Qatari referee who's been on FIFA's international list since 2013 despite being just 38 years old at World Cup 2026.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal during the International Friendly match between Portugal v Chile at the Est&aacute;dio Nacional do Jamor on June 6, 2026 in Lisbon Portugal — Will Ronaldo be Al-Jassim's biggest challenge in Houston? (Image credit: Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images)

Al-Jassim has a wealth of experience of big international matches and major tournaments, which he's been officiating since a pair of continental competitions in 2019.

He oversaw seven matches in all between the AFC Asian Cup, where he refereed a quarter-final, and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, where he took charge of the semi-final between Haiti and Mexico.

Al-Jassim was appointed to the roster of refs for his home World Cup in Qatar in 2022. There, he was in the middle for the group stage fixture between the United States and Wales, and the third-place play-off between Croatia and Morocco.

He sent off seven players in 14 matches in the Qatar Stars League in 2025-26, awarding nine penalties and issuing yellow cards at a rate of more than five per game.

In 2025, he claimed the top honour available to Asian confederation officials in club football when he officiated the AFC Champions League Elite final between Al-Ahly and Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah.

Fellow Qatari officials Taleb Al-Marri and Saud Al-Maqaleh will Al-Jassim's assistant referees in Houston. Abongile Tom from South Africa is the fourth official.

VAR will be led by another of Al-Jassim's compatriots, Khamis Al-Marri.

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Chris is a Warwickshire-based freelance football writer specialising in West Midlands football, the Premier League, the EFL and the J.League. He is the author of the High Protein Beef Paste football newsletter and owner of Aston Villa Review. He supports Coventry Sphinx.