Who is Glenn Nyberg? The referee in charge of Spain vs Austria

PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES - JUNE 25: Referee Glenn Nyberg during the World Cup match between Curacao v Ivory Coast at the Philadelphia Stadium on June 25, 2026 in Philadelphia United States (Photo by Marcel Bonte/Soccrates/Getty Images) — (Image credit: Getty Images)

At least one more European nation will qualify for the World Cup's Round of 16 when Spain go up against Austria this evening.

Spain are yet to properly live up to the hype that has many people putting them among the favourites to win the tournament.

Meanwhile, Austria have scored six goals en route to qualifying for the knockout stages.

Swedish referee to take charge of Spain vs Austria

Glenn Nyberg with a whistle in his mouth, holding a yellow card above his head. — Glenn Nyberg is set to referee Spain vs Austria (Image credit: Getty Images)

Glenn Nyberg from Sweden is set to be the man in the middle for this Round of 32 clash.

It will be his third game of the tournament, after taking charge of both Ghana vs Panama and Curacao vs Ivory Coast.

Nyberg started refereeing games in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s top flight, back in 2013 and has risen through the ranks to take charge of some big games across Europe.

In the league phase of last season’s Champions League, he officiated Newcastle United’s 2-1 home defeat by Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Perhaps his most famous appearance involved him sending off Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo for elbowing Republic of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea when the sides met in World Cup qualifying in Dublin last November.

Glenn Nyberg famously sent off Cristiano Ronaldo (Image credit: Getty Images)

Nyberg will be assisted by Mahbod Beigi and Andreas Soderkvist, both of whom are also Swedish.

His fourth official will be Dahane Beida from Mauritania, while Elvis Noupue from Cameroon will be his reserve assistant referee.

The game is set to take place at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

TOPICS

Ryan Gray is a freelance writer, covering mainly travel and occasionally sport. He previously spent two years as Sports Editor at the Watford Observer before turning his hand to travel writing, with his work appearing in various national UK publications. He has gone from providing matchday commentary for Blyth Spartans to covering FA Cup and Euros finals, as well as interviewing the likes of Claudio Ranieri, Alan Shearer and Glenn Hoddle, among other big names.