Who is the referee for the Netherlands vs Morocco?

Wilton Sampaio is the referee for England vs France — Wilton Sampaio will be the man in charge for Netherlands vs Morocco (Image credit: Getty Images)

Netherlands vs Morocco will be refereed by Wilton Sampaio, from Brazil.

Co-hosts Canada became the first side to book a place in the last-16 when they saw off South Africa with an injury-time goal on Sunday, while Brazil will take on Japan in Monday's early kick-off, which will be followed by Germany vs Paraguay.

It's then over to Monterrey for what - on paper, at least - should be one of the best ties of this first knock-out round.

Referee confirmed for Netherlands vs Morocco

Virgil van Dijk celebrates his side's 5-1 win over Sweden at the 2026 World Cup — The Netherlands scored ten goals in their three group games (Image credit: Getty Images)

Despite being held to a 2-2 draw in their Group F opener against Japan, the Netherlands would go on to progress as group winners following emphatic wins over Sweden and Tunisia.

That meant that Group C's second-place finishers awaited them, with Morocco finishing behind Brazil on goal difference after also claiming two wins and a draw in the opening phase of the tournament.

Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio shows a red card to South Africa's midfielder #11 Themba Zwane during the 2026 World Cup Group A football match between Mexico and South Africa — Sampaio had a busy opening match (Image credit: Getty Images)

The referee for this match will be Wilton Sampaio.

And yes, that's the Brazilian official who sent off three players in the opening match of the tournament, when he gave South Africa duo Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane, plus Mexico's Cesar Montes, red cards during the co-host's 2-0 victory at the Azteca.

Sampaio's other match in the tournament was a quieter affair, as he oversaw Norway's 3-2 victory over Senegal without having to dole out any cards.

England fans may also recognise the 44-year-old from England's 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France at the last World Cup in 2022.

Sampaio will be joined by his countrymen Bruno Pires and Bruno Boschilia as assistant referees.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 11: Wilton Sampaio (R), Referee, shows a red card to Cesar Montes (L) of Mexico during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match between Mexico and South Africa at Mexico City Stadium on June 11, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Hugo Rivera/Jam Media/Getty Images) — Sampaio's three red cards in the opening fixture almost equalled the four red shown during the whole of the 2022 World Cup (Image credit: Getty Images)

Chile's Cristian Garay will be the fourth official for this one, while the reserve official will be another Chilean in Jose Retamal.

Details of the VAR crew for this one 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.