Who is the referee for Ivory Coast vs Norway?

Kobbie Mainoo could start for England in the game in Miami (Image credit: Getty Images)

France and England will contest the game that no one wants to play in - the third and fourth place play-off in Miami.

Both France and England were fancied to win their semi-finals and meet in the final, but were beaten respectively by Spain and Argentina in the semi-finals.

This will be Didier Deschamps final game in charge of France as he will leave his role after this World Cup and question marks hang over England boss Thomas Tuchel after the way in which the Three Lions lost to Argentina having been 1-0 up.

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Referee confirmed for France and England clash

Didier Deschamps will lead France for one final time in this game with England (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ahead of the game, Deschamps described the mood in the France camp, saying: "The best for France and England would be for this match not to exist."

While England manager Tuchel had a similar views, he said: "None of our players and none of the French players want to play this match."

But the game is going ahead and so who will be refereeing the 103rd game of this World Cup in Miami?

Jesus Valenzuela has been appointed as the match official for this clash.

The Venezuelan took charge of three World Cup group encounters this summer in Australia's win over Turkiye and Bosnia and Herezegovina's dismantling of Qatar and then the Round of 16 game between Norway and Ivory Coast.

He also oversaw two matches at the 2022 edition in Qatar as England and USA played out a goalless draw while France put Poland to the sword in a 3-1 victory.

Valenzuela boasts further international tournament experience after officiating in three Copa America, the Olympics as well as the FIFA Club World Cup twice.

But the 42-year-old is known for a ruthless disciplinary streak after doling out 1,909 yellow cards and 115 sendings-off in his 387 games as a professional referee.

England last played Norway at the Miami Stadium and will now face France there too (Image credit: Getty Images)

He will be assisted by fellow Venezuelans Jorge Urrego and Tulio Moreno, with Morocco’s Jalal Jayed serving as the fourth official. Zakaria Brinsi - also of Morocco - will be the reserve assistant.

This will be the final game that both these teams play at the 2026 World Cup. Just the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina remains after this game.

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James Andrew is the editor of FourFourTwo, overseeing both the magazine and website. James is an NCTJ qualified journalist and began his career as a news reporter in regional newspapers in 2006 before moving into sport a year later. In 2011 he started a six year stint on the sports desk at the Daily Mail and MailOnline. James was appointed editor of FourFourTwo in December 2019. Across his career James has interviewed the likes of Franco Baresi, Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham and Michael Owen. James has been a Fulham season ticket holder since the mid-1990s and enjoys watching them home and away, through promotion and relegation.