Despite Being Eliminated From the FIFA World Cup Here’s How US Soccer Is Still Involved in Final Between France and Argentina

The US Soccer will be part of the FIFA World Cup final despite being eliminated. Their referees will be part of the officiating team for the game between Argentina and France. 

The US Men’s Soccer team crashed out of the round of 16 game against England. USMNT will now start the rebuild with a focus on the 2026 World Cup on its home turf. The squad consists of many youngsters who played in the World Cup for the first time. It will be interesting to see how the development of the players goes ahead of the 2026 edition.  

US referees part of the FIFA World Cup final for the first time in history

It is a proud moment for US Soccer as four of their officials are part of the final. The presence of US referees in the final is a result of their excellent officiating in the tournament, and they will be part of the official team for the finals for the first time in history. 

The US had five referees in the team of referees for the Qatar edition. Ismail Elfath, Kyle Atkins, Kathryn Nesbitt, Corey Parker, and Armando Villarreal officiated 35 times in 22 different games in the tournament. Nesbit was part of the six female referees team selected to officiate for the first time in the men’s World Cup. 

Ismail Elfath will be the fourth official for the final. Kyle Atkins will serve as Assistant VAR, and Kathryn Nesbitt and Corey Parker will be Reserve VAR and Reserve AVAR duties, respectively. Elfath served as the main referee for three games and will be officiating for the fourth time. Atkins was an assistant referee with Elfath on those three occasions, and it will be his seventh assignment in the final. 

Parker also worked as assistant referee to Elfath during the three games, whereas Nesbitt was a part of an all-female officiating team for the Costa Rica and Germany games. 

US Soccer will be optimistic for the 2026 edition on home turf

The United States, Canada, and Mexico will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It will be a significant boost for US Soccer to increase the popularity of the sport in the country. FIFA, too, eyes a record revenue from the tournament. 

USMNT, who made it to the knockouts, will look to build on the performance of this World Cup. The team consists of many youngsters playing in Europe with top clubs. It will help them grow as European soccer is very competitive. 

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What remains to be seen is how US Soccer plans for the tournament and looks after the development of the players. Let us know in the comments about the news of four referees from the US officiating in the final.