World Cup: Norwegian Referee for Portugal-Croatia Clash

The Portugal-Croatia match, scheduled for next Thursday (midnight GMT), will be officiated by 38-year-old Norwegian referee Espen Eskas. The Nordic official will be assisted by his compatriots Jan Erik Engan and Isaak Bashevkin.

The fourth official for the game will be South African Abongile Tom. The video assistant referee (VAR) team is only announced by FIFA 24 hours before the match.

This will be Espen Eskas' second appearance at the World Cup, having previously overseen the 2-2 draw between Uruguay and Cape Verde in the second round of the group stage.