Vincic referee assigned for Israel vs. Italy, 2026 World Cup qualifier

Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic will officiate the 2026 World Cup qualifier between Italy and Israel, while the VAR team is German.

It kicks off at the Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen on Monday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).

This fixture counts as an Israeli home match, but is being played on neutral turf in Hungary due to the lack of safety guarantees.

UEFA have assigned Slovenian referee Vincic to the game, assisted by fellow countrymen Tomaz Klancnik and Andraz Kovacic, with David Smajc as the fourth official.

However, the VAR team is German, represented by Christian Dingert and Sascha Stegemann.

Italy have awful recent record with Vincic

Vincic is a veteran referee, who will celebrate his 46^th birthday in November and has been at FIFA level since 2010.

His career highlights were the 2022 Europa League Final and the 2024 Champions League Final.

The record with Italy is very mixed, overseeing three wins and three defeats, but zero stalemates.

Curiously, the first three matches were all wins, followed by three consecutive losses.

They were 2-1 to Spain in the 2023 Nations League semi-final, 1-0 to Spain in EURO 2024, and a 3-1 Nations League home defeat to France in November 2024.

Israel are unbeaten with Vincic, drawing both their fixtures 1-1 with Scotland in 2020 and Belgium in 2023.