Norway heads into this match undefeated against Senegal, expecting a physical battle against the African side. To make things even spicier, the referee will be Wilton Sampaio, who has already sent off three players in his limited action at the 2026 World Cup.
He’s a tough referee for a match where Norway really needs a win rather than a draw or a loss against a Senegal team hungry for victory. Sampaio refereed the Mexico vs. South Africa match, where he handed out three yellow cards and three red cards.
That first match was quite a handful for Sampaio, but he managed to control it in the end, preventing either team from picking up too many red cards and forcing a forfeit. He averages a high 4.7 yellow cards per game, so both teams should expect to be booked if they don’t show some mutual respect.
An experienced referee for a grueling World Cup match
This will likely be one of the toughest matches of the day in a group stage that is already moving into the second round, where several teams have already been eliminated. Sampaio’s 184 matches of experience should be more than enough to keep any situation under control in this Group I clash.
Wilton Sampaio during the South Africa vs Mexico game (Getty Images)
Sampaio had to referee his first World Cup match in a massive environment like the Estadio Azteca in front of 80,824 fans, most of them backing Mexico. Now, he’ll be working in another pressure cooker for the Norway vs. Senegal match, in a stadium with almost the exact same capacity.
Sampaio’s stats in his first World Cup match
Aside from the red cards he handed out, Sampaio’s first match also saw a total of 23 fouls and 26 tackles. But despite the rain of cards and fouls, there wasn’t a single penalty called. He also whistled just two offsides in what was an intense, end-to-end match.
It’s worth noting that Sampaio was also at the 2022 World Cup, where he worked just four matches, never showed a single red card, and averaged 3.5 yellow cards during the tournament. Back then, he also refereed a match where Senegal lost 2-0 to the Netherlands.
