The referee for Turkiye‘s final 2026 World Cup match against the USA will be Mustapha Ghorbal. While he has limited overall experience, he has already worked four matches in FIFA’s flagship tournament, where the United States has already qualified for the next round. Therefore, a win, tie or loss won’t change much for the USA today.
Ghorbal has refereed just 21 matches in his career, but he was part of the 2022 World Cup crew. In the current 2026 edition, he handled the Scotland-Haiti match, where he handed out four yellow cards in a game disrupted by 44 fouls.
This game offers a rematch of a June 2025 international friendly where Turkiye edged the United States 2-1, a game that saw early goals from Arda Guler and Kerem Akturkoglu before a late physical battle unfolded. Ghorbal will be wearing turqouise today as the USA and Turkiye uniforms are also set.
Mustapha Ghorbal stats ahead of the game
His stats show an official who isn’t afraid to blow the whistle to protect players, but he typically avoids premature red cards, preferring to establish boundaries early using verbal warnings and targeted cautions.
Mustapha Ghorbal (Getty Images)
Overall, Ghorbal averages 3.05 yellow cards and 0.1 red cards per match. He is the type of referee who refuses to let violence escalate on the pitch, and he is expected to run a tight ship with both Turkish and American players.
Tactical impact: fighting for control
The USMNT will need to maintain defensive discipline, particularly given their tendency to drop into a tighter, heavy-fouling shape when under pressure. During their previous friendly against Turkyie, late-match frustration resulted in quick yellow cards as they struggled to slow down Turkey’s dynamic counter-attack.
