Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs, who has limited 2026 World Cup experience but has managed his games smoothly so far, will be in charge of keeping things under control when Argentina faces Jordan in this Match 70.
In a surprising World Cup debut, Kovacs didn’t issue a single yellow card during the Tunisia-Japan match. Despite 23 fouls and 36 tackles, he managed to keep his cards in his pocket.
With Argentina already having secured a spot in the knockout stage, they likely won’t risk turning this into an overly physical match against Jordan. This should make Kovacs’ job much easier, meaning we probably won’t see many cards.
Kovacs’ track record
Kovacs averages 5.08 yellow cards and just 0.12 red cards over his career, but he has yet to book anyone at this World Cup. Given that Jordan has already been eliminated from the tournament, they shouldn’t give the referee too much trouble.
Between February and April 2026, Kovacs handed out four red cards, but those all came in club competitions like the UEFA Champions League rather than international matches.
Argentina enters Match 70 with only two yellow cards, despite playing a physical brand of soccer to protect the midfield. Meanwhile, Jordan has picked up just one yellow card, which came in their second group stage match.
