Lionel Messi's lucky omen? England's World Cup semi-final referee has overseen a string of wins for Argentina icon

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American official Ismail Elfath has been appointed to take charge of Wednesday’s match in Atlanta, having been fourth official when Argentina beat France on penalties to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Moroccan-born American, who will be assisted by compatriots Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins, will take charge of his fourth game at this year's World Cup - and his first refereeing either England or Argentina this summer.

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The fourth official will be Italian Maurizio Mariani.Elfath was the fourth official in Qatar when Argentina beat France to win the 2022 World Cup and his encounters with Messi have increased since the forward signed for MLS outfit Inter Miami in July 2023.

Elfath was the referee when Messi’s Inter Miami team won the 2023 Leagues Cup, and has also overseen three Major League Soccer regular season wins that Messi has featured in.

The 44-year-old’s most recent involvement at the World Cup was as referee of the last-16 tie between Brazil and Norway.

He was also in charge for the Japan v Netherlands and Spain v Uruguay matches in the group phase.

Messi and Argentina have faced scrutiny throughout this World Cup so far with allegations of refereeing bias in their favour.

The latest incident came on Saturday when Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji claimed everything was 'against us' after their 3-1 quarter-final exit in extra-time.

Switzerland's players and manager were incensed after Embolo became the first player to be sent off as a result of a new rule for mistaken identity.