It could just be a glitch in the Matrix, or a “Sorcery of Time” moment, in which the same day is repeated with some frequency, but it’s just another pleasant coincidence in football: it wasn’t enough to repeat the confrontation between Brazil and Serbia in the Cup groups, as in 2018, the duel will also have the same judge.
The Iranian Alireza Faghani, 44, will whistle the debut of the selection, this Thursday (24), against the Serbs. The difference (which means nothing) is that in the 2018 clash the Europeans were the bosses: Serbia x Brazil.
But on the field things tend to be different, at least in the name of the protagonists. On that occasion, Brazil won 2-0 with goals from Paulinho (not called up) and Thiago Silva. According to Folha’s report for the match, Philippe Coutinho was one of the highlights (also not called up).
The only mention of the referee in the 2018 report was precisely in Brazil’s second goal. The Serbs called for a free kick by Miranda on Mitrovic. It wasn’t tagged.
Faghani also refereed the Olympic final in Rio, between Brazil and Germany, in which the team won its first gold medal on penalties.
The rest of the refereeing trio will also be Iranian, with Mohammadreza Mansouri and his namesake Mohammadreza Abolfazli as assistants. VAR will be led by Qatari Abdulla Al-Marri.
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