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All attention will be on Inglewood Stadium on Monday night as Iran take on New Zealand in a Group G encounter, with kick-off scheduled for 6 pm local time (2 am UK time).

Iran have endured a challenging preparation period for the World Cup, having to establish their training base in Mexico and travel to the United States for their matches held north of the border.

The team will be keen to focus solely on football when they face New Zealand — and the question on everyone's mind is: who will take charge of the match?

The referee appointed for this crucial tie is the experienced Mexican official Cesar Arturo Ramos, who brings two decades of refereeing experience to the tournament.

Neither Iran nor New Zealand has ever progressed beyond the group stage of a World Cup. New Zealand, in particular, have never won a World Cup match in their history, having lost all three of their fixtures in 1982 and drawn all three games in 2010.

Iran came closest to reaching the knockout rounds in 2018, despite being placed in a tough group alongside Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. The Asian side narrowly missed out by a single point to the Iberian teams.

Ramos, one of FIFA’s most trusted referees, will be officiating his third consecutive World Cup after making his debut in 2018. The 42-year-old has handled several major semi-final fixtures, including at the 2019 Asian Cup, the 2024 Copa America, and most notably, France’s win over Morocco in the 2022 World Cup. He also officiated the 2017 Club World Cup final.

Interestingly, Ramos has never shown a red card in any of his seven World Cup matches so far. However, he was forced to issue three red cards during one Club World Cup match last summer — sending off two Boca Juniors players and one Benfica player in a dramatic 2-2 group stage draw.

Assisting Ramos on the sidelines will be his compatriots Alberto Morin and Marco Bisguerra, both of whom will serve as assistant referees.

Japan’s Yusuke Araki has been designated as the fourth official, while Jun Mihara will act as the reserve official at the venue.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) duties will be handled by another Mexican, Erick Miranda, with additional support from Swiss official Fedayi San and German referee Bastian Dankert.