Australia and Egypt will battle for a place in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16, and FIFA has appointed an experienced South American officiating team for the Round of 32 game.
The match will be played at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium) on July 3. One of these will be making history today since neither Australia nor Egypt has ever won a knockout-stage match at a FIFA World Cup.
Australia vs. Egypt will also be Tejera's first-ever FIFA World Cup knockout-stage assignment, after his group-stage appointment earlier in the tournament (Mexico vs South Korea).
Who Is Gustavo Tejera? Referee for Australia vs. Egypt
The 38-year-old Uruguayan was born in Montevideo on January 20, 1988, and has been a FIFA-listed international referee since 2018. Away from football, Tejera also works as an insurance broker.
Since making his debut in Uruguay's top division in 2015, Tejera has become one of CONMEBOL's most respected referees.
He has regularly officiated matches in the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers, while also taking charge of several prestigious Peñarol vs. Nacional Clásicos, including the 2025 Uruguayan championship final.
Refereeing Style and Disciplinary Profile
Tejera is known for his strict, disciplined approach and typically establishes control early by penalizing reckless challenges and player dissent.
- Average yellow cards: more than 5.09 per match.
- Average red cards: around 0.11 per match.
Interestingly, despite his reputation as one of South America's strictest referees, Tejera adopted a much more lenient approach during his first match at the World Cup, showing just two yellow cards.
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Full Referee Team for Australia vs. Egypt
FIFA has confirmed the complete officiating crew for the July 3 match:
- Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)
- Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Barreiro (Uruguay)
- Assistant Referee 2: Nicolás Tarán (Uruguay)
- Fourth Official: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)
- Reserve Assistant Referee: Stéphane De Almeida (Switzerland)
