Szymon Marciniak will be the referee for the FIFA World Cup 2022 clash between France and Argentina at Lusail Stadium on Sunday, December 18. He will play a key role in the on-pitch decisions that will lead to the crowning of the 2022 World Cup winners. 

Two superstars of world football, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe – clubmates at the French club Paris Saint Germain, will lock horns on football’s biggest stage. While Mbappe has already won the cup in 2018 and will look to defend it against Argentina, Lionel Messi will hope to finally add it to his illustrious trophy cabinet.

Also read: FIFA World Cup 2022 Argentina vs France: Head-to-head, stats, predicted lineups, formations

Who is Szymon Marciniak?

Szymon Marciniak was born on January 7, 1981, in Plock, Poland. He started as a football referee at the young age of 21 at the amateur level.

He took the professional turn in 2008, debuting in the Polish top division Klasa a year later at the GKS Belchatow stadium. Since then, Marciniak has refereed over 200 matches in Poland, including the 2016 Polish Cup final and the 2017 Polish SuperCup final.

Also read: France can become the third nation to lift two consecutive FIFA World Cups. Who are the other two?

He became a FIFA-accredited referee in 2011 and in the same year, he made his European debut as a referee in the UEFA Europa League match between Aalesunds FK and Ferencvárosi TC. He refereed in the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2012 in a match between FK Ventspils and Molde F.

At the international level, his first match was the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final between Portugal and Sweden. He took charge of three matches in the UEFA Euro 2016. Two of them were in the group stages while the other one was in the knockouts. He also officiated multiple group-stage matches in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.