A Canadian officiating crew got their shot to referee a World Cup knockout game Friday and almost presided over an upset that would have rocked the soccer world.
Calgary’s Drew Fischer called the Round of 32 match between defending World Cup champions Argentina, led by the legendary Lionel Messi, and tiny Cape Verde, led by 40-year-old goalkeeper Josimar Dias, aka @vozinha.
The game appeared to the biggest mismatch of the Round of 32 knockout contests and Argentina took the lead 1-0 on a goal from Messi at the 29 minute mark, the eighth straight World Cup game in which he has scored.
Rather than folding in the second half, Cape Verde fought back in the 59th minute, tying the game on a goal from Deroy Duarte.
Just when it appeared the match was headed for overtime, Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez pulled the defending champs ahead at the 92 minute mark, only to have Sidny Lopez Cabral arc in a shot at the 103 minute mark to tie the score again at 2-2.
With penalty kicks looming, Argentina’s Diney found the back of the Cape Verde net at the 111 minute mark and Cape Verde was unable to come back a third time.
It wasn’t the first time Fischer has officiated a game involving Messi -- Fischer was the head referee last December in the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) championship game featuring Messi’s Miami team and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Fischer was named the MLS Referee of the Year in both 2024 and 2025, and he was also selected as a match official at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He was the only Canadian selected for that event, watched by hundreds of millions of viewers around the globe.
“It’s an awfully long way from doing local park games in Calgary,” said Fischer.
Coaldale, Alberta’s Michael Barwegen was an assistant referee for Friday’s game as well, along with Lyes Arfa, who was born in Moscow, grew up in Algeria and moved to Laval, Quebec when he was 11.
Watch party
Meanwhile, Cavalry FC are hosting an outdoor watch party for the Canada-Morocco Round of 16 game Saturday morning at 11 a.m.
Cavalry FC are in action Saturday but not in Spruce Meadows, where The North American is taking place starting at 9 a.m.
Cavalry are in Ottawa to take on Atletico FC at 2 p.m., with Canada and Morocco starting at 11 a.m. MST.
