The USMNT’s Round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium will be overseen by a man from the country they knocked out of the World Cup in 2010.
FIFA announced Sunday that Algerian Djamel Haimoudi will be the head referee in the Tuesday match in Fortaleza.
Haimoudi is only the second Algerian to officiate a World Cup match and first since Belaid Lacarne in 1982.
It will be the 43-year-old’s third match of the tournament after officiating the Netherlands’ 3-2 win over Australia and the scoreless draw between Costa Rica and England in the group stages.
In the Netherlands-Australia match, Haimoudi showed two yellow cards – to Tim Cahill and Robin van Persie.
In the scrappy England-Costa Rica match, he booked the Three Lions’ Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana and the Ticos’ Giancarlo Gonzalez, all on fouls.
Prior to the World Cup, Haimoudi officiated in three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, in 2008, ’12 and ’13. And in 2013, he was assigned to two matches at the FIFA Confederations Cup. He has also worked the FIFA Club World Cup and U-20 World Cup in 2011.
His assistant referees will be Redouane Achik and Abdelhak Etchiali, while the fourth official will be Norbert Hauata.
