Day 22: Topics covered in today's debrief were Pushing, Holding, Game Management and Video Support. Eighteen clips from the three matches played last night. Following the debriefing, Chris had his pre-match meeting with his referee team for the evening match. The match was again another spectacular match, with Spain outclassing the Czech Republic 5-2 with a display of tactical and technical knowledge and ability.

Day 23: Today is the official rest day between the Round of 16 and the commencement of the quarter-finals stage. However, for us, today has been a pretty full-on and busy day. After our regular early morning run, we were straight into our weight control session and to top it all off, we had our 48-hour PCR test before breakfast. Today is also the day that some of our referee colleagues are released from the competition. We were informed of our selection during our personal meetings, and both of us have been retained and will stay till the end of the competition. Appointments were then given for all of the four quarter-final matches. Both of us have been appointed to officiate Quarter-Final No.2, RFU vs Argentina in Kaunas as referees 1 and 2. The afternoon rolled around pretty quickly, and we were down at the training stadium for match preparation, and on our return, we all got together for an official dinner in the hotel and a special farewell for us to say goodbye and thank you to our referee colleagues who are departing.

Day 24: Gameday for us, and it began the same as it always has. Jog in the morning, breakfast and then into the debrief. Following the debrief covering Match Day 12 games, both of us got together with our team to go through tonight's match preparation, cover off all the roles and responsibilities, and be ready for one of the biggest matches so far. This quarter-final match between RFU and ARG was always shaping up to be an absolute cracker, with the two teams competed against each other in the World Cup Final in Columbia in 2016. Knowing the match would be fast, physical, and one of the strongest matches so far in this competition, we needed to be prepared and ready for everything. The moment the whistle blew for the kick-off, we got exactly what we planned and prepared for. The entire duration of the match was highly contested by both teams and played at a high intensity, especially in the first 10 minutes of the game, where player and game management was crucial for us to control and maintain. After 2 hours and 40 minutes, the match was complete, and Argentina came out victorious, winning 5-4 on penalties. In the changing room after the game, both of us reflected on the match. We could not think of previous similar matches that required complete concentration focus and the strongest officiating to navigate the match.

Day 25: Debrief today had several clips from our match. With the nature and intensity of the competition, there is always an opportunity for learning to be more visible, and we were complimented with several positive clips around Player and Game Management, Challenges in the Influence and Action areas, Holding and Video Support. Overall, a good debrief and messages from the instructors left us feeling that we positively contributed to a tough match, which was decided by the two teams. The afternoon was an active recovery session for us both, and then we went to the stadium to watch another QF match between Iran and Kazakhstan.

Day 26: Today is another official rest day of the competition between the Quarter Finals and Semi-Finals. An excellent opportunity for us to get a training session in and spend some time as a referee team.

Day 27: A PCR test kick starts the day, and of course, both Antony and I continued our morning training session before breakfast. Debriefing today covered the last of the Quarter Final matches, and Massimo and Pierluigi commented on the performances of all match officials from the previous games and then turned our attention to the semi-finals that start tonight and final matches at the end of the week. Following the debrief, we were down at the training stadium for a High HR session. We all supported our referee colleagues and watched the first semi-final match between Brazil and Argentina in Kaunas to finish the day.

Day 28: With only one match played last night, the debriefing was structured around topics such as Game Management, Video Support, Disciplinary Sanctions, Team Work and Movement and Positioning. Analyzing these topics more in-depth to generate more substantial learning outcomes and support those referees for future matches in the competition. Before our lunch, it was back down to the training stadium for another blast and then later in the evening, we all went to watch the second semi-final match between Portugal and Kazakhstan in Kaunas.

Day 29: First of two rest days for us between the semi-finals and the last competition day, which will host the 3rd/4th Playoff and the Final. For those who have been following, it’s been 48 hours since our last one, which means today began with the good old PCR test. Honestly, by now, you would have thought we would all be getting used to them. However, they still wake you up in the morning. The semi-final match played last night was an absolute nail bitter, with Portugal edging Kazakhstan 4-3 on penalties. This led to another informative debriefing with several clips to evaluate and learn from. With the two most important matches in the competition yet to come, Pierluigi and Massimo made it very clear to us all that we needed to be focused and concentrate until the conclusion of the final match. Our instructors Pedro and Massimo, and our assessors reinforced this message. The appointments were announced for the 3rd/4th Play-Off Match and the Final to conclude the debriefing. I can inform you all that OFC and NZF will be represented in the Final match as Chris has been appointed as 3rd Referee. For Chris, this is an honour and a thoroughly deserved appointment. This will be his second consecutive appointment to a World Cup final after being Reserve Assistant Referee in Columbia 2016.

Article added: Monday 04 October 2021