CONMEBOL
Who is Andrés Matonte, the referee for Colombia - Brazil World Cup qualifiers
The 35-year-old Uruguayan will oversee the match in Barranquilla and willl be accompanied by his compatriots Nicolás Tarán and Martín Soppi.
The Colombian national team face a stern test on Thursday as Brazil are the visitors to the Metropolitano de Barranquilla in the matchday five clash of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. The ‘Cafeteros’ remain undefeated under the stewardship of Néstor Lorenzo having recorded one win and three consecutive draws in the qualifying rounds to date.
For the contest against the five-time world champions, FIFA and Conmebol have appointed Andrés Matonte as the referee with the 35-year-old Uruguayan official having already overseen high profile games at the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco earlier this year.
Matonte will be accompanied by his compatriots Nicolás Tarán and Martín Soppi as assistants and the refereeing team will be completely Uruguayan with fourth referee set to be Mathias De Armas with Leodán González in charge of VAR.
Matonte, first Colombia game
This Uruguayan referee will oversee his second match of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. Earlier in September, he was in charge of overseeing the Paraguay - Peru match which ended tied 0-0 in Ciudad del Este.
Matonte’s highest profile game to date in his career undoubtedly was the 2022 World Cup group stage game between Croatia vs. Canada staged at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium.
Referee team for Colombia vs. Brazil in Barranquilla
Colombia-Brazil: match officials
Referee: Andrés Matonte, Uruguay
Assistant 1: Nicolás Tarán, Uruguay
Assistant 2: Martín Soppi, Uruguay
Fourth Referee: Mathias De Armas, Uruguay
VAR: Leodán Gonzáacute ;lez, Uruguay
VAR Assistant: Richard Trinidad, Uruguay
