Who is the referee for USMNT - Canada in the September internationals?

The United States Men’s National Team begin a new era on Saturday, taking on Canada in their first fixture since the summer’s disappointing Copa América showing.

Former head coach Gregg Berhalter was dismissed after the group stage elimination and former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea boss Maurcio Pochettino is hotly-tipped to take over. Pochettino is not able to officially lead the team for Saturday’s visit of Canada, meaning former assistant Mikey Varas will serve as interim head coach.

The game at Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City will be overseen by a quartet of Costa Rican officials. Keylor Antonio Herrera Villalobis is the referee for the match, while William Uriel Chow Barrios and Victor Fabian Ramirez Fonseca are his two assistants. The fourth official for the game is Felix Daniel Mojica Gutierrez.

Who is Keylor Herrera, the referee for USMNT - Canada?

The 31-year-old referee will take charge of the international friendly between the United States and Canada. He was born in Alajuela, Costa Rica and has been refereeing as a professional since the 2012/13 season, at which point he was just 20 years old.

He refereed a handful of games in Primera División, the top flight of Costa Rican soccer, in that season and has gone on to become one of the most respected referees in that competition.

Related stories

USMNT

A key day for the USMNT as Pochettino edges closer

USMNT

Marsch goes in on USMNT squad attitude

In 2018 he was called up to officiate international teams for the first time, overseeing games at the Under-20s CONCACAF Championship that year. Then, in 2019, he was put in charge of games at the senior Gold Cup and the CONCACAF Nations League.

In recent years Herrera has been named as the referee for Leagues Cup matches, overseeing games in this year’s edition of the MLS-Liga MX tournament. He was in charge for New York City FC’s Round of 16 win over Mexican giants Tigres UANL. Herrera was also the man in the middle for Colorado Rapids’ shock quarter-final win against Club América, a game that was decided on penalty shootout.