The final between Argentina and Morocco of the U-20 World Cup already has a referee: an Italian with a reputation for being very strict.

Everything is ready for the grand final of the U-20 World Cup. The date, time, stadium, and teams were already confirmed, while the only thing left to be decided was the referee. And that last item was crossed out this Thursday, when it was announced who will be in charge of officiating the match that will determine whether the Albiceleste manages to claim its seventh trophy in this competition.

Argentina and Morocco will face each other this Sunday, October 19, starting at 8:00 PM at the Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium in Santiago, Chile. Diego Placente's team is coming off a 1-0 victory over Colombia , while the African team advanced after eliminating France on penalties and will be playing in its first-ever final.

A more than convening match, the referee has already been selected. It will be Maurizio Mariani, a 43-year-old Italian referee currently working in his country's first division, Serie A.

Mariani has been managing at the highest level since 2013, and has since participated in competitions such as the Italian Serie A, the Champions League, the Europa League, the Nations League, the European Qualifiers, and even the Copa América. However , he has never managed the Argentine national team in senior matches.

However, he has a recent precedent with the Placente team: Mariano coached the national team in their 4-0 win over Nigeria in the round of 16. In that match, the Italian referee went completely unnoticed, with no controversy or plays discussed by players on either team.

The Italian officiated in two finals, both in the 2024/25 season. The Coppa Italia final, in Bologna's 1-0 victory over Milan, and the King's Cup in Saudi Arabia, in which Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Qadsiah 3-1.

Mariani, however, is known for being a "card-carrying" referee, especially when it comes to issuing yellow cards. In his 331 matches since 2009, when he started in Serie C, the Roman has handed out 1,535 cautions, an average of 4.6 yellow cards per game. He's not as fond of red cards: he only showed 106, an average of one every three games . In this U-20 World Cup, he officiated three matches, with 11 cautions and no expulsions.

The Italian referee will be accompanied by two compatriots as assistants: Daniele Brindoni (A1) and Alberto Tegoni (A2) . Two Americans will complete the team: Joe Dickerson as fourth referee and Logan Brown as fifth official.

The decisive match will be broadcast live on DSports and Telefe . And of course, you'll also be able to follow the minute-by-minute coverage on Clarín.

The Argentine national team will be searching for its seventh young star in a packed stadium, as official tickets are no longer available. This can be seen on the ticketplus portal, through which FIFA put tickets for the entire event on sale. When trying to obtain tickets for the grand final, the screen displays the message "Sold Out."