Group D’s opening encounter will take place this evening, featuring USA and Paraguay at the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles.

As one of the tournament’s co-hosts, the USA will be eager to begin their World Cup campaign with a strong performance against Paraguay, especially after their 2-1 victory in a friendly match in November 2025.

Paraguay enter this fixture in slightly better form, having secured three wins from their last five games, while the USA have managed two victories in the same period. The key question now is — who will officiate this crucial opener?

Danny Makkelie has been appointed as the referee for tonight’s Group D clash between USA and Paraguay.

Assisting the Dutch official will be his compatriots Hessel Steegstra and Jan De Vries, while Japan’s Yusuke Araki will serve as the fourth official for the match.

Makkelie, a seasoned referee from the Netherlands, will oversee proceedings at the Los Angeles Stadium. He brings valuable experience from the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where Argentina ultimately triumphed over France in the final.

During the 2022 edition, Makkelie officiated two group stage fixtures, including Argentina’s 2-0 victory against Poland — a match that featured the eventual champions. He was also in charge of the Spain vs Germany encounter in Group E, which ended in a 1-1 draw with goals from Alvaro Morata and Niclas Fullkrug.

In that same tournament, Lionel Messi scored four penalties on his way to leading Argentina to the title, including a 23rd-minute spot-kick in the final against France. He registered a total of 10 goal involvements in Qatar, matching Kylian Mbappe for the most contributions in the competition.

Interestingly, Makkelie was also part of Messi’s path to glory — he awarded Argentina a penalty against Poland, which Messi missed in the 39th minute. That match marked the only occasion during the 2022 World Cup when Messi failed to register a goal or assist.

Across his two group stage appearances in 2022, Makkelie issued six yellow cards. He had previously officiated a USA men’s national team fixture in 2015, a friendly against Germany that ended 2-1 in favour of the Americans.