The upcoming Brazil vs Japan encounter will be officiated by Italian referee Maurizio Mariani.

Co-hosts Canada kicked off the round of 32 with a hard-earned 1-0 win over South Africa, thanks to a stoppage-time strike from Stephen Eustaquio on Sunday.

Over the next five days, 15 more teams will join Jesse Marsch’s squad in the next round, starting with either Brazil or Japan, who will meet in Houston on Monday.

This South America versus Asia fixture marks the first of three matches scheduled for Monday. Germany will face Paraguay in Boston, followed by the Netherlands taking on Morocco in Monterrey.

Brazil topped Group C after securing two wins and one draw. They now face a Japanese side that also remained unbeaten in the group stage, holding both the Netherlands and Sweden to draws while cruising past Tunisia 4-0 to finish second in Group F.

Overseeing this key contest will be referee Maurizio Mariani.

This will be the Italian official’s third appearance of the tournament. Earlier, he was in charge of Uruguay’s 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in Group H, and Colombia’s narrow 1-0 victory over DR Congo.

The 44-year-old referee is yet to issue a red card in this competition and has shown only four yellow cards across his two matches so far.

Mariani recently took charge of the UEFA Conference League final featuring Crystal Palace and Rayo Vallecano last month.

He will be supported by fellow Italians Daniele Bindoni and Alberto Tegoni as assistant referees at the NRG Stadium in Houston.

Switzerland’s Sando Schaerer will serve as the fourth official, while Stephane De Almeida will act as the reserve referee.

Details regarding the VAR team had not been confirmed at the time of reporting.