Bafana Bafana‘s second Group A World Cup clash against Czechia on Thursday, 18 June, will be officiated by US referee Tori Penso, FIFA has confirmed.
Penso will edge her name in the football history books by becoming the first American woman to officiate a men’s FIFA World Cup match.
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The highly anticipated clash will take place at Mercedes-Benz (Atlanta) Stadium with kick-off set for 18:00.
It has been a disastrous start to the global showpiece for South Africa who not only succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in the opener against Mexico four days ago, but the visitors had two players sent off in the clash.
Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane saw red and will miss the must-win tie against the Czechians while Teboho Mokoena and Nkosinathi Sibisi are on the verge of suspension.
Both players picked up respective yellow bookings against El Tri and will miss out the final group game against South Korea should they feature and get booked against Czechia.
The American native will be assisted by fellow Americans Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt, while Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh from New Zealand will serve as the fourth official.
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