England will reach the World Cup final if they beat Argentina in the semi-final on Wednesday, but they face a huge battle with their old rivals in Atlanta16:39, 14 Jul 2026Alan Shearer has raised doubts over England vs Argentina referee Ismail Elfath as he believes semi-final officiating could cost the Three Lions a World Cup final place. Thomas Tuchel's side are looking to become just the second England side to reach the prestigious tournament showpiece, which will be held in New York on July 19.‌Moroccan-born American Elfath has been handed the responsibility of the semi-final between the two nations. The defending champions, led by superstar Lionel Messi, are looking to continue their path to retaining the World Cup, while England hope to join France or Spain in the final.‌Shearer has raised concerns over the use of the video assistant referee technology and fears that it could play a huge, and detrimental, role in the semi-final in Atlanta.‌He told Betfair: "I'm slightly concerned that a refereeing decision or VAR could cost us against Argentina because I think the narrative from the referees and the VAR from the start of the tournament to now has changed massively."I did that France game when Mbappé was fouled and the ref went to the screen, was told to go to the screen and he stuck with his decision when I thought it was a clear penalty. And that has totally changed over the last 10 days, two weeks, the longer the tournament's gone on.Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now!‌"And I have been amazed at some of the decisions that Argentina have had, particularly that one against Egypt where their Egyptian goal was pulled back and cancelled out. I thought that was nonsense. It is a bit of a concern when playing them."The 44-year-old will take charge of his fourth match at this summer's tournament after taking charge of Holland vs Japan, Spain's narrow win over Uruguay in the Group Stage and Brazil's exit at the hands of Erling Haaland's Norway. He has issued seven yellow cards, one red card and two penalties so far.Messi has won in each of the games that Elfath have been involved in, including the 2022 World Cup final where the Argentinian great completed his list of accolades as the 44-year-old was the fourth official in Qatar.‌It will be his first ever meeting with the Three Lions on the international stage during his illustrious career. While the two nations meet for the first time since England's 1-0 win during the 2002 World Cup.The two nations have a history when it comes to on and off the pitch, with the fixtures not without incident. Diego Maradona's infamous Hand of God came against the Three Lions during the 1986 World Cup while David Beckham was sent off for a kick on Diego Simeone during the 1998 World Cup.Article continues belowVAR came to Norway's rescue during the quarter-final as Djed Spence's penalty claim was overturned by French referee Clement Turpin as it was deemed that the Tottenham Hotspur full-back had initiated contact to go down in the penalty area.Nor Michael Oliver, Anthony Taylor or Facundo Tello can take part in matches involving the countries due to the political rivalry, in part because of the Falklands War in 1982, leading to an American line-up of officials and assistant referees, while Maurizio Mariani and Daniele Bindoni, both from Italy, are the fourth official and reserve assistant referee, respectively.Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.