Stephanie Frappart to become first woman to referee in men's World Cup

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Stephanie Frappart to become first woman to referee in men's World Cup

Stephanie Frappart will become the first woman to referee a game at a men's World Cup when she takes charge of Germany's group stage clash with Costa Rica on Thursday.

She has been used as a fourth official so far at the 2022 tournament so far and will make history when she takes on full refereeing duties in the Group E encounter at Al Bayt Stadium.

Frappart will be assisted by Brazilian Neuza Back and Karen Diaz Medina of Mexico to form an all-female officiating team - another men's World Cup first. Kathryn Nesbitt will serve as the offside specialist among the VAR team.

38-year-old Frappart boasts experience in the Champions League and European World Cup qualifiers, while she also officiated the 2022 Coupe de France final and 2019 women's World Cup final.

Thursday's match will have huge bearings on which teams qualify from Group E. Costa Rica and Germany currently sit third and fourth respectively.

Costa Rica need to better Japan's result against Spain in the group's other game in order to reach the last 16, while Hansi Flick's side need a win to stand any chance of qualifying.

If Germany fail to get the three points, then they will have been eliminated at the group stage for two tournaments running for the first time in their history.