American referee Brian Hall will be in the middle for the Italy-Ecuador match (Group G) on June 3 in Sapporo, Japan. Canada's Hector Vergara and Philip Sharp of England will serve as assistant referees in the match. Hall will work as the fourth official for the most anticipated match of the first round: the Argentina-England match on June 7 at Sapporo Dome Stadium. Italy's Pierluigi Collina will referee the match. Hall, the first U.S.-born official ever selected to referee the World Cup, has been a Major League Soccer referee since the league's inception in 1996. He has been a FIFA referee since 1992 and has traveled to 27 countries. The United States has had a referee in the last six World Cups: David Socha – Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986; Vincent Mauro – Italy 1990; Arturo Angeles – USA 1994; Esse Baharmast – France 1998. Only referees for the first 32 matches were announced.