Rwandan referee Salma Mukansanga will take charge of affairs when Portugal takes on debutants Vietnam in Group E of the ongoing 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia on Thursday.
The 35-year-old Mukansanga, who is one of Africa’s best referees, will be the centre referee of the game at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton and will be assisted by Mauritian Queency Victoire as first Assistant referee, Kenya’s Mary Njoroge as a second assistant referee while Anahi Fernandez will be the fourth match official.
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In 2022, Mukansanga became the first woman to officiate in the Africa Cup of Nations when she handled the game between Zimbabwe and Guinea during the tournament held in Cameroon. She was also at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar where she was the fourth referee during the match between France and Australia.
Portugal will be seeking to get their first win in the competition having lost the opener 1-0 against Netherlands, while Vietman also suffered a 3-0 defeat against the USA in their opener.