Italy vs France referee: Who is Six Nations official Karl Dickson?
The former professional player ended a long top-level career in 2017 having narrowly missed out on an England cap.
Younger brother Lee, also a scrum half, appeared 18 times for his country between 2012 and 2014.
While he may not have reached the international level as a player, the elder Dickson sibling has rapidly risen through the refereeing ranks after starting his officiating journey while still playing for Harlequins.
He joined the Rugby Football Union's Professional Game Match Officials Team (PGMOT) on retirement, and three years later made the step up to Test level.
A Six Nations debut arrived last year and made the cut for a first World Cup in the autumn of 2023 as one of four English referees.
Dickson refereed a number of pool matches at the tournament, before being pressed into emergency duties during the first quarter-final between Wales and Argentina.
Having been appointed as an assistant, Jaco Peyper's Achilles injury meant that the 41-year-old was forced to take over as referee, overseeing the Pumas narrow victory.
An appointment as one of Wayne Barnes's assistants for the final followed as part of an all-English officiating team.
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He will be 40 by the time of the 2026 World Cup, and as captain of Croatia, he looks set to lead his team at the finals. Boasting a record of finishing second and third respectively at the previous two World Cups, it seems ludicrous to see Croatia priced at 66/1 to win the 2026 edition with bet365. Yes, they were poor at Euro 2024, exiting the competition in the group stages. But they were in a tough group with eventual winners Spain, Italy and a competitive Albania. The Croatians have proven time and again that you underestimate them at your peril. They are not the best team in the world, but they are very competitive and well able to take advantage of any opportunities that come their way. Morocco Morocco broke new ground in 2022 when they became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. Their heroic run came to an end with a 2-0 defeat to France in the last four, and they also narrowly missed out on a bronze medal after they lost 2-1 to Croatia in the third place play-off. Could the Moroccans' run to the last four be the beginning of a new three-continent battle for world supremacy? For years we were used to South American dominance, and in more recent times it has been Europe that has set the benchmark - any African team that did well in the competition was seen as a plucky underdog that was over achieving. But the landscape is now changing. The continent of Africa now boasts some of the best players on the planet. Just think of names like Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane - all have played significant roles in winning the Premier League in recent years. Morocco's most notable player is marauding PSG right back Achraf Hakimi, a Champions League winner widely regarded as one of the best attacking full backs in world football. Hakimi captains a team that includes the likes of Noussair Mazraoui, Hakim Ziyech, Youssef En-Nesyri and Munir El Haddadi. They are 100/1 with bet365 in the current World Cup 2026 winner odds - the shortest price of all the African teams. Norway With Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland in their ranks, Norway are on course to qualify for their first World Cup finals since 1998. The Norwegians sit top of qualifying Group I and look certain for a place in the playoffs at the very least. However, head coach Ståle Solbakken will have higher expectations than a playoff place. After his team's impressive start to the qualifying campaign, he will be targeting automatic qualification. Norway has already beaten Italy 3-0 at home, and with Israel, Estonia and Moldova also in the group, Solbakken will know that his team's away fixture in Italy on the final matchday in November is likely to decide who tops the table. Furthermore, with Italy also having failed to reach the 2022 World Cup, it will be the Azzurri that are likely to be the team under the biggest pressure when they meet. Despite being in the ascendancy, Betway makes Norway 33/1 to win the World Cup, with Italy having shorter odds at 28/1. 🏟️ World Cup 2026 odds - the host nations As co-hosts, USA, Canada and Mexico have automatically qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. All three nations have been steadily building towards the competition. They all took part in the 2024 Copa America, and they have all recently competed in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, won by Mexico. If the Gold Cup final is to be used as a marker to assess the preparations of the three co-hosts, Mexico looks to be the team in the best shape. Goals from Raúl Jiménez and Edson Álvarez led El Tri to a 2-1 win over Gold Cup co-hosts USA in the final. However, there is now a lack of competitive football for all three nations for the remaining months until the start of the World Cup, This gives their respective head coaches plenty of time to play around with formations and try out different players, but it could also see them enter the competition at a slight disadvantage to some of their more battle hardened opponents. Despite a string of underwhelming performances under former Spurs and Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, Betfred say the USA has the best chance of success out of the three host nations. The USMNT is 40/1 in the latest World Cup winner odds, with Mexico at 50/1 and Canada at 100/1. World Cup 2026 odds - tournament debutants You don't often hear Jordan and Uzbekistan brought up in conversation alongside Brazil and Argentina when talking about football. But with all four nations already qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals, they've earned the right to sit at the same table as the sport's biggest names. Qualification for the finals is a first for both. Jordan sealed their place by finishing second to South Korea in Group B of the third round of AFC qualifying. A 3-0 win over Oman on Matchday 9 saw them qualify with a match to spare. Despite breaking new ground, the bookmakers aren't giving the first time qualifiers any chance of success in North America. Betway have priced Jordan up at a huge 1500/1 to win the competition. Uzbekistan also booked their place as one of six teams to - so far - qualify from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). They were runners-up to Iran in Group C with 21 points, qualifying comfortably for their first World Cup since becoming an independent nation in 1991. The Uzbeks are also 1500/1 with Betway. Even given the extended tournament, the chances are that neither nation will make it to the knockout stages. The new World Cup format The 2026 FIFA World Cup will break new ground for a number of reasons. Not only will it be the first World Cup to ever be tri hosted, it will also be the first time the competition will be played under the new format. A total of 48 teams will contest the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. This is an extension on the 32-team format that has been in use since 1998. The 48 teams will play in 12 groups of four. The top two of each group automatically qualify for the knockout stages, along with the eight best third placed teams. All will go into the Round of 32, where the competition becomes a straight knockout. The competing 48 nations all come from the six FIFA confederations. UEFA has been allocated 16 places, with CAF receiving nine, AFC eight, CONMEBOL six, CONCACAF six and OFC just the one. The final two places will be filled by the two winners of the inter-confederation play-offs held in March 2026, with five confederations represented in the six-nation mini competition. World Cup 2026 betting markets As the 2026 FIFA World Cup draws closer, more and more markets will become available. At the moment, the only market most bookmakers are offering is for the outright winner. This is because the 48 teams are yet to be confirmed, and obviously, the draw is yet to be made. When the draw for the competition is complete, you can expect to find the following markets available to bet on: Stage of elimination This is a wager on when you think a nation will be eliminated from the FIFA World Cup. For example, you may think England will match their performance in 2018 and reach the semi-final, so you bet on the Three Lions to be eliminated at the semi-final stage. You may also feel that the Germans will get knocked out in the group stages again like they did in 2018 and 2022. Again, you can place a wager on this. Group winners This is simply a bet on which nation will win their group. If Brazil are drawn in Group A, you can back them to win the group. The downside to this wager is that the odds wouldn't be great on such an outcome. To qualify from the group This is a great alternative bet to wagering on who will win the group. Betting on this market gives you three possible winners with the top two qualifying, and eight of the best third placed teams also getting through to the Round of 32. The reason it can be a good value bet is because it offers you the chance to bet on the group outsiders to get through to the next round. So you may think that a smaller footballing nation like Jordan can qualify from their group, a wager that would almost certainly offer good value odds. Top scorer A bet on who will score the most goals at the FIFA World Cup. Harry Kane won the award in 2018 with six goals, and Kylian Mbappé won it in 2022 with eight goals. Always check the dead heat rules in this market, as it can vary from bookie to bookie. Some pay out at half the odds if there are two winners, while some may offer assists as a tiebreaker. There is no universal format for dead heats. How teams qualify for World Cup 2026 With the 2026 World Cup expanded from 32 nations to 48, there are 16 new qualifying places up for grabs. Below, we break down how many teams qualify from each confederation for the World Cup in its new format: Europe Europe will be the highest represented continent at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with 16 nations qualifying from UEFA. The UEFA nations are broken down into 12 groups, with each group winner claiming a spot at the World Cup during Stage 1 of qualifying. The other four places are made up from Stage 2. The 12 group runners-up, along with the four best Nations League group winners who don't qualify automatically through Stage 1, will compete for the four places. The 16 nations will play off through four pathways consisting of four teams each. Straight knockouts will decide the four winners. After 13 UEFA nations took part at Qatar in 2022, the confederation gained three extra places for 2026. North America The North, Central American and Caribbean section (CONCACAF) have six places at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Three of the places have already gone, with hosts USA, Canada and Mexico automatically qualifying. CONCACAF had three automatic places at the 2022 finals (claimed by the USA, Canada and Mexico), with Costa Rica qualifying through the inter-confederation play-offs. Along with the three remaining places up for grabs this time, CONCACAF also has two spaces reserved at the inter-confederation play-offs, potentially doubling their allocated number of teams from the four that took part in 2022. South America The South American CONMEBOL qualifying section sees ten teams play a round-robin group, with the top six automatically qualifying for the finals, and the seventh placed team going into the inter-confederation play-offs. Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil have already secured their places, with Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia favourites to join them in the top six automatic qualifying places. The CONMEBOL section had four automatic qualifiers in 2022, with one nation entering the playoffs - meaning they are benefitting by receiving two extra places in 2026. Africa The African CAF section will have a minimum of nine qualifiers at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 54 teams entered the qualifying process in nine groups of six, with all nine group winners gaining automatic qualification. The likes of Egypt and Morocco look well placed to qualify, meaning we should get to see Mohamed Salah and Achraf Hakimi performing at the competition. The four best runners up will enter a CAF playoff, with the winner advancing to the FIFA inter-confederation play-offs for the final two places in the World Cup. CAF's nine automatic qualifiers is a huge increase on the five teams that played in the 2022 edition. Asia The Asian (AFC) section will have eight automatic qualifiers and one nation entered into the inter-confederation play-offs. Already qualified are Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Japan and Australia. There are more playoffs set to take place to decide who the final two automatic qualifiers will be and who will bag the playoff spot. The AFC was represented by five nations in the 2022 World Cup, so it has also hugely benefitted from the extended format. Oceania With many of FIFA's lowest ranked nations in Oceania, the confederation is only receiving one automatic qualification place for the 2026 World Cup. New Zealand have already secured that berth, with New Caledonia qualifying to play in the inter-confederation play-offs. Previously, the winner of the Oceania section only qualified for the inter-confederation play-offs. As New Zealand lost in the final of their inter-confederation playoff at the previous World Cup, Oceania wasn't represented in Qatar. The Kiwis have taken full advantage of the one automatic qualification spot this time around by reaching their first World Cup finals since 2010 and only the third in their history. Play-Off Tournament Six teams from five confederations will fight it out for the final two places at the 2026 World Cup in the inter-confederation play-offs. CONCACAF will have two of the six places, with AFC, CONMEBOL, CAF and Oceania all having one representative each. With 16 places already allocated, UEFA is not involved in this section of qualifying. Where the World Cup 2026 will be played The 2026 FIFA World Cup will see a total of 104 matches played across 16 venues in the USA, Canada and Mexico. As the main hosts, the bulk of the games will take place in the USA's 11 host cities, with Canada hosting matches in two cities and Mexico in three. In order to regulate times for viewers across the world, cut down on travel at the competition and also help players and fans acclimatise to conditions and time zones, the competition has been split into three regions, with teams based in regional clusters for the group stages. The regions are West, Central and East. Host cities in the West region are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. The Central region is made up of Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Mexico City and Monterrey. While the East region consists of Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia and Toronto. How to follow the latest World Cup 2026 news and matches As is the case with previous FIFA World Cups, all matches will be shown free on terrestrial television. The BBC and ITV will cover every match in the UK, and there will also be extensive live radio commentary, also provided by the BBC. There will be plenty of written coverage as well, and here at The Sun, we will have all the latest news on the competition, along with World Cup betting tips, previews and the best betting offers. About the author Craig Mahood Craig Mahood is an expert in sports betting and online casinos and has worked with the company since 2020. He joined the Betting & Gaming team at The Sun in June 2022 and works closely with the leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to provide content on all areas of sports betting and gaming. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter at the Scottish Sun, covering Scottish football with particular focus on Celtic and Rangers, As well as football, he has covered horse racing, boxing, darts, the Olympics and tennis for the Sun. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
