Howard Webb's hopes of refereeing the World Cup final have taken a knock after he was overlooked for quarter-final duty.
The South Yorkshire referee was rumoured to be on the short-list to officiate the final in Johannesburg on July 11 after an impressive series of performances while in South Africa.
England's last-16 exit had also increased the chances of Webb being involved in the latter stages of the tournament.
However, FIFA have revealed the identity of the four men who will be in the middle for the quarter-final games on Friday and Saturday and Webb's name was not among them.
Only one European referee – Olegario Benquerenca of Portugal – has been awarded a quarter-final game, which is the fixture between Uruguay and Ghana in Johannesburg on Friday evening.
Webb and his assistants, Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey, have taken charge of three games in the World Cup so far.
They officiated in Spain's opening group game against Switzerland, Italy's Group B defeat to Slovakia and Brazil's 3-0 win over Chile in the round of 16 on Monday night.
No English official since Jack Taylor in 1974 has refereed a World Cup final.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email