The 2018 edition will be Faghani’s second stint in the World Cup. His last appearance was in Brazil 2014 where he was the fourth official for seven matches, including the opening match between hosts Brazil and Croatia.
“To reach the final of the World Cup is our dream and this is what we are working for. We hope one Asian referee has the chance to officiate the final of the World Cup,” he said in an interview with the-afc.com.
"In AFC there is always a team behind us, working in all aspects - in terms of medical, physical, technical. We have practical training in all seminars. That’s what we have all been preparing for all tournaments, and we all have fair competition with the other referees in AFC and the rest of the world. With these key elements, the AFC referees perform well in all FIFA tournaments,” he added.
“We hope that the national teams will qualify for the final. But if not, we have many talented referees with good quality who can officiate it. We have experience for the opening match, and we have the chance to challenge, to compete with the other referees in the world to officiate at the highest level,” Faghani concluded.