Geiger, the first American referee to make the World Cup since Brian Hall in 2002, was one of 25 referees selected by FIFA, soccer's international governing body, to officiate in Brazil. He was among a group of refs from the CONCACAF region (Central and North America and the Caribbean) picked to undergo a two-year evaluation process that saw them assigned to camps, seminars and qualifying matches. Each referee candidate then was given the opportunity to work a tournament; Geiger, and his two regular assistants, Joe Fletcher and Sean Hurd, were assigned to the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco last December for their final evaluation. They performed admirably enough that they made the cut among 52 trios initially in the running for Brazil.