Who is the referee for the Netherlands vs Argentina quarterfinals game in the World Cup 2022?
The second quarterfinal between Louis Van Gaal’s men and ‘La Albiceleste’ will take place on Friday at 2.00 p.m. (ET)
Group A and C’s winners will go head-to-head on Friday, as the Netherlands and Argentina will meet at the Lusail Stadium for a spot among the best four teams in the world.
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Brazil, Argentina, and France were probably the top-three favourites to lift the World Cup trophy before the start of the tournament, but all of them have tasted defeat in the group stage, unlike the Netherlands, that have won three games and drawn one so far.
Louis Van Gaal seems to be one of the Oranje’s keys to success, as the team is on a 19-game undefeated streak across all competitions, so Argentina will likely need to play their best game so far in the tournament if they want to keep progressing.
Lionel Scaloni’s team, meanwhile, had to bounce back from an embarrassing defeat against Saudi Arabia in their opener to defeat Mexico and Poland to end up topping Group C.
The Oranje and the South Americans advanced to the quarterfinals after successfully beating the USA and Australia, respectively.
Netherlands vs Argentina: respect from both ends
Lionel Messi, who is looking to win the World Cup in his last appearance in the tournament, showed a lot of respect for the European rivals during Friday’s press conference: " They have great players and a great coach. It’s going to be a hard-fought game”.
Meanwhile, Netherlands defender Virgil van Djik knows what it is like to come up against Messi but said that they need to focus on the whole team, as ‘La Albiceleste’ are a great collective.
“It is not me against him, or the Netherlands against him, but the Netherlands against Argentina”.
Dutch defender Jurrien Timber is excited to play against ‘La Pulga’, as he admitted that “it’s a great challenge”, but at the same time he stated that “Messi is a great player, but it’s not just him, and it’s not just us two”.
Netherlands-Argentina: match official
Friday’s clash at Lusail Stadium will be overseen by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
Lahoz started his career in 1992 and has refereed La Liga matches since 2008. The 45-year-old also has plenty of experience in international matches, as he refereed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
On 29 May 2021, he refereed the 2021 UEFA Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea.
The Spanish official will be supported by Pau Cebrián Devis and Assistant Referee Roberto Díaz Pérez Del Palomar, with the Fourth Official set to be Victor Gomes.