11 ARGGRE Angeles

 

Argentina defeated Greece four-nothing in an excellent exhibition of World Cup football, which home referee Arturo Angeles was appointed. The American can be happy with his performance in an intensive game; he represented the United States well. Whether his performance was a strong recommendation for a further appointment might be another question though.

Angeles had to face a game with the potential to explode at any time, though this was largely offset as from the second minute Argentina were winning, and in the second half doing so comfortably. The key to succeeding was making his point at the astute times when Greece overstepped the mark with their physical play. Angeles' caution at 25' came at the right time - thereafter, one can wonder whether he used his cards in the best possible way (nothing at 48' but a booking at 56'?). 

What this performance lacked most was that Angeles did not take the lead - this was most evident in a couple of scenes when the American referee could have shown the players who was the boss, but he preferred to avoid interacting with the players and instead agitate for a quick restart. In a hectic match it is hard to criticise him too much, but Angeles could have guided the players through this game better than his card-or-nothing approach (see Mikkelsen). US referee also made a small handful of clear mistakes here-and-there; penalty given at the end was spot on. 

Park Hae-yong played the best onside of the competition this far, but the Korean linesman also made two important mistakes. He was more challenged than Jan Dolstra, who was pretty quiet on the far side. 

Arturo Angeles - 8,2 Park Hae-yong - 8,2 Jan Dolstra - 8,4 Mario van der Ende USA, KOR, NED	Argentina 4-0 Greece Group Stage
Cáceres (41') - SPA (Impeding)	Tsalouchídis (25') - Tackle Manolás (56') - Tackle