AFCON 2023: Senegalese Sy to take charge of Nigeria, Angola duel
PHOTO: Midfielder Alex Iwobi at the pre-match press conference in Abidjan on Thursday.
Senegalese official Issa Sy will be the referee when Nigeria take on Angola in Friday’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final encounter at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan.
Sy will have compatriots Djibril Camara and Nouha Bangoura in tow as assistant referee 1 and assistant referee 2 respectively, alongside Mauritanian official Abdel Aziz Bouh as fourth official.
Modibo Samake from Mali will serve as reserve assistant referee, while Ahmad Nazeer Hossen Bowud from Mauritius and Ali Mohamed Ahmed from Somalia will be in the roles of commissioner and referee assessor respectively.
The match, which will commence at 5pmCote d’Ivoire time (6pm Nigeria time) will be another of the rare occasions that Nigeria and Angola tango on the turf, with few clashes between both nations at senior level over the years.
Nigeria edged Angola to reach the final round of the qualification series for the 1990 FIFA World Cup finals (2-2 in Luanda and 1-0 in Lagos), but the Angolans stepped on Nigeria to make their single appearance at the FIFA World Cup finals, when they won 1-0 in Luanda and held the Eagles 1-1 in Kano to edge the head-to-head contest that was the determining factor for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification series.
Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali is fit to start Friday’s encounter, though Coach Jose Peseiro has indicated he may not want to risk the safe hands if he is not fit enough for the tie.
The winner of Friday’s encounter will square up with the winner of the clash between Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in one of the semi final matches, at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake.
