The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed a late change to the officiating crew for Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final meeting with Algeria, appointing Senegalese referee Issa Sy to oversee the game.
themomentng reports that CAF had initially selected Omar Artan for the fixture but reversed that decision following a series of refereeing controversies at the tournament. The move is understood to be aimed at cooling tensions ahead of a high-stakes tie that will decide one of the semi-finalists at the 2025 AFCON.
Issa Sy is not new to the tournament. He previously served as Video Assistant Referee during the group-stage clash between Morocco and Tanzania.
themomentng reports that the Super Eagles of Nigeria booked their place in the last eight with an emphatic 4-0 win over Mozambique. Algeria, meanwhile, needed extra time to secure a 1-0 win over DR Congo in a tightly contested encounter.
As anticipation builds for today’s showdown, Burkina Faso’s technical director, Vincenzo Alberto Annese, has tipped the Super Eagles to go all the way and lifted Victor Osimhen above all other forwards at the tournament.
Nigeria currently boast the most potent attack at AFCON 2025, having scored 12 goals spread across seven different players. Osimhen and Ademola Lookman have contributed half of that tally between them.
Annese believes that attacking edge places Nigeria firmly among the favourites, alongside hosts Ivory Coast, but he sees something extra in the Super Eagles.
Speaking to Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport, he said, “Nigeria has a reasonable attacking force, they are among the top teams along with the Ivory Coast, but I think they are more reliable.
“Then, the Super Eagles have Osi, who, for me, is the strongest centre forward in the tournament. I had watched the centre of the World Cup qualifiers, and when Osimhen leaves, Nigeria really changes face.”
The Nigeria Vs Algeria AFCON quarter-final clash is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. later today, January 10.
