With barely 24 hours left before the senior national team of Nigeria take on Algeria in the quarter final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, CAF has appointed a fresh set of referees for the game, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The decision to appoint new referees for tomorrow’s game which is scheduled for 5:00 PM , at the Marrakech Stadium in Morocco was made after the dismal of the first referee appointed for the game.

Initially Somalian referee Omar Artan was poised to be the man in the middle, but in a remarkable twist he was replaced following a compliant lodged against him that he used football boots from a non-approved brand, violating CAF’s sponsorship deal with Puma.

CAF has now appointed Senegalese referee Issa Sy as the official referee , assisted by his compatriots Djibril Camara and Nouha Bangoura , as well as Kenyan Gilbert Kipkoech . The fourth official will also be Kenyan, Peter Waweru Kamaku .

Gabonese referee Pierre Ghislain Atcho will lead the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team, and will be assisted by the duo of be assisted by Stephen Onyango Yiembe and Leticia Antonella Viana. Yahya Hadqa of Morocco will be the assessor of the referees.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The head coach of Algeria Vladimir Petkovic has revealed what his team must do tomorrow if they are to get a positive result against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in tomorrow’s AFCON quarter final game at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Both teams head into the crunch tie with wins in all of their four games in the tournament so far, but that record will definitely be ended tomorrow with only one team to qualify for the semi final.

Algeria who were 1-0 winners over DR Congo three days ago in the round of 16 will be up against a Super Eagles team, who were too strong for Mozambique in the same round picking up a resounding 4-0 win.

Looking ahead to what he termed as a very crucial clash between two top teams Petkovic revealed what his team must do in the game.

“The most important thing is the mindset; everything starts with that, and from that perspective, we are beyond reproach. We have confidence and quality. Tomorrow, we will need to be just as strong defensively as offensively. That will be crucial”, he stated.

“All the details will be important against Nigeria. Nothing must be left to chance. We have the qualities and we believe in ourselves. It’s up to us now to deliver a great match”.

He also admitted that the Nigerian attack led by the duo of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman is better in terms of players quality than the one at his disposal.

The Algerian national team are battling to get their star man in the midfield Ismael Bennacer fit for tomorrow’s AFCON quarter final game against the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Bennacer went off injured during the course of their 1-0 win over DR Congo in the round of 16 of the tournament in Morocco, and he is now in a race against time to be fit for the crucial game against Nigeria.

A statement from the Algeria Football Federation says the number 10 is yet to train with the team since the game against DR Congo three days ago, stating clearly that he has been put to rest and continue to follow a specific training programme.

Head coach Vladimir Petkovic confirmed the midfielder’s battle to be fit for the game, saying they will now about his availability after today’s final training session.

“We’ll see. There’s still one training session left, and we’ll have more answers then. At the moment, I can’t tell you anything on that subject”, he said.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle says he has no ideas on how best it is to approach the game against Algeria tomorrow in the quarter final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will be up against Algeria for a spot in the semi final, a game which is a repeat of the 2019 semi final of this same tournament with Algeria triumphing through a late winner.

Chelle’s team will head into the game with an unbeaten run in the tournament like their opponents, and according to the coach it has made it hard for him to devise a proper way to approach the game.

” This is a match of great importance against a great team. We are still thinking about how to play this match”, the coach said at the pre match presser.

He went further to speak on his time in Algeria where he was in charge of league side MC Oran, his last job before taking over as the coach of the Nigerian team one year ago.

“I spent some time in Oran with Mouloudia. I really enjoyed myself there. It’s very interesting football, the league is of a good standard. Now it’s an African Cup match, it’ll be 50/50″, he stated.

On the issue between Victor Osimhen and his teammate Ademola Lookman during the course of the 4-0 win over Mozambique, the coach refused to be drawn into the issue saying it’s in the past, and their focus is now on the game tomorrow.

“Yes, everyone’s talking about Osimhen and Lookman, that’s normal, they’re the two best African players lately, but we’re here to serve them, to score, we work for them. We’re a team and that’s teamwork.”

Following the termination of his contract by English Premier League side Nottingham Forest in the summer Emmanuel Dennis has taken the first step towards setting his career back on track, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

According to Danish newspaper Tipsbladet top Danish side Brondby will access the 28 year old at a training camp before any decision on handing him a contract will be made.

He was recommended by coach of the team Steve Cooper, who was the coach in charge at Forest when he was signed for almost £12 million on the back of an explosive season with Watford in the English Premier League.

Dennis took the English Premier League by storm in his debut season with Watford scoring 11 goals, but the move to Forest following the relegation of Watford hasn’t worked out.

His contract was eventually terminated in the summer, but he couldn’t get a club in any of the top leagues despite loan spells in Germany, Turkey when he was surplus to requirements.

World football governing body FIFA has yet to make a statement on Nigeria’s protest against DR Congo alleging that they fielded ineligible players in the world cup qualifiers playoff final, which they won on penalties.

Reports went viral last week that FIFA has dismissed the petition from Nigeria on the grounds that it lacks merits, but that report is wide off the mark according to a spokesman of the body.

In a post on X formerly known as Twitter, Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana quoted the spokesman of the apex football body saying there is yet no decision on the petition.

“For anyone wondering about the NFF’s protest, over the eligibility of the players DR Congo used for the FIFA World Cup 2026 playoffs, a FIFA spokesperson told me, in Rabat, on Thursday, that there is no official pronouncement on the matter yet. The person promised to get me an official word, on the state of the matter. Once I have it, it’ll be published here”, he said in his handle.

Nigeria claim the players are ineligible to play for DR Congo, because they still hold citizenship of other countries which is in violation of the constitution of DR Congo, that doesn’t recognise dual citizenship.

Captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Wilfred Ndidi says he will pay the outstanding bonuses of players of the team, if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) fails to do so by Saturday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ndidi who was appointed as the substantive captain of the team before the start of the tournament made the vow, while pleading the players not to shun today’s training in Marrakech ahead of Saturday’s game against Algeria in the quarter final.

“I don’t want this unpaid bonuses to affect our preparations. I told players & coaching staff that I’d personally make the payments if they don’t get it.”

The players have earlier shunned their recovery session in protest of unpaid bonuses since the start of the tournament. They also refused to travel until today.

Meanwhile, the NSC and NFF blamed the delay on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who are still in the process of converting the players cash from Naira to Dollars following its approval.

It is expected that it will be expedited for the players to get paid by tomorrow per what a government official in Nigeria said yesterday.