CAF has appointed Senegalese referee Issa Sy to officiate the AFCON 2023 quarterfinal game between Nigeria and Angola on Friday at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan.

Accompanying Sy as assistant referee 1 and assistant referee 2 are his fellow countrymen Djibril Camara and Nouha Bangoura, with fourth official Abdel Aziz Bouh from Mauritius.

Ali Mohamed Ahmed from Somalia and Ahmad Nazeer Hossen Bowud from Mauritius will be the commissioner and referee assessor, respectively, with Modibo Samake from Mali serving as reserve assistant referee.

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With few senior-level matches between the two countries over the years, the game, which kicks off at 5 p.m. Cote d’Ivoire time (6 p.m. Nigeria time), will be one of the rare instances that Nigeria and Angola square off on the field.

Nigeria defeated Angola 2-2 in Luanda and 1-0 in Lagos to advance to the final round of the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification series.

However, Angola overcame Nigeria to earn their lone trip to the FIFA World Cup finals, winning 1-0 in Luanda and holding the Eagles 1-1 in Kano to win the head-to-head match that determined the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification series.

Stanley Nwabali, the custodian for Nigeria, is well enough to start the match on Friday, but coach José Peseiro has said he might not want to take a chance on the safe hands if he isn’t up to par.

In one of the semifinal matches at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake, the victor of Friday’s matchup will face the winner of the match between Cape Verde’s Blue Sharks and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.