Sierra Leone v. Nigeria: Referee lineup revealed as Sudan, Djibouti officials set to handle clash

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has designated Sudanese referee Mahmood Ali Ismail as the center referee for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between Sierra Leone and the Super Eagles of Nigeria, Soccernet.ng reports.

Ismail will be joined by his compatriot Mohammed Abdallah Ibrahim as assistant referee 1 and Djiboutian official Liban Abdourazak Ahmed as assistant referee 2.

Mohamed Diraneh Guedi, also from Djibouti, will serve as the fourth official. Bakary Jammeh from Gambia will oversee the match as the match commissioner, while Kokou Djaoupe from Togo will act as the referee assessor.

The game is scheduled to take place at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia, as Sierra Leone currently lacks a CAF-approved standard stadium.

In preparation for the match, all 23 invited players have assembled in the Super Eagles' camp at the Eko Hotel in Lagos, with Bright Osayi-Samuel being the latest arrival.

Leading the Group A standings, the Super Eagles aim to secure their qualification for the 34th AFCON, set to be held in Cote d'Ivoire early next year, with one game remaining.

Under the leadership of coach Jose Peseiro, the Nigerian team has accumulated nine points from four matches and will secure one of the two qualification spots if they manage to draw against the Leone Stars, who currently sit in third place with five points.

However, Guinea-Bissau, in second place with seven points, also have a chance to qualify if they defeat bottom-ranked Sao Tome and Principe today, and Sierra Leone fail to overcome Nigeria on Sunday.

In recent times, the Leone Stars have proven to be formidable opponents for the Super Eagles.

In a 2021 AFCON qualifier held in Benin City in November 2020, Sierra Leone remarkably salvaged a 4-4 draw after trailing 4-0. Just four days later in Freetown, they held Nigeria to a goalless draw.

In their first encounter of the current series at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja last year, Sierra Leone took an early lead, but the Super Eagles retaliated with goals from Alex Iwobi and Victor Osimhen, securing a 2-1 victory.