The Confederation of African Football has named Egyptian official Amin Mohamed Omar as referee for Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
The match, which begins at 5 p.m. Cote d’Ivoire time (6 p.m. in Nigeria), will feature Omar’s compatriots, Mahmoud Kamel Abouelregal and Ahmed Hossam Ibrahim, as assistant referees 1 and 2, respectively, with Sudanese Mahmood Ali Ismail serving as the fourth official.
Attia Essa Amsaaed of Libya will be the reserve assistant referee, with Yacoub Ali Elmi of Djibouti as commissioner and Aboubacar Doumbouya of Guinea as referee assessor.
Nigeria, the three-time champions, and South Africa, the 1996 champions, will play off in their second Africa Cup of Nations semi-final at the Stade de la Paix. Their only prior meeting at the same stage, at the National Stadium in Lagos when Nigeria co-hosted the 2000 finals with Ghana, ended in a 2-0 victory for Nigeria.
Given the pedigree, animosity, and desire of the two teams, Wednesday’s match is expected to be the more explosive of the two semi-finals (hosts Cote d’Ivoire face the Democratic Republic of Congo).
South Africa has only beaten Nigeria twice in 14 full-senior games, while Nigeria defeated the hosts 3-1 in Cape Town in 2014 during an African Nations Championship match.
FIFA now ranks the Eagles 42nd in the world (6th in Africa), while Bafana Bafana is 66th (12th in Africa).
Four years ago, both teams clashed in the quarter-finals, with the Super Eagles winning 2-1 in the Cairo International Stadium, with goals from Samuel Chukwueze and William Ekong. Both players are now on the roster and will most likely play in Wednesday’s game.