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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has named a Ghanaian referee, Daniel Nii Laryea, to officiate Nigeria’s semi-final game against Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

CAF released the list of officials for the clash on Tuesday and named others for the high-stakes game at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Laryea will be assisted by South Africa’s Zakhele Siwela and Lesotho’s Souru Phatsoane.

Mozambican Arsénio Maringule was appointed as the third assistant referee. Rwanda’s Samuel Uwikunda will be the fourth official for the game.

Africa’s football body also named Tom Abongile of South Africa, Haythem Guirat of Tunisia, and Stephen Yiembe of Kenya as officials in the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) booth.

Lydia Abebe was appointed as the referee assessor for the semi-final match.

READ ALSO: [AFCON 2025] Osimhen’s Scoring Form Gives Nigeria The Upper Hand

Your Match officials for (14 January,2026)

️⚽️ Senegal vs Egypt
️⚽️ Nigeria vs Morocco #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/aubAoAIU33

The Super Eagles enter the game on the back of a commanding 2-0 victory over Algeria in their quarter-final match, which ensured they continue their winning streak in the competition. They have scored the most goals so far in the tournament with 14 to their name.

Morocco, meanwhile, beat Cameroon by the same scoreline to set up the mouth-watering tie with the three-time African champions.

Ahead of the match with Morocco, midfielder Alex Iwobi has hailed Nigeria’s unity, saying the players are focused on making history despite finishing second in the last edition of the tournament.

“Of course, at previous AFCONs, we have done really well. The team was so strong, but at the same time, we were young, and we were learning about each other,” the Fulham player said.

“I feel like right now everybody is entering their prime, everyone is doing well for their clubs, and you can see the joy and the chemistry we have when playing for our country.

Three years after they last appeared together, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah meet again on Wednesday on opposing sides as Senegal and Egypt clash for a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

The last-four showdown in the Moroccan city of Tangiers will be the first time the former Liverpool teammates have shared a pitch since the Anfield club lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in May 2022.

Shortly after that, Mane left for Bayern Munich before moving to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League a year later.

READ ALSO: Osimhen Finds AFCON Scoring Touch To Give Nigeria Cutting Edge

Salah, meanwhile, has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the near future but remains for now at Liverpool despite falling out of favour with coach Arne Slot before coming to the Cup of Nations.

The Egypt captain is a man on a mission in Morocco, having scored four goals in four appearances on the Pharaoh’s run to the semi-finals as he targets winning AFCON for the first time.

Salah, who turns 34 in June, is running out of time to win a major international honour with his country having suffered the agony of two final defeats in the competition.

After being part of the Egypt side beaten by Cameroon in the 2017 final in Gabon, Salah skippered the team beaten on penalties by Senegal in 2022 in Yaounde.

Mane had a penalty saved in normal time on that dramatic night at the Olembe Stadium, but recovered to score the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Senegal became African champions for the first time.

Salah was due to take Egypt’s next penalty but would not get the chance to step up and was already on the verge of tears as Mane prepared to strike the decisive blow.

Less than two months later, the teams met again in a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off and once more penalties were needed — Salah missed, Mane scored and Senegal won.

They went on to reach the last 16 in Qatar while Egypt failed to qualify for the first World Cup held in the Arab world.

Both have qualified for the upcoming tournament in North America, providing what will perhaps be a last chance for the two veterans to star on the biggest stage of all.

Feeling the pressure

For now, however, it is all about continental supremacy as Senegal chase a third final in four editions of AFCON, and Egypt aim to take a step closer to a record-extending eighth title overall.

Mane, who also turns 34 this year, will feel less pressure having already collected a Cup of Nations winner’s medal.

“Nobody, even in Egypt, wants to win this trophy more than me,” admitted Salah after helping his team beat Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.

“I have won almost every prize. This is the title I am waiting for.”

The pair played together under Jurgen Klopp for five years between Salah arriving from Roma in 2017 and Mane’s departure.

They formed a formidable front line along with Roberto Firmino and together won the Champions League in 2019 and the Premier League in 2020 — there were also two defeats to Real in Champions League finals.

But Mane recently admitted that sometimes the pair found it difficult to get along on the pitch.

“I think Mo is first of all a very nice guy. I think though inside the pitch, sometimes he would pass to me and sometimes he wouldn’t,” Mane said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.

“Only Bobby (Firmino) was there to share the balls. Sometimes it was like this,” he added with a laugh.

“I still remember one game when I was really, really angry because he doesn’t pass me the ball.”

This time they really are on opposing sides, as two former African footballers of the year look to lead their countries to glory — for the second time, in Mane’s case.

“The pressure for me is over. Before I won the African Cup, sometimes I played badly because of the pressure,” Mane, who has one goal at this AFCON, admitted on the same podcast.

Nigeria star Alex Iwobi on Tuesday hailed coach Eric Chelle for creating a team spirit which has taken the Super Eagles to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, only two months after their dreams of World Cup qualification were ended agonizingly.

The Nigerians take on AFCON hosts Morocco in Rabat on Wednesday, looking to continue the prolific form that has carried them to the last four.

They reached the final of the last Cup of Nations two years ago in the Ivory Coast before losing to the hosts, while Iwobi also played in the side that reached the semi-finals in 2019.

But he said a happier environment off the pitch — despite reports of rows with the national football federation over bonuses — was now helping bring out the very best in him and a team in its prime.

“I feel like the difference is the sense of brotherhood, the family environment that we have created for each other,” the 29-year-old Fulham star said at a packed press conference in the Moroccan capital.

“Of course, at previous AFCONs, we have done really well. The team was so strong, but at the same time, we were young, and we were learning about each other.

“I feel like right now everybody is entering their prime, everyone is doing well for their clubs, and you can see the joy and the chemistry we have when playing for our country.

“It is not just on the pitch, but also off the pitch, there is a big unity, we are a big family. It starts from the coach — he has brought that brotherhood.”

Nigeria limped through their qualifying campaign for the World Cup and saw their dreams of making it to the finals go up in smoke with a play-off defeat on penalties against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Rabat in November.

That was despite a notable upturn in form following the appointment of former Mali boss Chelle 12 months ago.

“We have always given 100 percent,” insisted Iwobi.

“In the World Cup qualifiers, we wanted to win as well, but it was a difficult moment for us, and we have used that disappointment as motivation to go and achieve something for our country, for ourselves, for our families.”

READ ALSO: Traditional Healer Arrested For Alleged Fraud After Promising Mali AFCON Trophy Win

Ndidi suspended 

Chelle, meanwhile, admitted that the presence of two recent winners of the African player of the year award in forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman made his job easier.

Nigeria are the tournament’s top scorers with 14 goals, including four for Osimhen and three for Lookman.

But it remains to be seen how they cope against Morocco without suspended skipper Wilfred Ndidi in midfield — Raphael Onyedika of Club Brugge is a likely replacement.

“We are a group and there are some very good players who are waiting for the chance to show something,” said Chelle.

Morocco, Africa’s top-ranked nation, will be hoping to make the most of home advantage with a crowd of almost 70,000 behind them at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

However, their coach, Walid Regragui, is well aware of the quality in the Nigerian ranks.

“We will need to be strong mentally, but when you get to the AFCON semi-finals, you need to raise your concentration levels, run more to stop Nigeria taking a breather, or be able to play with the same impact,” warned Regragui.

The man who led the Atlas Lions to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals is under enormous pressure to win the tournament at home and knows there are plenty of critics who will be out to get him if he fails.

“In my country, it’s like this — you need to accept that when you are the coach of Morocco,” he said.

If there was a moment that summed up Nigeria’s failed World Cup qualifying campaign, it was perhaps Victor Osimhen’s incredible miss during a crunch play-off against Gabon.

The usually lethal striker somehow fired wide with just the goalkeeper to beat right at the end of normal time in the November game in Rabat.

He did make amends by scoring twice in extra time as the Super Eagles eventually won that match, but their bid to make the finals in North America came to an end a few days later as they lost on penalties to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

READ ALSO: Traditional Healer Arrested For Alleged Fraud After Promising Mali AFCON Trophy Win

Nigeria, an African footballing superpower, will therefore be absent from a second consecutive World Cup while a record number of teams from the continent — 10 if DR Congo win an intercontinental play-off in March — will be present.

On Wednesday, however, the Nigerians will be back in the Moroccan capital for a blockbuster Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against the hosts and title favourites.

The only way the Super Eagles can really make amends is by beating Morocco and winning AFCON.

Nigeria, who lost the 2024 Cup of Nations final to hosts Ivory Coast, are looking for a fourth continental title to follow those won in 1980, 1994 and 2013.

It remains a big ask given the challenge of beating 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco in front of almost 70,000 of their supporters in Rabat, as well as the fact that either Senegal or Mohamed Salah’s Egypt would then lie in wait in the final.

But Nigeria have arguably been the most impressive side these last three weeks in Morocco, scoring a tournament-high 14 goals in five matches.

Osimhen has four goals, including the opener in Saturday’s 2-0 quarter-final victory against Algeria in Marrakesh in which he also set up the clincher for Akor Adams.

A player who starred on the run to the final two years ago despite scoring just once is now at his prolific best for Eric Chelle’s team.

“I think as a man and as a player, I’ve improved a lot,” Osimhen said after Saturday’s game in which his connection with fellow forwards Adams and Ademola Lookman was showcased.

“I always come back to the mistakes I have made when I am in my spare time and try to see how I can improve.”

‘Peak at the right time’

Osimhen was brilliant despite his lack of goals at the last AFCON, working tirelessly for the team in the energy-sapping, and heat and humidity of Ivory Coast.

After seven Cup of Nations matches without scoring, he has now scored four in the last four games, and has nine in eight appearances for his country since mid-October.

That has left him just two goals away from equalling the national team record of 37 goals held by the late Rashidi Yekini.

Osimhen is also enjoying a fine campaign for Galatasaray, scoring 12 goals in 16 games for the Turkish giants, including six in the UEFA Champions League.

“Now I have so much confidence in the way I play with the help of my teammates, but for me it is not about the goals or assists, it is just about winning something with this squad,” said the 27-year-old former African player of the year.

Take away that fateful penalty shoot-out, and Nigeria, have not lost a competitive game since former Mali boss Chelle became coach a year ago.

They have put the distraction of a row over bonuses to one side on their AFCON run in Morocco, and Osimhen’s strop during the last-16 win over Mozambique appears to have been nothing more than a player’s competitive spirit going a little too far.

“In a tournament like this it is important to peak at the right time,” said defender Semi Ajayi, of English Championship side Hull City.

“I feel like in every single game we have taken a step forward and improved, and we are looking to improve again for the next one.”

So what about going into the lions’ den next against Morocco in Rabat?

“We have a lot of experience in the changing room. We have dealt with big situations and pressure before,” Ajayi added.

Manchester United have reached an agreement in principle to appoint Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, reports said Tuesday.

The former midfielder was pictured arriving at the club’s Carrington training ground, with his appointment likely to be confirmed later in the day.

Carrick previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021.

READ ALSO: Arbeloa Replaces Alonso As Real Madrid Head Coach

The 44-year-old, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United, was appointed manager of Middlesbrough in October 2022.

Carrick guided Middlesbrough to the Championship play-offs in his first season in charge but was dismissed in June after the club finished 10th in the second tier.

United had also been in discussions with former player and boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer about a potential return to the club.

The Red Devils dismissed Ruben Amorim last week after a dismal 14-month stint under the Portuguese coach.

Caretaker boss Darren Fletcher oversaw a 2-2 draw against lowly Burnley in the Premier League and a 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup.

United’s exit from both domestic cup competitions at the first hurdle, plus a lack of European football, means they will play only 40 matches this season — their lowest number since the 1914/1915 campaign.

The 20-time English champions are seventh in the Premier League, but just three points outside the top four and one point behind fifth-placed Brentford.

A top-four finish would guarantee a return to the lucrative Champions League and top five is likely to be enough thanks to the strong performance of English sides in European competition so far this season.

Álvaro Arbeloa has replaced Xabi Alonso as Real Madrid Head Coach, the club announced on Monday.

In a statement, the club said  Arbeola, B team manager, would take over the role as Real Madrid’s manager.

According to the club, Alonso left by mutual agreement.

In a separate statement Madrid then announced Arbeloa would take Alonso’s place, without specifying the length of the 42-year-old’s contract.

“Arbeloa has been the coach of Castilla since June 2025 and has developed his entire coaching career in Real Madrid’s academy since 2020,” said Los Blancos.

READ ALSO: Real Madrid Head Coach Alonso Leaves Club

A day after the team lost the Spanish Super Cup final against Barcelona, the club parted ways with the Basque coach eight months after his arrival and immediately appointed former Madrid player Arbeloa, who was coaching the reserve side.

“Real Madrid announces that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to bring his tenure as first-team coach to an end,” said the Los Blancos in a statement.

Arbeloa’s first match at the helm is a Copa del Rey last-16 visit to face second-tier Albacete on Wednesday.

The Spaniard played 238 times for Madrid between 2009-2016, winning two Champions League titles and La Liga once, among other silverware.

Arbeloa also lifted the World Cup with Spain in 2010, as well as the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, playing alongside Alonso for club and country.

Alonso joined in June, replacing veteran Carlo Ancelotti, but Madrid struggled to find consistency under the Basque coach and are second in La Liga, four points behind Barcelona.

Los Blancos were outplayed in a 3-2 defeat in Saudi Arabia on Sunday by Hansi Flick’s side, the 44-year-old’s last at the helm.

Alonso was close to the sack towards the end of 2025 but a run of five consecutive wins kept him in his position, until the Super Cup defeat.

Alonso had signed a three-season deal after leaving Bayer Leverkusen, until June 2028.

The team were thrashed 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain in July in the Club World Cup semi-finals, which was an early setback for the coach.

Despite a Clasico win over Barcelona in October, it appeared president Florentino Perez had not fully warmed to Alonso, who had intended to bring a modern coaching approach to the team.

The team struggled through a run of poor form amid an injury crisis, with Spanish media reporting some players had fallen out with him and that Alonso would be ousted if they failed to beat Manchester City in the Champions League in December.

Madrid lost but the performance was solid enough that Alonso was given more time to try and save his job.