Women’s World Cup: Mexican referee to handle Nigeria versus Republic of Ireland tie

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Ahead of the last Group B game between Nigeria’s senior women’s national team and debutant, the Republic of Ireland, the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has appointed referees for the encounter slated to take place on Monday.

Mexican trio of Katia Garcia, Karen Diaz Medina, and Enedina Caudillo will be in charge of the game.

Katia Garcia will officiate the match as the centre referee to be assisted by her compatriots, Karen Diaz Medina, and Enedina Caudillo.

Garcia became a badge referee in 2019 and notably refereed the final of the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s Championship and 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

She has also officiated games in the Mexican MX 4 Expansion League, and CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship.

Lina Lehtovaara will be the fourth official for the crucial Group B game which will determine the fate of nine-time African champions in its bid to make it out of the group stage for the third time at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Randy Waldrum’s side needs to avoid defeat against the debutant to book a place in the Round of 16 on Monday.

The team is tied on four points alongside Olympic champions, Canada at the top of the table with co-host, Australia having three points