The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the appointment of a Cameroonian officiating crew for Nigeria’s Round of 16 encounter against Mozambique at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Set to take charge of the high-stakes fixture is 29-year-old Abdou Abdel Mefir, the youngest referee officiating at AFCON 2025. He will be supported by fellow Cameroonians Elvis Noupoue and Carine Atezambong, who have been named as assistant referees for the match.
The knockout clash is billed for Monday at the Complexe Sportif de Fès in Morocco, with kick-off scheduled for 8:00pm Nigerian time.
The meeting will be only the second time Nigeria and Mozambique have crossed paths at AFCON finals. Their previous encounter dates back to the 2010 tournament in Angola, where the Super Eagles cruised to a comfortable 3–0 victory.
As attention turns to the decisive phase of the competition, former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has offered a stern reminder about the realities of knockout football. Speaking on his podcast, Oliseh stressed that style must give way to discipline and results.
“This is the Round of 16, and once you lose, you’re out,” Oliseh noted. “How well you play is secondary now. The most important thing is the result, and Nigeria must prioritize defensive solidity.”
Nigeria head into the last-16 clash in confident form, having won all three of their group-stage matches to become the only team with a perfect record at the tournament so far.
Under head coach Eric Chelle, the Super Eagles netted eight goals while conceding four during the group phase, underlining their attacking quality while reinforcing Oliseh’s call for tighter defensive organization as the competition intensifies.
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