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Ireland FA confirm November friendly vs. USMNT in Dublin

Fabian Johnson

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By DAN KARELL

The U.S. Men’s National Team will have the pleasure of spending a few days this November on the Emerald Isle.

After reports emerged last July about a possible friendly match between the USMNT and the Republic of Ireland, The FA of Ireland confirmed the match on Monday, stating that Ireland will host the USA at the Aviva Stadium on Nov. 18 in Dublin. The match is the first meeting between the two nations since 2002, when Ireland beat the USA, 2-1, in front of 39,000 fans at Lansdowne Road.

U.S. Soccer has yet to officially confirm the friendly match, though a formal announcement is expected very soon.

The upcoming trip to Ireland is the second confirmed trip to Europe for the USMNT this fall, following a scheduled friendly match on Sept. 3 at the Czech Republic in Prague. The FIFA calendar has three open windows for international matches this fall. From Sep. 1-9, Oct. 6-14, and Nov. 10-18.

According to separate reports, U.S. Soccer is also in discussions with the Colombian FA for a friendly match in September in San Antonio, Texas and the Ecuadorian FA for a friendly match in October.

The Republic of Ireland are currently ranked No. 70 in FIFA’s World Rankings and feature a familiar face to American soccer fans in LA Galaxy forward Robbie Keane. Ireland’s squad also includes a number of players plying their trade in the English Premier League, including Sunderland defender John O’Shea, the Everton trio of Seamus Coleman, James McCarthy, and Aiden McGeady, and Hull City forward Shane Long.

Four days before facing the USMNT, Ireland will be visiting Scotland in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualification match.

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What do you think of this report? Do you think Ireland can provide a good level of competition for the U.S. squad? Do you plan on potentially traveling to the match?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. why not a match against Poland or Serbia?

    or Sweden?

    playing Ireland is about as pointless as playing Malta or Finland. It’s just an excuse for folks to get drunk and watch us thrash them 5-0

    come on JK

    Reply
    • I agree. Plus, it fits the general theme of scheduling our matches in beer loving countries: Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany.

      Reply

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