USA vs. Republic of Ireland
International Friendly
Nov. 18 | 2:30 pm ET | Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland
TV: ESPN/UniMas
The United States national team closes out 2014 with yet another look at some of the old hands and fresh faces who might feature for the team in 2015. Tuesday’s matchup against Ireland is also the second game in five days for the Americans, who fell to World Cup heavyweight Colombia on Friday at Craven Cottage in London.
The match comes at the end of a run of mixed results for the Irish, who are battling some surprisingly tough competition in Euro 2016 qualifying. Despite an easy win over Gibraltar and a promising draw against World Cup champs Germany last month, Ireland swallowed a 1-0 loss to Scotland on Friday in Glasgow, their first loss in Group D.
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HISTORY
Although the series between the US and Ireland dates back 90 years, there’s a surprisingly sparse past between the two nations on the soccer field. This match is just the ninth all-time between the sides, and the first since April 2002.
Ireland hold the edge in the all-time series (4-2-2), and won the last meeting between two more than a decade ago in Dublin. That game was played in the muck and rain at Landsdowne Road (torn down in 2007 and eventually replaced by Aviva Stadium), and the Americans wasted a goal by defender Eddie Pope and standout play from midfielder Claudio Reyna in an eventual 2-1 loss. The loss marked the final game before head coach Bruce Arena closed ranks and built the roster that reached the World Cup quarterfinals that summer.
USA OUTLOOK
This is the fourth game for the US since the World Cup in Brazil, and head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has made it clear he’s trying fresh faces for a brand new cycle. The four other friendlies this fall have shown he’s willing to experiment, but the results have been mixed,
if not slightly distressing
. The US blew late leads against both Ecuador and Honduras on American soil last month and were forced to settle for a pair of 1-1 draws, and
the 2-1 loss to Colombia
saw the team give up yet another goal in the dying minutes, this time to deal them a loss.
There will be some changes from that team in this match, however, as Klinsmann opted to send three players back to their respective Major League Soccer teams as the postseason resumes next weekend. Two of those were starters – New England Revolution midfielder/defender Jermaine Jones, as well as Seattle Sounders hybrid DeAndre Yedlin – and Revs midfielder Lee Nguyen was looking to make his mark as reborn playmaking option in the US midfield.
A number of familiar faces are still there – forward Jozy Altidore will wear the captain’s armband again, and World Cup vets Kyle Beckerman and Alejandro Bedoya are coming off solid shifts in the midfield against Colombia – and there’s still plenty to learn about the health and conviction of players like defender John Anthony Brooks, midfielder Fabian Johnson and playmaker Mix Diskerud, who was corralled against Colombia.
Perhaps most of the intrigue falls on relative newcomers like Dutch pro and teenage striker Rubio Rubin, or Hawaii-born speedster Bobby Wood, but it’s unclear if Klinsmann will use his real wild cards against the Irish. Neither college standout Jordan Morris nor NASL hero Miguel Ibarra dressed for the Colombia match, despite interest at a high to see what each man brings to the US pool.
IRELAND OUTLOOK
Unfortunately for Ireland fans, the biggest name in the nation’s soccer history won’t be anywhere near Dublin when this one kicks off. All-time leading scorer
Robbie Keane
played only sparingly in the team’s loss to Scotland on Friday, and he was
sent back to the States to re-join the LA Galaxy
ahead of the first leg of Conference Championship this weekend.
The Irish attack isn’t exactly toothless without Keane, but his absence will make it that much tougher to crack a US defense and goalkeeper Brad Guzan. The next man up is Shane Long, the 27-year-old striker who has 11 goals in 50 career appearances for the Irish team and who scored two goals in his time out with Southampton on Nov. 8.
The defense is anchored by 33-year-old stalwart John O’Shea, who carries 101 caps into this one and has already played the role of hero for the team in this round of Euro qualifying. His 94th-minute goal against Germany on Oct. 14 gave the Irish a shocking draw on German soil and a huge point on the road to France in 2016.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
USA – Rubio Rubin
It’s not always easy to see clips of this 18-year-old striker when he’s tearing it up in the Dutch Eredivisie, so watch closely while you have him in hi-def. He nearly scored his first US goal on a header in the loss to Colombia and showed surprising confidence and poise for a player so young, and it’s clear Klinsmann rates him. Just how well he can take some of the pressure off Altidore and create some plays of his own could go a long way to telling if he’ll be around for the long-term, or if he’s just the next flavor of the month.
IRELAND – John O’Shea
Without Keane, the Irish are relatively short on big-name veteran talent. But O’Shea makes up for it and a whole lot more with his resume, which includes more than a decade with Manchester United. Though he’s dabbled in spots all over the field in his career – he even played goalkeeper during a match in 2007 after Edwin van der Saar suffered a broke nose and Manchester United were out of subs – he’s a defender at heart, and his matchup against Sunderland teammate Altidore is one of the more intriguing storylines of the match.
ROSTERS
USA
GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS:Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Greg Garza (Club Tijuana), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Hamburg), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt)
FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Miguel Ibarra (Minnesota United FC), Jordan Morris (Stanford), Rubio Rubin (Utrecht), Bobby Wood (1860 Munich), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
IRELAND
GOALKEEPERS: David Forde (Millwall), Shay Given (Aston Villa), Darren Randolph (Birmingham), Rob Elliot (Newcastle)
DEFENDERS: Seamus Coleman (Everton), John O'Shea (Sunderland), Alex Pearce (Reading), Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa), Stephen Ward (Burnley), Richard Keogh (Derby), Cyrus Christie (Derby)
MIDFIELDERS: James McCarthy, Darron Gibson, Aiden McGeady (all Everton), Jeff Hendrick (Derby), Anthony Pilkington (Cardiff), James McClean (Wigan), Stephen Quinn (Hull City), Robbie Brady (Hull), David Meyler (Hull)
FORWARDS: Shane Long (Southampton), Jon Walters (Stoke), Kevin Doyle (Crystal Palace), Anthony Stokes (Celtic), Daryl Murphy (Ipswich), David McGoldrick (Ipswich)
