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The Ireland Football Association has announced an upcoming international friendly match between the United States and Ireland to take place on June 2, 2018, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The match will take place one week prior to the previously scheduled friendly against France in Lyon on June 9th.
BREAKING: Ireland to face the USA in an international friendly at the @AVIVAStadium on June 2 in a game that will be included in the 2017/18 FAI Season Ticket.
— FAIreland ⚽️ (@FAIreland) February 9, 2018
Full story: https://t.co/rT26QbNAW6 #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/rSsLOvTEvH
With neither Ireland or the United States headed to the World Cup in Russia the game will most likely provide opportunities for players to be selected in upcoming meaningful matches for each country. For Ireland these fixtures include the newly formed UEFA Nations League and the European Championships in 2020. For the United States these will be the CONCACAF Nations League and the next Gold Cup.
This match on June 2nd also has the possibility of being the first one for a new head coach of the United States Men’s National Team. At the time of this writing it is impossible to tell when a new head coach will be appointed to the USMNT. A coach may be in place for several months before the match against Ireland or the process may not be complete until after the conclusion of World Cup 2018.
No matter the status of the head coach the United States is expected to field a young team against Ireland in hopes of building a squad for above mentioned competitions and ultimately toward World Cup 2022.
If you have any thoughts on who the head coach or any of the players will be for the upcoming friendly against Ireland, or if you think scheduling this friendly is a good idea, then let us know in the comments.