A 3-0 victory over Bolivia on Monday boosted the sour mood around the U.S. men's national team with promising young players starring ahead of a summer that will include no trip to the World Cup.
Now, it falls to many of the same players, plus a few new additions with interim coach Dave Sarachan making several changes to the roster, to keep that good feeling going.
Republic of Ireland, which also has its eyes set on the future with the UEFA Nations League beginning in September, will present a much more difficult task than Bolivia did.
Despite losing 2-0 to France earlier this week, Ireland's team is full of experienced players, unlike the Bolivia side the Americans faced which was the first call-up for half of the South American squad.
| Game | Ireland vs. United States |
| Date | Saturday, June 28 |
| Time | 8:08pm BST/3:08 p.m. ET |
| Stream (US only) | fuboTV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
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Squads & Team News
| Position | Ireland players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Doyle, O'Malley, Supple |
| Defenders | Coleman, Doherty, Egan, Duffy, Long, Lenihan, Rice, O'Shea, Stevens, Williams, Cunningham |
| Midfielders | O'Dowda, Arter, Hendrick, Meyler, O'Kane, Browne, Williams, McClean, Horgan |
| Forwards | Walters, Long, Burke |
Defender John O'Shea joined the team after its 2-0 defeat to France. The match will act as a send-off game for the Manchester United and Sunderland great ,who will close out his career third on the list of all-time caps for the Boys in Green.
Shaun Williams, who made his Ireland debut against France, left the squad for his wedding.
Potential starting XI: Doyle; Coleman, Duffy, O’Shea, Williams; Rice, Arter, Browne; McClean, O’Dowda, Long
| Position | United States players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Hamid, Steffen, Yarbrough |
| Defenders | Carter-Vickers, Lichaj, Miazga, Palmer-Brown, Robinson, Villafana, Yedlin, Moore, Parker |
| Midfielders | Corona, Green, McKennie, Parks, Rubin, Weah, Trapp, Adams, Saif, De La Torre |
| Forwards | Novakovich, Sargent, Wood |
There were a number of changes made between the Americans' game against Bolivia and the trip to Europe. Most notably, Christian Pulisic is off to enjoy his offseason, with MLS duo Tyler Adams and Wil Trapp added to the midfield. Bobby Wood joined the team up top.
DeAndre Yedlin joins to solidify the defense with Tim Ream out. Bill Hamid is the only holdover at the goalkeeper position. Zack Steffen and William Yarbrough are on the trip with Alex Bono headed back to Toronto FC.
Potential starting XI: Steffen; Yedlin, Carter-Vickers, Miazga, Villafana; Trapp, Adams; Rubin, Weah, Saif; Nokavovich
Betting & Match Odds
The bookmakers think an Ireland win or a draw is more likely than the visitors pulling an upset with dabblebet offering 23/20 odds on an Ireland win and 11/5 for a draw. A U.S. victory is at 23/10.
Click here to see all of dabblebet's offers for this weekend's international friendly matches.
Game Preview
It's not going to be an easy summer for U.S fans. As regional rivals prepare for the World Cup, the USMNT is looking toward 2022 - or at least toward the 2019 Gold Cup.
Things got off to a good start with a 3-0 victory over Bolivia with plenty of firsts as a handful of players making their international debuts and Walker Zimmerman, Josh Sargent and Tim Weah scoring their first goals for the Stars and Stripes.
Attention now shifts to a trip to Ireland, which is coming off a 2-0 defeat to France. The European side will pose a much bigger challenge than the young South Americans, especially with many Ireland regulars part of a group Martin O'Neill is preparing for the debut of the UEFA Nations League this fall having also missed out on the World Cup.
Some of the United States' best players, namely Christian Pulisic, have left the squad from the first game while others, including Newcastle United defender DeAndre Yedlin, are joining up with the group.
It's part of a continued process of mixing players who will lead the team forward in the next World Cup cycle with giving fresh faces an opportunity to prove that they too belong in the squad that will get the U.S. back to the World Cup.
MLS midfield pair Tyler Adams and Wil Trapp have been added to the roster. They're the expectations on the roster, though, with 21 of the 25 players called in based outside MLS.
Levante defender Shaq Moore, who made his Levante debut in 2017, and Fulham midfielder Luca de la Torre. Both have been involved with United States youth teams but are looking for their first senior cap. Tim Parker also is hoping to make his U.S. debut.
More important than the result for the U.S. is how those young players adapt to international soccer and if those who showed their potential against Bolivia can continue to give USMNT fans reason to believe there's plenty of talent in the pool.
