The Republic of Ireland will face the USA for a second time in three days tonight as they take on the World Champions St. Louis, Missouri.
Ireland who are preparing for their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup, lost 2-0 to the Amercian side in their first meeting on Saturday in Austin, Texas. Ireland put on a brave brave fight against the hosts but were unable to prevent goals from Emily Fox and Lindsey Horan to give the United States a 2-0 victory.
The USWNT are unbeaten in 2023, having won the SheBelieves Cup in February and defeated New Zealand twice in January. They have also qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup as the CONCACAF champions, and are aiming to defend their title for a third consecutive time. The hosts will be without their leading scorer Mallory Swanson, who suffered a torn patella tendon in her left knee on Saturday and will miss the rest of the season. Swanson had scored seven goals in six games for the USWNT this year, and has been a key player for Chicago Red Stars in the NWSL. Her absence will be big blow for the USA but may present an opportunity for rising star, Trinity Rodman.
USA coach Andowovski was complimentary of how organised Ireland were. "Ireland were well organised and disciplined on Saturday", he said. "Exactly the type of opponent that we need. We had a slow start, but the players stayed patient. We played our way into the game. We created opportunities and we scored two goals, so I think it was a job well done."
Many had thought due to the short turnaround, Ireland coach Vera Pauw would ring the changes but Pauw squashed those ideas by insisting now is not the time to start experimenting. "This game is another opportunity for us to test ourselves under the pressure of playing against a quality team. It is a challenge that we will embrace as it will help our preparation for the World Cup," Pauw said. "We will make some changes with both Aoife Mannion and Sinead Farrelly not starting this game due to injury prevention as we need to protect them because of their limited game-time at club level."
A very impressive debut from Sinead Farrelly👏
⏰ 75 mins
🇺🇸1-0🇮🇪 #OUTBELIEVE | #COYGIG | #USAIRL pic.twitter.com/Hl5QHQyzCh— Sky Ireland (@SkyIreland) April 8, 2023
The game will kick off at 12:30 PM midnight, Irish Time, and will be broadcast live on RTE2.
