Mexico – Republic of Ireland (International Friendlies)
Mexico national team and Republic of Ireland national team will face each other at the dawn of Friday at the MetLife Stadium, in New Jersey, in a friendly match. The mexicans show up here after a defeat against Croatia, also in a friendly match, and play this tie in order to get more prepared for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, where they will face Honduras. Republic of Ireland, on their turn, play their first game since March, and will also have to face Uruguay two days after this tie before starting their campaign through the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, where they will face Austria.
Mexico are preparing for their second friendly match this week, having lost against Croatia by 1-2 on Sunday, and are trying to be at their fullest for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers that are coming closer. In those qualifiers, Mexico are in a very good form and are leading Group A with 10 points, and haven’t yet tasted defeat, with Costa Rica in 2nd place with 7 points, and Panama in 3rd with 5 points, all of them in qualification places.
This month, The Tricolor will also have to get prepared to the Confederations Cup, and for the Gold Cup, in July. This national team led by Juan Carlos Osorio have some good talented players who play for some good european teams, such as the defenders Layún and Carlos Salcedo, FC Porto and Fiorentina, the midfielders Herrera, Jonathan dos Santos and Marco Fabián, FC Porto, Villarreal and Frankfurt, and the forwards Jiménez, Chicharito and Corona, SL Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen and FC Porto.
In their 4 matches played this year, Mexico has a record of 3 victories and 1 defeat. This sequence of results started with a 1-0 victory against Iceland, friendly match. This result was followed by a 2-0 victory against Costa Rica, a 0-1 victory over Trinidad and Tobago, and in their last clash, a 1-2 defeat against Croatia.
Probable Lineup: Ochoa – Luis Reyes, Salcedo, Moreno and Layún – Guardado, Herrera and Marco Fabián – Giovani dos Santos, Jiménez and Corona.
Republic of Ireland, on their turn, are getting ready for their 3rd match since 2017 beginning, having draw against Wales, for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, and lost the other one against Iceland, in a friendly match. The Green Army will also have to face Uruguay after this tie against Mexico in order to be at the top of their form when they start the World Cup qualifiers, where they are getting very positive results in Group D, being 2nd placed with the same 11 points than leader Serbia, both without having been defeated in all the 5 rounds of Group A.
The irish squad doesn’t have such talented players like Mexico, but are a very united and aggressive team that always fights until the end. 19 of the 20 players called up for this match play in the Premier League or in the Championship, with only Ronan Curtis playing in Ireland for Derry City.
In their last 5 matches, Republic of Ireland has a record of 3 victories, 1 draw and 1 defeat. This sequence of results started with a 1-0 victory over Georgia. This result was followed by a 1-3 victory against Macedonia, a 0-1 victory over Austria, a 0-0 draw against Wales, and in their last clash, a 0-1 defeat against Iceland, in a friendly match.
Probable Lineup: Randolph – Christie, Duffy, Boyle and Kevin Long – Gleeson, Hourihane, O’Dowda and Horgan – McClean – Curtis.
The last 3 direct clashes played in the last 21 years have all finished tied.
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República da Irlanda
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2-2 |
México
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Jogos Amigáveis 2000
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República da Irlanda
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0-0 |
México
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Jogos Amigáveis 1998
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México
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2-2 |
República da Irlanda
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Jogos Amigáveis 1996
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Mexico are in good form in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers and possess more talented players than their opponents. Republic of Ireland have a good defensive organization, but the mexicans might have what it takes to get a positive result here.
