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Ireland women to face world champions USA in January

Sue Ronan puts the players through their paces in Tallaght Stadium
Sue Ronan puts the players through their paces in Tallaght Stadium

The Republic of Ireland senior women will face world champions USA on Saturday, 23 January in San Diego.

They will also play the USA Under-23 team in a match behind closed doors in Carson, near Los Angeles, on Monday, 25 January.

The sides last met in May in San Jose when USA, ranked number 1 in the world, won 3-0 in a match that was part of their preparations for what was ultimately a successful World Cup campaign in Canada as they lifted the trophy for the third time.

Ireland manager Sue Ronan commented: “We normally go to La Manga in January for a Winter Training Camp but couldn’t turn down this opportunity to test ourselves against the best.

“Having two matches in California will give me the opportunity to have a good look at all the players in the squad as well as some of those based in America because we have a lot of work to do before the EURO 2017 qualifiers resume in April.”

Ireland are currently in the middle of their qualifying campaign for EURO 2017 and have three points from their opening three games after an away win over Portugal and defeats at home to top seeds Spain and second seeds Finland.

After the trip to America they will head to the Cyprus Cup in March for four matches before resuming the EURO 2017 qualifying campaign in April with back-to-back away games against Montenegro and Spain.

The USA are preparing to defend the Olympic title they won in London in 2012 and will use the Ireland game as preparation for the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, which is due to take place in America next February with the USA drawn against Costa Rica, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

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