The build-up to Ireland’s vital World Cup qualifier steps up a notch tonight as Ireland take on Mexico at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Martin O’Neill’s side will play two friendly games over the next few days, before a week’s preparation ahead of the important clash with Austria at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, 11 June.
Tonight’s outing, first and foremost, is an exercise in shaking off the rustiness, as many of the players are almost a month since the end of their club season.
The three-day training camp at Fota Island was aimed at that group, as the players were brought back to full fitness, with the majority of the USA squad coming from the English Championship.
The Premier League contingent remain at home with Sunday’s encounter against Uruguay considered more of a dress rehearsal for the World Cup qualifier.
Regardless, a relatively strong squad has travelled for the Mexico match and Martin O’Neill will expect a performance from his side, as several players will certainly feature in the upcoming World Cup qualifier
So what is the manager looking to learn from tonight’s game?
O’Neill is set to test out a new formation and will be asking for a high-energy, committed performances with all the players knowing their respective jobs and the team playing as a unit.
"We could possibly play three centre-halves and two wing-backs," said the Ireland manager during the week, who is obviously concerned with his defensive options for the Austria game, with captain Seamus Coleman and centre-half Ciaran Clark sidelined.
The idea of using two wing-back tonight takes pressure off Cyrus Christie’s defensive game, while James McClean will probably play the left wing-back role, which could be a tactic that O’Neill may employ against Austria, allowing Robbie Brady to push forward.
But it should be a great occasion for the Diaspora of both countries, just a stone’s throw from New York City and there will be shades of World Cup 94 with the game taking place in the Stadium that stands adjacent to the site where Ireland enjoyed one of their most historic victories, beating Italy 1-0.
By kick-off time, a lot of the work will be already done with O’Neill’s second string primed for a testing encounter.
The result - as long as Ireland do not suffer a humiliating defeat - will not concern the manager, who will be all about the performance, structure and formation with that upcoming Austria game very firmly on his mind.
Seize the Day – Who will shine in New Jersey?
The Ireland manager will already have his starting XI for the Austria game, more or less, cemented in the mind, even at this stage, ahead of the two friendly fixtures.
But much can happen over the next 11 days as injuries or lack of match sharpness or form could still influence O’Neill ahead of the World Cup qualifier.
The English season can be a gruelling experience for the club player, particularly for those in the Championship and its 46-game fixture list.
Yet remarkably, the Ireland squad will certainly not complain of burn-out at this stage of the season with a fair chunk of the panel sitting on the bench for large stretches of the campaign.
In fact, the manager remarked recently that several squad members had not played a full, competitive 90-minute match since the team’s last get-together in March.
So while O’Neill will use the two games as a sort of roll call for his preferred eleven to make sure that they are at peak levels for the qualifier, there is also an opportunity for a player or two to show the manager that they can influence the end-of-season decider.
David McGoldrick is surely a player who will be under scrutiny tonight in New Jersey, as the manager craves some creativity in the final third of the pitch.
O’Neill is, without doubt, a fan of McGoldrick’s game yet the player has yet to really make his mark in the green shirt.
Chances won’t come better than a starting berth in tonight’s game, so it’s up to the Ipswich man to grab it.
Callum O’Dowda made such an impression, almost a year to the day, when the then Oxford midfielder arrived onto the pitch in Turner’s Cross to announce his potential on the international scene.
The versatile midfielder is likely to get a decent spell on the pitch tonight and the manager’s likely formation, which should include three front men can suit a player like O’Dowda, who is just as comfortable on either flank as he is through the middle.
The Player’s View – Hunt Happy with USA Adventure
Former Ireland midfielder Stephen Hunt is the veteran of many an away day with the international side, and the now retired former Reading man believes that this international can only help preparations for the Austria encounter.
"We’re obviously playing the two friendly games before the Austria game so it’s a good chance to put a marker down and I think Martin has had his surprises over the years with his selections, bringing in one or two out of nowhere," Hunt told RTE Sport.
"Over the years you think ‘ah, nice trip to America’ but this time the competitive match is after the trip so it will be an opportunity for the lads to impress.
"It only gets serious when the big boys turn up, it always felt that way for me when the Premier League boys arrived on the scene.
"It will be fairly relaxed but also the boys know deep down that it’s a chance for them to do well."
And Hunt believes than the entire training camp is just as important as the matches when it comes to impressing the management team, with Roy Keane in particular, keeping an eye on intensity levels during the training sessions.
"You can [influence] every day in training, you can set your tone. Look at the assistant manager, I’m sure he can be quite witty with his relaxed environment but you get into training and he will want intensity."
The Opposition
All eyes with be on former Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez, who scored his 47th international goal at the weekend in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Croatia.
That strike made ‘Chicharito’ the country’s top goalscorer of all time and this Mexico team will be looking for a big performance against Ireland, as they are preparing for two upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and the USA, before taking their place in this summer’s Confederations Cup – the World Cup curtain-raiser in Russia.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa left his mark with many excellent saves at the 2014 World Cup, where Mexico qualified for the last 16, only narrowly going out to the Netherlands.
Other players of note include Carlos Vela, Andres Guardado, Hector Herrera, Hector Moreno, Giovanni Dos Santos and Jesus Corona.
Remarkably, veteran centre-half Rafael Márquez, is still involved with the national team. The former Barcelona man is widely regarded as the greatest defender in Mexico’s history.
Mexico currently sit ten places above the Republic of Ireland in the FIFA World Rankings in 16th place.
Possible Ireland XI: Darren Randolph; Cyrus Christie, Alex Pearce, Richard Keogh, Shane Duffy, James McClean; Eunan O'Kane, Conor Hourihane; Wes Hoolahan, David McGoldrick, Daryl Murphy.
