Prediction: Ireland vs United States

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 11/5

Bookmaker: bet365

While Ireland and the United States both would’ve been expecting to qualify for the World Cup this year, unfortunately, fate had different plans. Both sets of fans will go into this game knowing that they won’t get to experience playing in the tournament this time around, and that’s a shame. Still, there are 90 minutes of football to be played, and neither team has anything to lose.

Ireland

The Irish are probably still reeling from the last six months following their failure to qualify for the World Cup. It seemed like they had all the momentum in the world following their victory over Wales, but unfortunately, they came up against a much better side in the form of Denmark in their playoff encounter. Despite this, they’ll still want to put on a show as their fans prepare to watch yet another major international tournament from home.

Team News

John O’Shea will officially retire following this game.

United States

Given the quality of their qualifying region, the United States are often expected to reach the World Cup. Unfortunately, a poorly managed campaign meant that their inevitable failure to reach Russia didn’t actually feel all too surprising. They’ll need to have a serious reshuffle over the next few years in order to ensure they make it to Qatar, but in the meantime, it’s starting to feel like there’s a fresh generation of youngster stars coming through for the Americans.

Team News

The US will likely play a wealth of youngsters in this encounter.

Factors to Consider

• Ireland have only lost two of their nine games against the United States.
• The US’ last victory over the Irish came back in 1996.
• The Americans last failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1986.
• Ireland have lost their last three games, with their last win coming in October 2017.
• The US are riding a two-game winning streak after victories over Paraguay and Bolivia.

Conclusion

While the emotions will be running high for some, this just feels like any other international friendly featuring two nations who weren’t able to qualify for the World Cup. It’ll probably be thoroughly entertaining, but it won’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. We’ll go for a 2-2 draw.

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 11/5

Bookmaker: bet365