Ireland return to international action against Morocco in Spain

The FAI have confirmed Ireland’s first friendly international ahead of next year’s World Cup will be against Morocco in Marbella, Spain on Monday, November 14th.

The match will be played behind closed doors as the association’s efforts to secure a home game came up short.

“Details on the broadcasting of the game will be announced in due course,” read an FAI statement for the 5pm kick-off.

“It has been a challenge to find an opponent at such short notice but we are really pleased that we can confirm this training camp in Marbella followed by a game against Morocco,” said Ireland manager Vera Pauw. “While we would have liked to play in front of our fans, it has not been possible to find a suitable opponent for a home fixture so we will have to wait until next year to thank our fans for their unbelievable support that helped us to achieve qualification to our first ever World Cup.

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“We have international windows in February, April and June next year to continue our preparations for the World Cup and we are busy working on our plans around those dates. But, right now, we want to make the most of this camp which gives us the opportunity to see all of our players playing under the type of pressure that you only get in international football.”

The squad links up this Monday for the eight-day training camp.

Meanwhile, Uefa have confirmed a Nations League competition, similar to the men’s, will be launched after the 2023 World Cup. Ireland, based on their current Fifa rankings, would be placed in League A but that may change by next Autumn.