THE FAI HAVE confirmed that Vera Pauw’s Republic of Ireland team will play two friendlies next month as part of the final preparation period ahead of their World Cup qualifying fixtures later this year.
Ireland will play a double-header of friendlies against Iceland in June, with both fixtures taking place in Reykjavik.
The first game will take place on Friday, 11 June, with the second fixture penned in for Tuesday, 15 June.
Ireland were recently drawn in Group A for the qualification phase of the 2023 World Cup, and will play Sweden, Finland, Slovakia and Georgia as they look to secure a place at the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
CONFIRMED | WNT Friendly Games
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) May 18, 2021
Two matches in Reykjavik for Vera Pauw's squad to prepare for #FIFAWWC qualifiers
June 11 | 🇮🇸 v 🇮🇪
June 15 | 🇮🇸 v 🇮🇪#COYGIG | #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/PuGVOn1BEY
Pauw’s squad also played two friendlies last month, losing 1-0 at home to Denmark before another 1-0 loss away to Belgium.
“It is really important that we get to use this international window to continue our preparations for the 2023 Fifa World Cup qualifiers,” Pauw said.
“We have made a lot of positive strides in recent months in each of our sessions together and this week, with two tough games, will provide us with another opportunity to continue that work.
“For this window, we had many different options but ultimately we chose to play against Iceland, who are ranked 17th in the World and have qualified for Euro 2022. Just like our decision to play Denmark and Belgium in April, we want to test ourselves against high calibre opposition.
“It is crucial that we maintain the standards that we have raised in our last few camps and work harder to get even better. It’s clear to see that the more time that the staff get to have with the players there are noticeable improvements made.
“I look forward to meeting up with the players and staff again to continue that work.”
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