This will be interesting.
The Republic of Ireland will face Northern Ireland in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium in November, it has been confirmed.
The clash will take place on Thursday, 15 November and will be the first meeting between the senior teams since May 2011. It will also mark the first time Martin O’Neill and Michael O’Neill have met as international managers.
The game falls at an interesting time, just four days before Ireland travel to play Denmark in the UEFA Nations League, so the friendly can be a useful way of preparing for another daunting trip to Copenhagen for Martin O’Neill’s side, which concludes the Nations League campaign.
It’s similar for Northern Ireland, who host Austria at Windsor Park on Sunday, November 18.
The match falls on an official Nations League game day but neither side are scheduled to play on November 15.
📅 Thursday 15 November 2018
⚽️ Northern Ireland v @FAIreland
📍 Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
➡️ https://t.co/KFdlHDWM9E ⬅️ #GAWA— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland) February 5, 2018
Speaking via the IFA website, Michael O’Neill said: “UEFA have made it mandatory that we play a friendly on that date and when we looked at the options across Europe, travelling to Dublin to play the Republic of Ireland made a lot of sense.
“It means that we can stay on the island for the week, train in our usual environment and play a game that will be a good test for us ahead of the Austria match.
“Both countries qualified for UEFA EURO 2016 and both narrowly missed out on qualification for Russia, so it will be an evenly matched and hard-fought contest.
“From a personal point of view I am looking forward to managing a team against Martin, a manager who I hugely respect and admire.
The Republic of Ireland will also face Poland in another friendly encounter, in June, with the venue yet to be confirmed.
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