International Friendly Preview: Republic of Ireland -v- Iceland

• John O'Shea
• Tue, Mar 28 2017




REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

 

Robbie Brady will captain Ireland on Tuesday night at the Aviva Stadium when Iceland come to Dublin for this friendly fixture.

 

The Burnley man will step up to the plate and wear the skipper's armband following the broken leg sustained by Seamus Coleman, in the World Cup 2018 qualifier against Wales on Friday, an injury which is almost certain to see him out for all of Ireland's remaining group games.

 

The Coleman injury overshadowed the game against Wales and he now faces a lengthy spell out of action. The Everton man was, not surprisingly, the central talking point in the pre match press conference ahead of the Iceland game.

 

Irish boss Martin O'Neill said: "It is a terrible blow for the player. I think he is coming to terms with it but he is down, as you would be. The realisation that he will be out for a year has dawned on him.

 

"As a manager your first reaction is that you have lost a very important player. But you feel for the player and the pain he is going through."

 

O'Neill also gave an indicator that he will play an experimental side against the Euro 2016 quarter-finalists.

 

Tuesday will be a good chance for the likes of Brentford defender John Egan, Aston Villa's Conor Hourihane and Preston and former Dundalk pair, Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan, to get their opportunity to impress O'Neill, following good displays at club level this season.

 

They will all hope to be in the thoughts of the manager for the next crucial qualifier in June, when Ireland host Austria in Dublin.

 

This is on the same night as Serbia's home game with Wales, so it has the potential to be a crucial night in the concluding places come the end of the group.

 

"There will probably be a few players who will get their first taste of international football. They will have the opportunity to press a claim for future appearances."

 

O'Neill has also stated that a number of the more experienced players who are still with the squad might not play any part against Iceland.

 

John O'Shea, Jonathan Walters, Glenn Whelan and James McCarthy have all already returned to their respective clubs.

 

 

ICELAND

Iceland will make the trip to Dublin fresh off victory in their World Cup Qualifying Group I over Kosovo and, following their memorable showing at last summer's European Championships, their reputation is most certainly growing.

 

Their victory over England at last summer's tournament in France was the biggest result in the country's history.

Iceland were tipped by many to be only at the Euros to make up the numbers, but they most certainly made their presence felt throughout the tournament.

 

They have earned the respect of the football community and when you consider they only have population of less than 350,000 people, it makes their achievement of rising to 22nd in the FIFA World Rankings look even better. In fact, Iceland are ahead of Ireland in the current world rankings.

 

Heimer Halgrimsson's side recorded a 2-1 victory in Kosovo, a game which saw Swansea midfielder Gyifi Sigurdsson among the goals.

 

They have continued their positive momentum from last summer's Euros, as the Kosovo win put them into second position in their group, three points behind the leaders Croatia.

 

They are still in with every chance of getting to Russia next summer, but some crucial clashes with Turkey and Ukraine lie in wait as the battle for qualification heats up.

 

 

Referee: Jakob Kehlet (Denmark).

 

 

MATCH STATS

The last meeting between these two sides took place in September of 1997 in a World Cup Qualifier, when current Irish assistant manager Roy Keane was among the goals, scoring twice in a 4-2 win.

 

Iceland's Vidar Kjartansson ,  who started against Kosovo in Albania the other night,  played for Maccabi Tel Aviv last September in their defeat to Dundalk at Tallaght Stadium.

 

Iceland manager Heimer Hallgrimsson has managed a team in Dublin before. In 2011 he was the boss at IBV when they lost 2-0 to St Patricks Athletic, in a UEFA Europa League qualifier.

 

 

BETTING

Republic of Ireland 5/4; Draw 11/5; Iceland 12/5.

 

PREDICTION

Republic Of Ireland 2 – 1 Iceland

 

 

Republic Of Ireland

Injured: Seamus Coleman.

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

 

Iceland

Injured: Unavailable.

Doubtful: Unavailable.

Suspended: Unavailable.