Boys in Green to take on Spain in New York

The Football Association of Ireland have confirmed that they will play a prestigious friendly against European and World champions Spain in June.

The clash will take place in Yankee Stadium in New York City, on the 11^th of June at 8pm GMT. It will be the last friendly in the summer 2013 for the Republic of Ireland senior team.

They kick off the series against old rivals England at Wembley Stadium on the 29^th of May, before taking on Georgia at the Aviva Stadium on the 2^nd of June in a ‘3’ International Friendly. Giovanni Trapattoni men then host the Faroe Islands in a World Cup qualifying match on the 7^th of June before jetting off to the United States for their glamour tie with the world’s elite.

Speaking just after the announcement, manager Trapattoni said:

“I am looking forward to playing this match in New York. Our team is in evolving and showing a lot of promise. The recent games demonstrated that our players have serious potential.

“Matches against opposition like England, Georgia and Spain are very helpful to that development and great preparation for our important competitive fixtures in June, September and October.”

The two sides last met in June of last year, at the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. Spain emerged 4-0 victors on that occasion, displaying just too much attacking prowess for the Boys in Green to handle.

The Iberian side then went on to win the whole competition outright, drawing praise that called them the greatest international side of all time, and so it is a daunting task for the Irish players.

The match will be the second of two football games to take place in New York this summer, with Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester City locking horns on the 25^th of May.

A first sales phase ticket bundle for both matches will be available from the 10^th of April at 10am (GMT) through www.yankees.com/soccer after which tickets are expected to go on single match sale.

Supporters travelling from Ireland will be able to apply for tickets for the match against Spain from April 15 at 9am through www.fai.ie/away.

The FAI have also confirmed that they have received confirmation from the Austrian FA that the World Cup qualifying match with them will take place in Vienna on the 10^th of September.