All Whites vs Republic of Ireland

Tuesday 21 November at 7:45pm [local] / Wednesday 22 November at 8:45am [NZT]

Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland

The All Whites finish 2023 against Republic of Ireland (FIFA rank 58) at Dublin’s iconic Aviva Stadium. The match comes four years after the sides last played each other in 2019, a game that saw debuts for a number of the current side and where the Irish won 3-1 after Callum McCowatt opened the scoring.  

Republic of Ireland come into the game off the back of an away 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Amsterdam. The home side will be keen to end the year with a victory, especially in the last game for defender/midfielder James McClean who will retire from international football after the match after earning over 100 caps for his country. 

The Irish side is made up of players predominately playing in the UK, with seven Premier League players. 


What captain Chris Wood said about the approach to the game: 

“It's a four-year process. We're building at the moment, but we need to start turning performances into wins as well as that.

“We are playing top oppositions. It's as much as about learning as it is about winning at the moment because come the World Cup, if we're fortunate enough to get there, we'll be playing these top oppositions, and you need to be ready for that.

“So it's a bit of balance of finding the right performance, the good performances that can break these big teams down, but also winning games at the same time.”

 

Likely Team:

Bazeley is set to stick with his preferred 4-3-3 formation but, as highlighted before the Greece game, he expects to make some changes to the starting line-up. 

In the last match he started Tyler Bindon and Tommy Smith as his centre-back pair together for the first time so could be keen to give one of his other options, such as Michael Boxall, Nando Pijanker or Finn Surman, a chance to impress in Dublin.  

Chris Wood confirmed in the pre-match press conference he feels he will able to play longer than the 45 minutes he managed against Greece after continuing to return to form after injury.  

In goal, Alex Paulsen is in brilliant form for Wellington Phoenix but is uncapped at international level. Could this be his chance to stake his claim? 


Player to Watch: Evan Ferguson

One of the hottest properties in European football? Brighton’s 19-year-old striker is tipped to go to the very top of the game and has scored 5 goals in 11 Premier League games so far this season. 

After having to leave the pitch with an injury in Republic of Ireland’s last game, the question will be if he is fit to start at home against the All Whites. 


Where to Watch: 

The match will be available live and free on FIFA+ and TVNZ Duke / TVNZ+ from 8:45am [NZT] on Wednesday 22 November.  


Article added: Tuesday 21 November 2023