Republic of Ireland to play England at Wembley next month

The Republic of Ireland will face Gareth Southgate's England in an international friendly at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, November 12th with an 8pm kick-off.

The FAI also announced that the Ireland squad will base themselves in England ahead of the match which will be followed by UEFA Nations League games away to Wales and a game against Bulgaria.

Ireland last played the Three Lions in Wembley in 2013. That evening, Frank Lampard canceled out an early strike from Shane Long in the first meeting of the two teams since the infamous 1995 friendly at Lansdowne Road which was abandoned after 27 minutes due to a riot from the England fans. 

The two teams also played out a scoreless draw in the summer of 2015 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. 

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny welcomed the announcement from a footballing and player welfare perspectives. 

"It’s a high quality game for the team,” he said. “With minimal travel between London, Cardiff and Dublin in these changed times, it is better for us logistically with player welfare paramount.

"It helps ensure we will have our strongest possible squad available for all three matches."

Interim FAI CEO Gary Owen also welcomed the announcement: “We are delighted to accept this invitation to play at Wembley from the English FA. There is something very special about any game against England and I know our supporters will look forward to this match, even if they can’t be there.”

Next month’s game will also be the first time that Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, who both played football for Ireland, will line out against their former country. 

    About Dylan O'Connell

    Dylan is a freelance journalist based in Cork. He joined Extratime in 2016 and he covers games all across Ireland. His bylines include The Echo, Irish Independent, Irish Examiner, The 42, RTÉ Sport, and Irish … View Full Profile