After failing to secure a 1-0 lead against Colombia on Friday, the United States eventually fell 2-1 to the No. 3 ranked team in the world. They'll look to redeem themselves on Tuesday as they travel to Dublin to face the Irish national team at 2:45 p.m. ET.
But the Americans aren't the only ones seeking redemption. Ireland suffered a surprising loss to Scotland on Friday when midfielder Shaun Mahoney netted the tiebreaker in the 74th minute. The 1-0 win for the Scots improved their positioning to qualify for the 2016 European Championship, while the Irish took a step back.
The two squads will have a chance to rid themselves of the sour taste in their mouths on Tuesday, but they'll both be missing some of their top players. Irish manager Martin O'Neill dismissed Robbie Keane so he could practice with the LA Galaxy in preparation for the MLS conference finals, while Klinsmann sent Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution), Lee Nguyen (Revolution) and DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders) back to the states to do the same.
Unfortunately for the United States, the national team is 0-1-2 since September's international friendly win over the Czech Republic and have squandered three second half leads in those three games, allowing a goal in the 86th minute or beyond in each contest. Nonetheless, Klinsmann believes his team is gaining the proper experience as they face other national teams abroad.
"We could make it easy and play every game at home and choose [opponents] where we kind of have a big advantage, but then I'm not developing this program. I'm not getting the team to another level," Klinsmann told reporters at his prematch news conference, via this ESPNFC article. "Playing Colombia, playing in Ireland, playing somewhere in Europe, going down to South America -- we need those experiences to get better and to prepare for the real big tournaments."
Although Klinsmann has set annual records since taking over for the U.S. Men's National Team, their current stretch of international friendlies has been disappointing. They've scored only four goals in four games and finished with draws against Ecuador and Honduras. Meanwhile, Ireland is in the midst of qualification for the 2016 Euro Cup, during which they've gone 2-1-1 including victories over Gibraltar and Georgia and a draw against Germany.
Today's international friendly between the United States and Ireland will take place at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2 with coverage starting at 2:30 ET. Click HERE to live stream the game.
