The confirmation that the Republic of Ireland are to play Italy at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham, on May 31st adds yet another date to the calendar.
It’ll be the first time the sides have met since Italy’s 2-0 win in Poznan during the 2012 European Championship, a match which Ireland went into having already been knocked out.
And it will come just a couple of weeks before the 20th anniversary of Ray Houghton’s famous winner in the Giants Stadium at USA 94.
Ireland are already due to play Turkey in Dublin on May 25th, and a trip to the US to take on Portugal and Costa Rica is also likely.
All of that will keep the players playing up until June 10th, almost a month after the end of the club season for those in the Premier League, longer for others.
It’s a difficult balance to strike. The silver lining of not making it to the World Cup is getting a good break while others toil in Brazil, but now playing so far into the summer will greatly reduce the amount of rest to be had before the players go back to their clubs for pre-season training.
On the other hand, it’s just a fact of life that the FAI need revenue from home matches and lucrative foreign engagements, more so than ever with the new stadium still to be paid for.
Also, Martin O’Neill has only seen his new team play three times, and with the August friendly date now gone, the end of this season is his last chance to get some matches in before the European qualifiers start away to Georgia in September
