In what should be a very close contest between two evenly-matched teams, the United States and Ireland will play one another Tuesday in an international friendly soccer game.

We've never seen these two nations face each other in the World Cup before, and neither have been able to live up to expectations in the past. Neither the United States or Ireland have won a World Cup title, but the future looks bright for both teams.

Let's see who has the edge in this game:

United States of America

The United States ranks No. 23 overall in the world and third-best in CONCACAF. Only Costa Rica (16) and Mexico (17) rank higher among CONCACAF nations.

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the United States played well in Group G with just one loss and qualified for the knockout round. Unfortunately, America's hopes for a World Cup title vanished in the first round against Belgium in a thrilling 2-1 defeat in extra time. Goalkeeper Tim Howard was fantastic in net, but even he couldn't save the United States from elimination.

Since 1934, the United States has advanced past the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 just once, in 2002.

In the United States' last friendly, they lost to Colombia 2-1. The only goal scored by an America player was by Jozy Altidore, on a penalty kick. Although Howard is a great goalkeeper, he did not play in that game and is not expected to start in goal against Ireland. Brad Guzan should start in net for Team USA, as he did against Colombia.

Manager Jurgen Klinsmann has had a very eventful beginning as head coach. Leaving Landon Donovan off the roster was a very controversial decision. The United States' strength is on the offensive side of the ball. Altidore, Chris Wondolowski and Clint Dempsey are all good forwards. Dempsey scored two goals during the 2014 World Cup.

Republic of Ireland

The Irish National Team ranks No. 61 in the world, and 33rd overall in UEFA. Competing in UEFA is extremely tough because there are so many great European national teams such Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Portugal and many others.

Soccer is the most popular sport in Ireland, but expectations have fallen short when compared to other Western European nations, especially their rivals, England. Ireland has only advanced past the Round of 16 just one time in World Cup history, 1990, when they defeated Romania in Italy.

Martin O'Neill has been the head coach of this team since 2013.

Ireland won their last friendly against Oman, 2-0. Kevin Doyle and Alex Pearce each scored a goal in that game. Ireland's goalkeeper, Shay Given, is a very experienced netminder, and he is expected to start in goal against the United States.

Unfortunately for Ireland, forward Robbie Keane will not be playing, as he has decided to focus more on his Major League Soccer career with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Team captain John O'Shea leads a young group of defenders against the United States. Without Keane, middle field performance will have to play "keep away" from Team USA. Aiden McGeady has played the last 10 years on the Irish National Team, and he will be leading the middle field attack.

Schedule, Where to Watch

USA and Ireland will play each other on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 2:45 p.m. EST. The game will be played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland. The game will be shown on ESPN2. You can view a live game stream here.

Predictions

The United States has the edge in offense, but without Howard starting in goal, anything is possible. Ireland would love to end their 2014 friendly schedule with a win over the United States, especially at home. Altidore will be the main scoring threat for Team USA, but Klinsmann may experiment a little with the roster in this game. It should be a close game between two good good teams.

USA wins 4-3

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