USA vs. Ireland Women's Soccer: Date, Time, TV Info and Live Stream for Friendly

The reigning world champions, the U.S. women's national team, are back in action on Saturday as they face a motivated Republic of Ireland side searching for revenge at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego.

The Americans cruised past the Irish side when they met shortly before the World Cup last year, earning a 3-0 victory in San Jose, with the legendary Abby Wambach scoring twice. 

The USA are playing their first match of 2016, beginning their preparations in earnest for the summer's Olympic Games.  

Here is how you can catch the action when the two teams face off and clash:

Viewing Info 

Date: Saturday, Jan. 23 

Time:  2 p.m. (PT); 5 p.m. (ET); 10 p.m. (GMT)

Live Stream: Fox Sports 2Go (U.S. only)

TV Info: Fox Sports 1 (U.S. only); Setanta Sports (Ireland only) 

Match Preview

2015 was the year that America's women reclaimed their place at the forefront of football once again, winning the World Cup in emphatic style in Canada. 

However, with the retired Wambach's influence now missing from the squad, the USA need to come again in 2016, with the motivation of the Olympics just around the corner.

Ireland can be a dogged team against any opposition, but their FIFA world ranking of No. 32 underlines the task at hand when they face the best team on the planet. 

Brian Bahr/Getty Images

The Republic offered no real opposition when they travelled to California last May, and failed to hit the target during the contest, compared to America's 26 shots—according to U.S. Soccer.

The game represents the start of a busy period for the USWNT, who have announced they will host an elite tournament featuring the best teams in the world, including Germany, France and England.

The SheBelieves Cup will take place in March, and the United States will surely use the Ireland encounter to fine-tune their fitness ahead of the event.

A big crowd is expected on Saturday, as announced by the USWNT on social media:

Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

The USA are fresh form the success achieved at the recent FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony, where Carli Lloyd and Jill Ellis were decorated as the women's World Player and Coach of the Year.

Lloyd became the fourth American to receive the huge accolade, per U.S. Soccer, proving herself to have no equal at the World Cup as she forced the USA over the winning line.

One advantage for the Irish in the upcoming game, over their defeat last year, is the availability of captain Emma Byrne—considered one of the finest goalkeepers in the world.

Getty Images/Getty Images

Byrne missed the game in 2015 against the USA and was replaced by deputy Niamh Reid Burke—who made a collection of fine saves to keep the scoreline respectable.

Reid Burke, who is likely to be on the bench in the San Diego game, said via the Football Association of Ireland's official website:

"

It is always going to be hard but it is not something that I haven’t expected. Emma is not only the first choice goalkeeper but she is also the captain and the most capped Irish player ever, so it always going to be hard competing against the first choice goalkeeper. But you never know what might happen in a game. I could have a chance to come on and I just have to ready for that.

"

It is unlikely America will be unduly worried by Byrne's presence, but the stopper represents a world-class opponent for the hosts' attackers. 

Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn recently spoke about their hopes for the immediate future and beyond for their team, as they once again tackle a competitive year in women's football, per U.S. Soccer WNT:

JIM WATSON/Getty Images

The USA are a better team than they were when they last came up against Ireland, but the visitors should also be more prepared with Byrne between the sticks.

The presence of America's World Cup winners, and the magical skills of Lloyd, will make this match one hurdle too far for the Republic to jump, and a heavy loss could be on the cards due to the gulf in class.

USWNT will be out to prove last year's global stage success wasn't a one-off event, and with Germany, France and England about to touch down stateside in only a matter of weeks, Ellis' collective will need to be at their sharpest and most competitive.