Ireland v Latvia: Evan Ferguson to start while Matt Doherty set to captain country for first time

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny has confirmed that Brighton striker Evan Ferguson will make his start for the Boys in Green against Latvia while Atlético Madrid's Matt Doherty will lead his country out for the first time at the Aviva Stadium tonight.

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Ferguson comes into this international break with the tag of being the man in-form at club level - having scored seven goals for the Seagulls so far this season.

Speaking on the talented 18-year-old, Kenny said: "His career is in its infancy. He's had a great start to his Premier League career and is scoring some goals in the Premier League, the FA Cup and League Cup. We have known about Evan for a few years now, coming through the system in Ireland with Bohemians and coming through the underage international teams.

"He's showing he is ready to come into the team and he will make his first start tomorrow in the game."

Doherty, who joined Diego Simeone's side in January, spoke about his move ahead of the friendly encounter. 

"It’s going well for me in Spain," the former Spurs defender said.

"It’s a different experience completely, different culture, different preparation for games. I’m enjoying my time there even though I’m not playing that much.

"The reason I left was, initially, it was just to go on loan for the rest of the season and then obviously we had the problems with too many loans, so then it was a case of I couldn’t really say no to that type of experience and a manager of his calibre."

Tonight's kick-off is at 7.45pm in Dublin.

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⚽️ | Ireland vs Latvia
| International Friendly
⌚️ | KO 7:45pm
| @AVIVAStadium
| @RTEsoccer

Our first game of 2023 is here pic.twitter.com/IKz0C2VY4E

— Ireland Football ⚽️ (@IrelandFootball) March 22, 2023