THE Portuguese Football Association will include Dublin in the schedule of friendly matches in the build up to the European Championship finals this summer, it was announced at the FAI executive meeting in Dublin last night.

The last time they were here the Portuguese lost 1-0 against an Irish side that looked to be heading for the finals themselves.

Now, the new manager, Mick McCarthy, will use the May 29th fixture to size up his side ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaign. For the visitors, the match will come just 11 days before they face Denmark in Sheffield.

The rest of the Republic's scheduled programme of friendlies is unchanged, although the FAI has confirmed they will request that their match against Mexico in the US Cup be switched from the west to the east coast.

The match, set for June 12th, has been the cause of some concern. But the FAI have confirmed that the Irish team is likely to compete in the tournament, which also includes the US and Bolivia.

The meeting of the executive also discussed the remarks made by the FAI president, Louis Kilcoyne, in the aftermath of McCarthy's appointment.