Ireland take on USA at the Aviva on November 18th, so in association with NIVEA MEN - official skincare provider to the FAI - we’ve got 6 corporate box and 15 premium tickets to the game to give away. For a chance to win all you’ve got to do is vote (at the bottom of the page) for your favourite US international in our bracket. In this round we’ve got two pairs of premium tickets up for grabs.
The winners of this round were Ciaran O'Hehir and Owen Campbell, congrats lads and enjoy the game
There will be two semi-finals, one between Alexi Lalas and Cobi Jones, while this round is between John Harkes and Roy Wegerle.
John Harkes
The son of Scottish immigrants, John Harkes came to English football and Sheffield Wednesday in 1990. He remained there for three years, winning the League Cup in 1991. After that he made the move to Derby, fitting in a loan spell with West Ham too.
When the MLS was established in 1996, he was one of those to return home, being drafted by D.C. United. In a six-year MLS career he would also play for New England Revolution and Columbus Crew winning titles with the capital club in 1996 and 1997.
The midfielder also played for the US at the 1994 World Cup but was left out of the squad for the 1998 tournament.
Where is he now?
Harkes now works in the media with roles at SiriusXM radio and beIN Sport.
Some reasons why you should vote for John Harkes
He was one of People magazine's 50 most beautiful people in the world in 1994
Here's the actual page from that issue of the magazine.
He scored English football's 1991 goal of the year with this aesthetically pleasing belter for Sheffield Wednesday
First American to play in the Premier League
Harkes was at Sheffield Wednesday for the inaugural Premier League season and became the first American to play in the competition.
Roy Wegerle
Before English football had John Harkes, it had Roy Wegerle - a South African-born, American international with a mullet.
Wegerle's first English club was Chelsea but he also spent time with Luton, QPR, Blackburn and Coventry. His spell at QPR was his most successful in English football as he scored 29 goals in 65 appearances for the London club.
The striker played 41 times for the US, making his debut against Ireland in 3-1 win in Washington D.C. in 1992. He played at both the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
Where is he now?
Info on what Roy is currently at is sketchy, but he was spotted at a TK Maxx in Liverpool back in 2011.
Roy Wegerle browsing the discounts in TKMaxx in town. Everton not the only ones doing their shopping in the bargain bin #deadlineday
— Liam Tollady (@ljtollady) August 31, 2011
He once scored this superb solo effort for QPR
Following his professional football career, he tried his hand at professional golf
Just like Julian Dicks, Jimmy Bullard and Gary O'Neill, Wegerle was a footballer with ambitions of playing an individual sport - golf. He qualified for the 2002 Alfred Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg but would finish last.
He was the first American to score in the Premier League
In the same season (92/93) that John Harkes became the first American to play in the Premier League, Wegerle became the first American to score in the competition. He hit the back of the net for Blackburn in a 7-1 win over Norwich on October 3rd, 1992.
[gravityform id="46" name="Harkes vs Wegerle"]
Terms and conditions:
Winners have 24 hours to respond once contacted. If no response is received within that time then another winner will be selected. Full terms and conditions can be viewed here. This round of voting closes at 8pm on Wednesday November 12th. There will be more opportunities to win tickets to the game all week on Balls.ie and @ballsdotie.
