A place in the European Championship playoff final is the prize as Israel battle Iceland in a semi-final clash on Thursday. A thrilling contest could be expected here, although Israel are likely to have the slight edge.
Israel are in the Euro 2024 playoffs after finishing third in Group I of the qualifiers behind Romania and Switzerland. They made a bright start to the campaign but lost their way towards the end.
The good news for Israel is that they did finish on a high note, claiming a 2-0 victory at Andorra. An own-goal from Joan Cervos put them in front before Gizacho Kinda struck the second nine minutes from time.
One of the reasons for Israel’s inconsistency is a shaky backline that often struggles to keep things tight. Alon Hazan’s men have kept just two clean sheets in their last 15 matches across all competitions.
Iceland were placed in a difficult group during the qualifiers as they finished behind former champions Portugal and Slovakia. They were never in the mix for automatic qualification and were beaten six times during the campaign.
Things got really bad for Iceland towards the end of the qualifiers as they lost their final two matches. They were beaten 4-2 by Slovakia before ending their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to former European champions Portugal.
One positive for Iceland is that they have attempted to build some confidence with a string of friendlies in recent times. Age Hareide’s men head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 2-0 victory over Honduras in an international friendly.
How the bookies view it
Israel have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 5/4 by bet365 to claim the win. A victory for Iceland is valued at 12/5 by Betfred while Unibet is also offering odds of 12/5 for a draw.
Head to head
Israel have never lost to Iceland, with two wins and three draws from five previous matches. Their last meeting was a UEFA Nations League clash in 2022 which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Players to watch
Eran Zahavi is one of the most experienced players for Israel and is expected to lead the line on Thursday. The striker is coming off an impressive run in front of goal for Maccabi Tel Aviv having found the net eight times in the last six club matches and could be backed to carry his scoring run into the national team at 7/4 with bet365.
Andri Gudjohnsen has caught the eye for Iceland in recent internationals and could be the one to watch on Thursday. The forward was on target in the friendly win against Honduras and is priced at 15/4 by bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither defence has been solid lately and having produced over 3.5 goals in their last two meetings, a repeat is priced at 29/10 by BetVictor. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 11/10 by bet365, who is also offering 5/6 on both teams to score.
Israel appear to have more attacking options and could be backed to score in both halves at 5/2 with Paddy Power.
This Euro 2024 match between Israel and Iceland will be played on Mar 21, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Israel vs Iceland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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