Belgium vs Israel

Nagyerdei Stadion is the venue as Belgium and Israel lock horns in their opening UEFA Nations League Group A/2 encounter.

Belgium’s status in world football has derailed after another disappointing result at a major tournament, with France condemning De Rode Duivels to a heartbreaking last-16 exit at Euro 2024. Domenico Tedesco’s side can claim revenge in the Nations League, as they share Group A/2 with the French, Italy, and Israel. The latest will try to pour more misery on the Belgians, who have won the last four meetings between the two nations by an aggregate score of 10-1. However, Belgium cannot count on their often raucous home support after their Football Federation decided against hosting this match for security reasons, forcing a switch to Debrecen, where the two teams will collide behind closed doors. Worryingly for Tedesco, his men failed to score in three of their four outings at Euro 2024, casting doubt on their scoring credentials on neutral ground.

On the other hand, Israel failed to qualify for Euro 2024, and it may be a while before they can contest at the grandest stage again, with FIFA contemplating banning them from international football at the Palestinian Football Association’s request. Ran Ben Shimon’s men must contend with such circumstances in their maiden League A appearance after going unbeaten in all four Group B/2 matches in the previous iteration (W2, D2) to earn promotion to the highest tier. Points could prove hard to come at this level, especially with Israel’s last victory against a nation ranked in FIFA’s current top ten dating all the way back to 1998. As if that’s not ominous enough, before demolishing sub-par Belarus 4-0 in their last friendly, the Israelis had lost their first two internationals in 2024 by a three-game margin.