Israel vs Iceland prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification – Promotion betting tips on match 2024-03-20 19:45.
[p]A place in Group E of UEFA Euro 2024 alongside Belgium, Slovakia, and Romania is at stake as Israel and Iceland prepare to battle it out in the qualification play-offs. The Israelis were drawn as the home team for this semi-final after winning their UEFA Nations League (UNL) group, although given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, home advantage doesn’t apply, with this game now being contested in Hungary. [/p]
[p]Israel have prior experience of qualification play-offs, most recently being eliminated at this stage on penalties after a goalless encounter with Scotland ahead of Euro 2020. As such, the Sky Blue and Whites will be hoping to end a run of seven straight games with differing results (W3, D2, L2) by posting their first pair of back-to-back victories since June last year. However, they could only manage a pair of 2-2 draws when they met Iceland in the 2022 UNL group phase.[/p]
[p]Tipping the balance of those draws in their favour is now the ultimate task for Iceland, who know Ukraine or Bosnia-Herzegovina await in the qualification final as they seek to reach a first Euros since their 2016 run to the quarter-final. Belief may not be at its highest levels though, with the Scandinavians losing their last two competitive matches by two-goal margins – one of which was against potential group adversaries Slovakia (4-2). [/p]
[p]The fact that Iceland picked up just three of their ten-point haul away from home in this Euros qualifying campaign (W1, L4) suggests that this may be another arduous journey. In fact, Åge Hareide’s men have won only one of their last nine competitive games on their travels outside the Baltic Cup (D3, L5), with all five losses during that sequence coming by multiple-goal margins despite getting on the scoresheet themselves in three of those defeats. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Israel’s rising star, 19-year-old Oscar Gloukh, could be their best outlet here after being one of their only two players with two goals in the most recent Euro qualification group. Trying to outdo him will be Iceland’s Alfreð Finnbogason, who has scored all three of his Euro qualifying goals in the most recent cycle despite having featured in 25 such matches. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: 11 of Iceland’s last 13 Euro qualifiers have produced goals in both halves. [/p]