Switzerland vs Israel prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-03-27 18:45.
Switzerland have never qualified for three consecutive UEFA European Championships, but they made the perfect start to their campaign to correct that record with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Belarus. Such a commanding victory wasnât enough to completely satisfy head coach Murat Yakin, who maintained that Switzerland âcan definitely do betterâ as he prepares his side to face Israel.
The Red Crosses look to have put their embarrassing World Cup exit against Portugal behind them, and theyâll be wanting to build on a very strong record in European qualifiers (ECQ) after losing just two of their last 17 such matches (W13, D2). Home comforts appear to make them even tougher, with England the only side to beat them on their own turf in an ECQ this century (W13, D2).
That highlights the difficult nature of this game for Israel who sit 64 places below Switzerland (#12) in the FIFA rankings. On a positive note, they are unbeaten in the last four competitive meetings with the Alpine country (D4) and they also avoided defeat in their opening match of this tournament against Kosovo, coming from a goal behind and relying on VAR to rescue a 1-1 draw in Tel Aviv.
As the third-highest ranked team in the group, Israel will need to start turning draws into victories if theyâre to reach a first-ever European finals. Their last attempt fell short at the play-off stage to Scotland on penalties, and avenging that defeat may depend on improving their away form, as theyâve lost five straight ECQ matches on the road, conceding 3+ goals on three occasions in that sequence.
Players to watch: Swiss forward Renato Steffen ended a near 18-month goal drought for his country with a 25-minute hat-trick against Belarus. Tasked with tying him down could be Israeli defender Eli Dasa, who despite scoring an own goal against Kosovo, has avoided defeat on all of his four competitive appearances as captain.
Hot stat: Only one of Switzerlandâs last six ECQ matches have seen both teams score.