Israel were two points shy of qualifying for the 2024 European Championships in Germany later this year. As a result, they must contend with competing in playoff semi-finals this week.
Israel vs Iceland Betting Tips
- Over 2.5 goals @ 2.05 with Supabets
- Match result - Draw @ 3.30 with Supabets
- Penalty shootout - Yes - @ 5.30 with Supabets
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After becoming a UEFA member in 1994, Israel have never made it to the Euro finals but came close to qualifying on multiple occasions.
However, they were in decent form during the group phase of the qualifiers and will hope to carry some of those standards into the playoff semi-finals.
Israel’s clash with Iceland on Thursday night takes place at a neutral venue - the Szusza Ferenc Stadion in Budapest.
Consequently, home advantage is almost non-existent, offering hope of a positive result for Iceland.
The Nordic nation haven’t been at their best during qualifying, so they find themselves fighting for a spot in the finals through the playoffs.
The latter half of the 2010s have been great for Iceland, qualifying for the FIFA World Cup (2018) and the European Championships (2016) for the first time in their history.
Åge Hareide must resurrect that spirit in his current squad to get past Israel and face either Bosnia and Herzegovina or Ukraine in the qualifying final next week.
Prolific but leaky
Israel have failed to score in just two of their group qualifiers, hitting the back of the net 11 times at an average of 1.11 goals per game.
However, the Chosen Team are also leaky in defence, conceding 11 goals during this campaign, and keeping only two clean sheets in 10 games.
The Icelanders have been slightly more efficient in front of goal, scoring 17 goals at an average of 1.70 goals per game.
Their defence is also a concern though as they’ve shipped 16 goals during the group phase of qualifying.
The previous three head-to-heads between these nations produced more than two goals, a likely scenario at the end of Thursday night’s encounter.
- Israel vs Iceland Betting Tip 1: Over 2.5 goals @ 2.05 with Supabets
History may repeat itself
While Israel enter this fixture in better qualification form, winning four of their 10 games, Iceland have gathered momentum recently.
Hareide’s side played and won two friendlies in January this year, results that will give them a confidence boost ahead of Thursday night’s fixture.
However, Israel’s great work under Alon Hazan can’t be ignored and the fact that the previous two meetings between these nations ended in a draw suggests it will be a close tie.
- Israel vs Iceland Betting Tip 2: Match result - Draw @ 3.30 with Supabets
Difficult to separate
You’d have to go back to 2010 to find a result where there was a winner between these nations.
Their previous two clashes in the UEFA Nations League ended 2-2. Considering a place in the European Championship finals is at stake, both sides may cancel each other out.
It wouldn’t be a far-fetched prediction for this one to head to penalties, especially with the game taking place at a neutral venue, one team may not dominate the other on the night.
- Israel vs Iceland Betting Tip 3: Penalty shootout - Yes - @ 5.30 with Supabets