Israel is in Group I with Switzerland, Romania, Kosovo, Andorra, and Belarus. There are ten games, with two each in March that just happened, June, September, October, and November. There are ten groups, and the top two in each group qualify. If Israel does not finish in the top two, they go to playoffs because they won their Nations League group. Israel opened by scoring an own goal in a 1-1 draw hosting Kosovo. Israel is 76th in the FIFA Rankings, and Kosovo is 107th, so a draw at home is bad. The other Matchday 1 games had Switzerland win 5-0 at Belarus, and Romania win 2-0 at Andorra. On Matchday 2, Switzerland had their second easy win 3-0 hosting Israel, Romania won 2-1 hosting Belarus, and Kosovo hosting Andorra was 1-1. The standings are: Switzerland: 6 points, +8 Romania: 6 points, +3 Kosovo: 2 points, +0 Andorra: 1 point, -2 Israel: 1 point, -3 Belarus: 0 points, -6 The remaining schedule is: Matchday 3 on 16 June: Andorra vs. Switzerland Belarus vs. Israel Kosovo vs. Romania Matchday 4 on 19 June: Belarus vs. Kosovo Israel vs. Andorra Switzerland vs. Romania Matchday 5 on 9 September: Andorra vs. Belarus Kosovo vs. Switzerland Romania vs. Israel Matchday 6 on 12 September: Israel vs. Belarus Romania vs. Kosovo Switzerland vs. Andorra Matchday 7 on 12 October: Andorra vs. Kosovo Belarus vs. Romania Israel vs. Switzerland Matchday 8 on 15 October: Switzerland vs. Belarus Kosovo vs. Israel Romania vs. Andorra Matchday 9 on 18 November: Belarus vs. Andorra Israel vs. Romania Switzerland vs. Kosovo Matchday 10 on 21 November: Andorra vs. Israel Kosovo vs. Belarus Romania vs. Switzerland
16 June: Andorra 1-2 Switzerland Belarus 1-2 Israel (Max Ebong scored in the 16th and Belarus led for most of the game, but Shon Weissman equalized in the 85th, and Oscar Gloukh scored the winner in the 90+2nd) Kosovo 0-0 Romania 19 June: Belarus 2-1 Kosovo Israel 2-1 Andorra (Raz Shlomo gave Israel the lead in the 42nd, Albert Rosas equalized in the 52nd, and Manor Solomon scored the winner in the 61st) Switzerland 2-2 Romania Winning 2-1 hosting Andorra is not impressive, but the important thing is that Israel got 6 points and moved up two spots to third. The standings are: Switzerland: 10 points, +9 Romania: 8 points, +3 Israel: 7 points, -1 Belarus: 3 points, -6 Kosovo: 3 points, -1 Andorra: 1 point, -4 The tiebreaker is head-to-head, so Belarus is above Kosovo with a goal differential 5 worse. Romania hosted one game, Belarus hosted three, and the other four teams hosted two. After September, each team will have three home games and three away games. Israel's next game is at Romania, and Israel has three of their four hardest games left. Israel lost 3-0 at Switzerland in their hardest game. Israel plays Romania in September, Switzerland in October, and Romania in November. If Israel loses at Romania, I do not give Israel a chance at finishing in the top two to qualify directly. Because Israel won their Nations League group, they qualify for playoffs if they need to qualify that way. Now the focus goes to UEFA club competition qualifying rounds.
Israel moved up 3 spots in 75th in the FIFA Rankings, which is their best ranking since they were 70th in August 2017.
I have a question about the transportation to/from Teddy Stadium. I'm planning to visit Israel for the match Israel - Romania on November 18th. From what I understand, there is no public transportation on Saturdays. Do they have special transportation for the game? I'm staying in Haifa and also I think will be a problem traveling by train after midnight. I was thinking I could rent a car, but I don't think its a good idee to park at the stadium with all that traffic. Any thoughts would be much appreciated. Thank you, Marius
If Israel somehow manages not to qualify for this Euro, they'll be hard-pressed to ever qualify for a major senior-level tournament again.
Thank you! But looks like he is located in USA, so probably he doesn't know much about lsraeli local traffic and transportation.
9 September: Andorra 0-0 Belarus Kosovo 2-2 Switzerland Romania 1-1 Israel Romania scored in the 27th, and Israel's Oscar Gloukh scored in the 53rd. 12 September: Israel 1-0 Belarus It looked like a disappointing draw until Gabi Kanichowsky scored in the 90+3rd. Romania 2-0 Kosovo Switzerland 3-0 Andorra The standings through 6 of 10 games are: 1. Switzerland: 14 points, +14 2. Romania: 12 points, +5 3. Israel: 11 points, +0 4. Belarus: 4 points, -7 5. Kosovo: 4 points, -3 (behind Belarus because the tiebreaker is head-to-head, and Belarus won 2-1 hosting Kosovo in the only head-to-head game so far) 6. Andorra: 2 points, -7 Israel hosts Switzerland and goes to Kosovo in October, and hosts Romania and goes to Andorra in November. Romania ends hosting Switzerland, so Israel could pass one of them on the last matchday. The top two qualify.
The war with Hamas postponed both of Israel's Euro qualifiers. Israel will play three games in November, hosting Switzerland on the 15th in a makeup game, hosting Romania on the 18th, and at Andorra on the 21st. Israel's game at Kosovo does not have a makeup date. For unusual situations like postponed, I think it would be good if FIFA declared a makeup date with players being allowed to play for their national team without being punished by their club for missing days.
Kosovo vs. Israel will be on November 12, which is in 20 days. Hopefully it will be safe to play then.
Kosovo 1-0 Israel Kosovo scored in the 43rd. Israel had 60 percent of possession, but Kosovo had more shots 13 to 9, and more shots on goal 7 to 2.
Starting soon, Israel is a big underdog against Switzerland played in Felcsut, Hungary instead of Israel.
Israel 1-1 Switzerland I expected Israel to lose, and I expected that even more after Ruben Vargas scored in the 36th. Switzerland led 1-0 at halftime. Shon Weissman was subbed on the 81st, and scored the equalizer in the 89th. Switzerland got three yellows in the 90+2nd, and a straight red in the 90+4th. Switzerland did better in a majority of statistics, including shots 16 to 13, and shots on goal 7 to 3. Israel had more combined corner kicks and free kicks 22 to 15. The standings are: Switzerland: 16 points, +12 Romania: 16 points, +9 Israel: 12 points, -1 Kosovo: 10 points, +1 Belarus: 6 points, -7 Andorra: 2 points, -14 All teams have played eight games, and the remaining games are: 18 November: Belarus vs. Andorra Israel vs. Romania in Felcsut, Hungary Switzerland vs. Kosovo 21 November: Andorra vs. Israel Kosovo vs. Belarus Romania vs. Switzerland If Israel wins both games, and Romania draws or loses to Switzerland, Israel will pass Romania for second, and qualify for Euro 2024. If Israel does not finish in the top two, they go to playoffs in March. Israel has never qualified for a Euro, and their last continental tournament was in AFC in 1968.
In ELO, Israel gained 12 points and 1 spot to move up to 60th, and other teams played after moved Israel up to 58th, and 32nd among the 55 members of UEFA.
Israel 1-2 Romania (in Felcsut, Hungary) Eran Zahavi scored in the 2nd, but Romania tied it in the 10th. Romania scored in the 63rd, and held on after getting a straight red in the 84th. Israel had much more possession, passes, and attacks, but Romania had more shots on goal and shots. Kosovo got a 1-1 draw in Switzerland, and Belarus won 1-0 hosting Andorra. Romania and Switzerland qualified for Euro 2024. Romania lead by 2 points and hosts Switzerland. Israel is third, 1 point ahead of Kosovo, and a win at Andorra will keep Israel in third. Regardless of the last matchday, Israel will go to playoffs in March, where they must win two rounds that are one game each in order to qualify.
Andorra 0-2 Israel Joan Cervos scored an own goal in the 29th, and Gadi Kinda scored in the 81st. Israel had 75 percent of possession, 84 percent of total passes, and 90 percent of completed passes. Israel had more shots 16 to 7, and more shots on goal 8 to 2. Andorra has lost 66 of their 70 Euro qualifiers. The final standings are: 1. Romania: 22 points, 6 wins, 4 draws, 0 losses, 16 goals scored, 5 goals allowed, +11 2. Switzerland: 17 points, 4 wins, 5 draws, 1 loss, 22 goals scored, 11 goals allowed, +11 3. Israel: 15 points, 4 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses, 11 goals scored, 11 goals allowed, +0 4. Belarus: 12 points, 3 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses, 9 goals scored, 14 goals allowed, -5 5. Kosovo: 11 points, 2 wins, 5 draws, 3 losses, 10 goals scored, 10 goals allowed, +0 6. Andorra: 2 points, 0 wins, 2 draws, 8 losses, 3 goals scored, 20 goals allowed, -17 The teams averaged 1.18 goals per team per game. That is lower than the 1.43 goals per team per game for all 230 games. Romania won 1-0 hosting Switzerland. Belarus won 1-0 at Kosovo to pass Kosovo for fourth. The playoffs draw is on Thursday, with three teams involved. In the Semifinal, Israel will host Finland, Ukraine, or Iceland. If Israel reaches the Final, they will host the winner of one of those three teams or Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Bosnia and Herzegovina hosting the other Semifinal in Path B.