After a remarkable start to their UEFA Nations League campaign with a victory in Paris, Italy now faces Israel in their second Group 2 match on Monday. The Azzurri travel to Hungary where the game will be held due to security concerns—with three points already secured. In contrast, Israel suffered a 3-1 defeat to Belgium.
Italy’s defense faced early trouble when France’s Bradley Barcola scored after only 13 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest goal conceded by Italy. However, Italy bounced back strongly, with Federico Dimarco and Sandro Tonali combining for an equalizer, Davide Frattesi putting them ahead, and Giacomo Raspadori sealing the win with a goal in the 74th minute.
Israel vs Italy: Team Forms and Head-to-Head Results
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The 3-1 victory over France at Parc des Princes marked Italy’s first win in Paris in 70 long years and gave a fresh boost to Luciano Spalletti’s squad. After a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign where Italy was eliminated in the Round of 16, Spalletti is looking to rejuvenate the team as they aim for their first Nations League title.
Spalletti’s predecessor, Roberto Mancini, led Italy to victory in Euro 2020 and a third-place finish in the 2023 Nations League finals before stepping down. To surpass their previous performance, Italy needs to secure a top-two finish in League A-Group 2 to advance to the new quarter-final stage.
While Italy is focused on reaching the finals, Israel faces the challenge of avoiding relegation. Fourth-placed teams are automatically demoted, and a third-place finish leads to a playoff. Having been promoted from League B in 2022, Israel now competes in a tougher group. Despite levelling the score against Belgium on Friday, they were eventually defeated 3-1 by a Kevin De Bruyne-led team in Debrecen.
Israel, who missed out on Euro 2024 after losing in the playoffs to Iceland, has not qualified for a major tournament in over 50 years. With ongoing conflicts in the Middle East preventing them from hosting games, they will play again in Hungary on Monday.
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Against France, Spalletti made eight changes from the team that lost to Switzerland at Euro 2024 while switching to a three-man defense.
Arsenal’s Riccardo Calafiori, one of the new defensive trio, suffered an injury in the game against France, but he is expected to recover soon. Italy will be without Gianluca Scamacca (ACL) and Nicolo Barella (sinus surgery), but new call-ups Marco Brescianini and Caleb Okoli are available, and Destiny Udogie, Moise Kean, and Sandro Tonali have all returned to the squad. Giacomo Raspadori, who scored in Paris, may start alongside Mateo Retegui in a 3-5-2 formation.
For Israel, without captain Eli Dasa (out due to injury), Leeds United loanee Manor Solomon will lead the team. With a relatively inexperienced squad, Israel may field a similar lineup to the one that faced Belgium, potentially featuring Anan Khalaili and Maccabi Haifa’s Dean David alongside Solomon and rising star Oscar Gloukh.
Israel vs Italy: Possible Starting Lineups
Israel: Gerafi; Shlomo, Nachmias, Gandelman; Jehezkel, Lavi, Peretz, Gropper; Solomon, Gloukh; Khalaili
Italy: Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Buongiorno, Bastoni; Cambiaso, Ricci, Tonali, Frattesi, Dimarco; Raspadori, Retegui
