Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Nations League clash between Israel and France, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Clashing on neutral turf at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest, Israel and France resume their UEFA Nations League campaigns on Thursday evening in League A Group 2.
Didier Deschamps‘s team collected three points from their opening two contests last month, while their ‘hosts’ sit rock bottom of the section after two defeats in September.
Match preview
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In just 74 minutes against Italy on September 6, France conceded as many goals as they did in the entirety of their Euro 2024 campaign, getting off to the worst possible start in the top tier of the Nations League as they fell to a 3-1 defeat in Paris.
However, Deschamps’s crop atoned for that false start in Lyon two days later, where Paris Saint-Germain teammates Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele struck either side of the half-time interval in a 2-0 win over Belgium, ending a two-match losing sequence in all tournaments.
The onus will certainly fall more on the likes of Kolo Muani, Dembele and others to step up to the attacking plate in the wake of Antoine Griezmann‘s shock international retirement, not to mention the fact that Kylian Mbappe missed out on selection for a France squad for the first time in three years this month.
As Deschamps searches for alternative solutions up top, Les Bleus occupy second place in the Group 2 rankings – which would suffice for direct entry to the quarter-finals – and a heavyweight reunion with Belgium lies in wait four days after Thursday’s showdown.
The less said about France’s performance away from home in the 2022-23 Nations League the better, though, as they failed to win any of their three games against Denmark, Croatia or Austria outside of their homeland, taking just two points from nine on offer.
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However, Thursday’s opponents Israel are only the hosts of this upcoming fixture in an administrative sense, as with war continuing to rage in the Middle East, the Skyblue and Whites have temporarily taken up residence in Hungary for their ‘home’ fixtures.
Rising from League C all the way up to the top tier of the Nations League over the past six years, Israel were handed a true baptism of fire in September’s League A openers, firstly falling to a 3-1 loss to Belgium behind closed doors in a game where their only consolation was a Timothy Castagne own goal.
Three days later, a little over 2,000 fans rocked up to Budapest to witness Italy defeat Ran Ben Shimon‘s side 2-1, as strikes from Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean ensured that Mohammad Abu Fani‘s last-gasp effort would prove meaningless in the grand scheme of things.
Propping up the Group 2 standings in fourth place, Israel are the undisputed favourites for an immediate demotion back down to League B and have just two wins to show from their last nine games, which came against relative minnows in Andorra (2-0) and Belarus (4-0).
France and Israel have coincidentally also locked horns on nine occasions down the years, but the Skyblue and Whites only have one win under their belts against Les Bleus, although they did hold them to a pair of draws when they last clashed in 2006 World Cup qualifying.
Israel Nations League form:
Israel form (all competitions):
France Nations League form:
France form (all competitions):
Team News
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Despite returning from his recent muscular problem before the October international break, Mbappe was not summoned to Deschamps’s squad in order to allow him a complete recovery, although both he and the now-retired Griezmann were only substitutes in the win over Belgium anyway.
The Real Madrid attacker’s PSG heir – Bradley Barcola – should start on the left instead, but Kolo Muani has not enjoyed as strong a start to the domestic season, so Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram could act as the attacking focal point.
In a boost to Ibrahima Konate‘s national team prospects, Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano has withdrawn due to a thigh injury, so the Liverpool man could link arms with fellow Premier League star William Saliba at the back.
Israel have also lost a couple of troops to injury since naming their squad, as captain Eli Dasa and 20-year-old forward Dor Turgeman – part of the Under-19 team that reached the Euro 2022 final – have both been forced to pull out.
There has also been confusion surrounding the status of Tottenham Hotspur attacker Manor Solomon – currently on loan at Leeds United – who was called up to the squad despite missing the Whites’ last four games with a hamstring problem.
However, Solomon is believed to have stayed in England to rehabilitate instead of joining up with his national team, and his absence spells good news for highly-rated Red Bull Salzburg starlet Oscar Gloukh, who is an option to start in his place.
Israel possible starting lineup:
Gerafi; Feingold, Nachimas, Shlomo, Leidner; Abu Fani, Kanichowsky; Abada, Peretz, Gloukh; Baribo
France possible starting lineup:
Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Konate, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Dembele, Thuram, Barcola
We say: Israel 0-3 France
Adjusting to life without Griezmann pulling the strings in attack may take some time for France – and an Mbappe-less France for this month at least – but they coped just fine against Belgium and should have no problems getting the job done here either.
Israel have a couple of bright talents in the final third, but nothing that should pose serious danger to a sturdy Bleus backline; Deschamps’s men have our vote to win this one comfortably.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.