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We’re even looking at 14x odds on this EURO 2024 qualifier
Israel and Iceland go head-to-head in Susa in the semi-finals of the European Championship, where we’re even betting on the exact final result.
Almost anything can happen in the Nations League, where any of Israel, Iceland, Bosnia and Ukraine in Group B could qualify for Germany. See what to expect in Budapest, where the teams meet on a neutral pitch.
Although we have written that anything could happen in this quartet, reality tells us that the winner of the Bosnian-Ukrainian match, narrowed down even further, our neighbours are favourites for the Euros. Of course, anything can happen in a match, but at the moment neither the Israelis nor the Icelanders are at a very high level – that should make their match in Budapest exciting and interesting. Let’s start with the “home team”!
Because Israel’s best are already coming home to Hungary, and Abu Fani and his team have already hosted Switzerland and Romania in Felcsút. And it was those two matches that decided Israel’s place in the continental tournament, as the 1 point they gained against the two rivals proved to be a paltry 1 point, despite finishing both matches with a man advantage.
Israel did not perform very well in the qualifiers, scoring only 3 points, apart from defeating Andorra and Belarus in the first leg, and not even once against Kosovo. They did, however, win their Nations League group, beating Iceland and one of the other European Championship participants, Albania.
The islanders, on the other hand, were the calm underdogs in their qualifying group. Unfortunately for their current strength, they were overtaken even by Luxembourg, who are also in the semi-finals, although the Bosnians, who are in the other bracket, were outclassed by Finnbogason’s team.
In terms of the squad, Iceland’s old-new captain Gylfi Sigurdsson is out through injury, while Haziza and Solomon are injured and Natcho has retired, leaving the midfield in need of some fresh blood. So Ferencváros legionnaire Abu Fani could play a key role, but of course the goals that will see them through are more likely to come from 36-year-old veteran Eran Zahavi, who is by far the country’s most prolific player.
Before the match, the national team captains were somewhat in the spotlight, with Age Hareide saying in a radio interview that he is a very peace-loving man and that it is very bad to see what is happening in Gaza.
But it’s important to remember that we are playing against footballers, not soldiers
– the Norwegian coach said, somewhat ambiguously. The other side, Alon Hazan, refused to respond to this. The question is how the two sides will relate to each other in the Szusza Ferenc Stadium.
One of our picks is to play 2-2, which came in a Nations League meeting between the two teams in 2022, but that’s really just for fun. Otherwise, we see Israel as the more likely winner, despite the neutral pitch. Iceland are not currently on the same level as this mediocre Israel, so qualification is a foregone conclusion for us.
