Italy – Israel

The four-time world champion will confidently defeat his opponent

After the June defeat to Norway with a score of 0:3, the Italian Football Federation made radical decisions. Luciano Spalletti was dismissed, and the legendary player Gennaro Gattuso was appointed as the new coach in his place. The federation considered the experience of the former Milan player sufficient for such a responsible position. Following Gattuso's arrival as head coach, the Italian national team has not dropped a single point in their three qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup. However, the performance of the Italian team is far from ideal. They should be able to defeat Estonia and Israel without a coach, but they should not be conceding so many goals to these teams. This was particularly evident in Italy's first meeting with Israel, which took place in September this year. Gattuso's charges fell behind twice during the match, conceded four goals, and scored the winning goal in the 90+1 minute - 5:4. This means that while the emotions and spirit of the Italians have increased with the arrival of the new coach, discipline and order are still lacking. Betting companies have designated the home team as favourites for the upcoming match, offering them a coefficient of 1.20 for victory. After a disappointing Euro, the Italian team performed mediocrely in League A of the Nations League, exiting in the quarter-finals. Starting the qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup with the aforementioned defeat to Norway, the Italian national team has beaten Estonia twice and managed to edge out Israel on neutral ground. The second match against the Israelis presents a good opportunity for the players to showcase themselves to Gattuso ahead of the decisive match in November against Norway for first place in the group. Therefore, one should not expect the Italians to underestimate their opponent. The Israeli national team is positioned right in the middle of Group I’s hierarchy. They have recorded three victories in three matches against Estonia and Moldova but suffered three defeats to Norway and Italy, conceding fourteen goals from these teams. Most likely, the Italian team will draw conclusions from the first match and will not allow their opponent the same liberties at home that they permitted in Debrecen. At the same time, Italy will prove their superiority with a confident win.