Israel – Ireland

In Debrecen, spectators will not see more than two goals.

Austria's clash with Israel in the first round of the Nations League ended with a quite expected score of 3-1 in favor of the hosts. However, if you look deeper into the events taking place, you can find both drama and comedy. The Austrians scored the first goal from a penalty in the first half and led until the 55th minute. Then Saed Abu-Farhi, the forward of the Israel national team and the Colorado Rapids, did not take the field. The player received a yellow card in the 52nd minute, and in the 55th minute he scored the equalizer, which he celebrated by mimicking a kick with a corner flag in his hands. For this Abu-Farhi earned a second yellow card and, amid active protests from the Israeli side, headed to the locker room. Austria did not start scoring immediately even against ten opponents, but shortly before the final whistle fired two goals in a row - 3-1. Only the Israel national team endured one scandal, as its very presence in the Nations League risks causing another. In the camp of Israel's upcoming opponent, Ireland, there erupted such disputes over the reluctance to participate in the upcoming match that the issue was put to an internal vote. One of the first to express his protest was Gavin Bazunu, who certainly will not play in Debrecen. The participation of several other players in the match is still in doubt. Naturally, the conflict is related to the Irish side's position on the military conflict involving Israel. By the way, for this same reason the upcoming match will take place on neutral ground, which Hungary kindly provided. If we speak purely about the football component, the Irish left a very pale impression in the first round, playing against Kosovo. The British team lost in Pristina 0-1, but allowed the opponent eight shots on goal, and answered with only one. The winning goal was scored by Muriqi, who could easily have completed a hat-trick, but other attempts to score were not successful. Overall, the guests always try to play defensively. In this sense, the match in Debrecen will not be an exception, regardless of which squad the Irish play in. It is unlikely that the Israelis have such powerful attacking capabilities to score many goals against a difficult opponent.