France will hope to jump a few places in their Nations League group when they face Israel in Budapest on Thursday night.
Israel have lost their two games so far against Belgium and Italy, with this match taking place in Hungary due to the nation’s involvement in conflict in the Middle East.
Les Bleus were torn apart in their first game of the Nations League by Italy despite taking a first-minute lead before recovering to beat Belgium in their second outing.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the clash at Bozsik Arena.
Israel vs France H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Israel |
France |
|---|---|
|
Israel 1-2 Italy – 09/09/24 |
France 2-0 Belgium – 09/09/24 |
|
Belgium 3-1 Israel – 06/09/24 |
France 1-3 Italy – 06/09/24 |
|
Belarus 0-4 Israel – 11/06/24 |
Spain 2-1 France – 09/07/24 |
|
Hungary 3-0 Israel – 08/06/24 |
Portugal 0-0 (3-5p) France – 05/07/24 |
|
Israel 1-4 Iceland – 21/03/24 |
France 1-0 Belgium – 01/07/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
N/A |
|
United States |
fuboTV, TUDN.com, TUDN App, ViX, TUDN USA |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
Israel manager Ran Ben Shimon has seen Eli Dasa, Dor Turgeman and Manor Solomon all pull out of the latest squad due to injury. The Skyblue and Whites managed to score in their meetings with Belgium and Italy but points are needed quickly to ease the threat of relegation back to League B.
Israel predicted lineup vs France (4-2-3-1): Gerafi; Feingold, Nachmias, Shlomo, Leidner; Kanichowsky, Fani; Abada, Peretz, Gloukh; Baribo.
Didier Deschamps has a new-look France squad for the October international break. Kylian Mbappe wasn’t included despite recovering from injury sooner than expected, while Antoine Griezmann recently announced his retirement at national team level.
Ousmane Dembele could be the senior figure in attack, with Marcus Thuram expected to lead the line centrally. Dayot Upamecano has withdrawn from the squad with an injury, so Ibrahima Konate should partner William Saliba in defence.
France predicted lineup vs Israel (4-3-3): Maignan; Kounde, Konate, Saliba, Hernandez; Zaire-Emery, Tchouameni, Camavinga; Dembele, Thuram, Barcola.
The jump in quality has been a little too much for Israel so far, with the Southern Levant nation losing their two Nations League fixtures so far. This test against France could be a daunting one, but Deschamps is without a few established stars and his side may find it tricky to carve out regular opportunities.
However, there is proven quality in Mbappe and Griezmann’s absences and the players included in the starting XI will be desperate to take their chances.
It should be a win for France as they seek to put pressure on group rivals Italy and Belgium.
