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Belarusvs.Israel

sportsmole.co.uk, 9 June 2024, 20:39
Two teams in disappointing form will lock horns in an international friendly on Tuesday evening, with Belarus taking on Israel.

Belarus will enter the contest off the back of a 4-0 defeat to Russia on Friday, while Israel were beaten 3-0 by Euro 2024 participants Hungary on Saturday.

Match preview

Belarus have never qualified for the finals of the European Championship, and they will not be present at the competition in Germany this summer, having finished fourth in their qualification section.

Israel were actually present alongside Belarus in Group I, finishing three points above Tuesday's opponents in third position, and both of their meetings in the group were won by Israel.

Belarus actually ended their Euro 2024 qualification campaign with successive wins over Andorra and Kosovo, but they are yet to triumph in 2024, losing 2-0 to Montenegro and drawing 0-0 with Malta back in March.

Carlos Alos's side were back in action against Russia on Friday, suffering a 4-0 defeat, and they will now be aiming to return to winning ways in their final game before the return of the UEFA Nations League.

Belarus will take on Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Northern Ireland in the 2024-25 competition, with their section opener coming against the former on September 5.

Israel were present in the playoff semi-finals for Euro 2024, but they were beaten 4-1 by Iceland, with their hopes of qualifying for this summer's competition ending in a disappointing fashion.

The Sky Blue and Whites have never qualified for the finals of a European Championship, but they have previously competed at a World Cup, making the group stage of the 1970 competition.

Ran Ben Shimon's side have only played once since their semi-final disappointment, which proved to be a 3-0 defeat to Hungary in a friendly on Saturday.

Tuesday's contest will be the final time that Israel take to the field before they open their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League campaign against Belgium on September 6.

The Sky Blue and Whites have faced Belarus on seven previous occasions, triumphing in five of those fixtures, including, as mentioned, their two qualification fixtures for Euro 2024.

Belarus friendly form:

Belarus form (all competitions):

D

W

W

L

D

L

Israel friendly form:

Israel form (all competitions):

L

D

L

W

L

L

Team News

Belarus have not reported any injuries from their clash with Russia last time out, and it is likely that head coach Alos will have the same plan when it comes to his squad.

There were six changes in the second period of the clash with Russia, including one at the break, and it is expected to once again be a 3-5-2 formation for Belarus.

Max Ebong is the leading goalscorer in the squad with five, while there should be starts once again in the final third for Dmitri Antilevski and Vladislav Morozov, who have netted four times between them for the national side.

As for Israel, there is again expected to be a spot at centre-forward for Tai Baribo, who plays his club football for Philadelphia Union in the MLS.

Baribo is actually the only forward in the current squad to have found the back of the net at international level, but he could again be supported by Dan Biton in the final third of the field.

Eli Dasa is the captain and most experienced player in the squad, earning 63 caps, and the Dynamo Moscow defender should again feature at the back here.

Belarus possible starting lineup:

Pavlyuchenko; Volkov, Politevich, Polyakov; Ebong, Gromyko, Yablonskiy, Korzun, Pechenin; Morozov, Antilevski

Israel possible starting lineup:

Glazer; Dasa, Arad, Shlomo, Hofmeister, Gropper; Lavi, Shamir, Kinda; Biton, Baribo

We say: Belarus 1-1 Israel

There has never been a draw between these two sides, but we are backing that run to end on Tuesday evening. Both sides will be looking for a positive result ahead of the UEFA Nations League, and we are backing Belarus to hold Israel to a draw in this contest.

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