Hungaryvs.Israel

The hosts will be looking to bounce back from Tuesday's defeat to the Republic of Ireland, while Israel are set to play their first game since losing to Iceland in the qualifying playoff semi-finals in March.

Match preview

Hungary are preparing to make their third consecutive European Championship appearance after enjoying a successful qualifying campaign.

They won five and drew three of their eight qualifying matches to finish top of a group that contained Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania and Bulgaria.

After enjoying an unbeaten qualifying campaign, Hungary went on to record consecutive friendly victories over Turkey and Kosovo, before their 14-game unbeaten run came to an end in Tuesday's away clash with Ireland.

The contest looked to be heading towards a draw after Adam Lang cancelled out Adam Idah's opener, but Troy Parrott ultimately netted a stoppage-time winner to condemn Hungary to their first defeat since September 2022.

Hungary boss Marco Rossi will hope his side can return to winning ways in their final friendly, before they turn their focus to Euro 2024 where they will believe they have a real chance of progressing from a group that contains Germany, Switzerland and Scotland.

In contrast to their hosts, Israel will not be featuring in this summer's tournament after experiencing playoff disappointment earlier this year.

Despite finishing third in their qualifying group, Israel advanced to the playoffs due to their performance in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League.

They collected eight points to finish top of a Nations League group which contained Iceland, who were their opponents for March's playoff semi-final.

Although they took the lead, Israel's qualifying hopes were ultimately quashed by a heavy 4-1 defeat, leaving them still waiting for their first appearance at the European Championships.

Israel have since appointed Ran Ben Shimon as their new manager, and the former AEK Larnaca will be desperate to start his tenure with a couple of positive results in the two friendlies against Hungary and Belarus.

Hungary friendly form:

W

W

L

Hungary form (all competitions):

D

D

W

W

W

L

Israel form (all competitions):

W

L

D

L

W

L

Team News

Rossi may decide to give Peter Gulacsi and Denes Dibusz a half each as he did in Tuesday's contest, but on this occasion, he could be tempted to present the latter with the chance to start.

The Hungary boss may also decide to give playing time to the likes of Attila Szalai, Botond Balogh and Endre Botka.

Callum Styles and Laszlo Kleinheisler may be considered for starting spots, as Rossi looks to assess his options ahead of the tournament opener against Switzerland on June 15.

As for the visitors, Omri Glazer is expected to line up in goal, with Raz Shlomo and Stav Lemkin in contention to start as the two centre-backs.

Ben Shimon has a number of midfield options at his disposal, with Neta Lavi, Dan Glazer and Gadi Kinda among those who could be considered for starting spots.

Philadelphia Union's Tai Baribo is likely to be given the chance to lead the line, having scored three goals in his 14 international appearances.

Hungary possible starting lineup:

Dibusz; Lang, Balogh, Szalai; Botka; Styles, Schafer, Kerkez; Kleinheisler, Szoboszlai; Varga

Israel possible starting lineup:

Glazer; Dasa, Shlomo, Lemkin, Gropper; Lavi, Glazer, Kinda; Safuri, Layous, Baribo

We say: Hungary 2-1 Israel

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