Israel welcome the visitors Austria in the Euro Qualification – Round 2. The match will be held on Sunday, March, 24th, at the Sammy Ofer Stadium (Haifa).
Israel started their Euro campaign by a home draw against Slovenia, 1:1. Will they feature a no-loss to the Austrians on Sunday? Why not? Indeed, the hosts don’t boast bright leaders; they are mostly staffed with local players and a few international performers: a forward from Shakhtar Donetsk and men from Belgium Lokeren, German Ingolstadt and Eintracht, Celta, and a few English clubs, and the captain Natkho who fights for the Greek Olympiakos. The Israel outfit’s strength is in their team play though: we may see the forward Hemed (made 17 goals for the national team and 5 goals for the English Queens Park Rangers this season) tackling on his half and the defender Tawatha fighting near the opponents’ penalty area as his side’s attacks develop.
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Austria conceded to Poland in their first qualifier held at home. The loss was to the point. The opponents withheld their attacks well, did not allow the hosts to approach their goal, and unlocked their defense. The Milan forward Piatek, who came off the bench, took ten minutes to score to the Austrians.
Going by the clubs that the guests compete for (Mainz, Hoffenheim, Hertha Berlin, Eintracht, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Anderlecht, Sevilla), the Austrian outfit should have been regarded a top side. It’s not like that though. There are names, but there is no team. The Austrians are not well-knit; they miss mutual understanding. There is a feeling that the players are not motivated when fighting for their country (while they demonstrate solid performance in their clubs – otherwise they would not have been called to compete for the national squad). In the UEFA Nations League, for example, they managed North Ireland somehow, but they conceded to Denmark and Bosnia and Hercegovina. On the road, they still win Moldova and Luxemburg, but facing a stronger side like Wales, Iceland, or Ireland, they draw at best. The Sunday hosts are more solid than Luxemburg and Moldova. Moreover, the Austrians’ head-to-heads with Israel are normally challenging. Over the span of 28 years, the sides met 8 times. Austria registered 2 wins and Israel did 1. There were 3 fixtures held in Israel: the hosts did not concede there and won once. They have it all not to lose this time either.
Prediction for the match: Israel to win or Draw.
