Belgium take on the visitors Israel in the round 1 match of UEFA Nations League group stage. The match will be played on Friday, September 6th at Nagyerdei Stadion (Debrecen).
The "Red Devils," under their previous coach Roberto Martínez, became the bronze medalists at the 2018 World Cup—a national record. However, much more was expected from the best generation in Belgium's football history. But further success never came, and the team, with aging and injury-prone leaders who had passed their peak, performed poorly at the World Cup in Qatar. After that, the Spaniard was replaced by Domenico Tedesco. The young German refreshed the squad and confidently navigated last year's qualification. However, he clashed with Courtois, resulting in Belgium going to the Euros without Thibaut, and their performance was underwhelming. They started with a loss to Slovakia, followed by a 2-0 win over Romania, and ended the group stage with a pragmatic 0-0 draw against Ukraine. Yes, they made it to the playoffs, but there they faced France, losing 1-0 due to a late own goal by Vertonghen.
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Israel couldn’t impress beyond their initial success. The "Blue and Whites" managed to make a splash in the Nations League. They started in Division C and were quickly promoted. In the last cycle, they won their group again, earning the right to compete among the best teams. However, their luck in traditional qualifiers remained elusive. Last year, Israel found themselves in a relatively easy group, but they squandered their chances, finishing below both an underperforming Switzerland and a resurgent Romania. The additional playoff in March ended with a defeat to their first opponent—Iceland. They made costly mistakes in that match, losing 4-1, with Zahavi missing a key penalty. Over the summer, they lost 3-0 to Hungary but scored four goals against Belarus, albeit in a friendly.
The "Red Devils" have won all four of their previous encounters. Domenico Tedesco’s side excels against clearly weaker opponents—and this is one of those cases. Expect a victory for Belgium with a handicap of "-1.5 goals."
Prediction for the match: Belgium to win with -1.5 handicap.
