Israel vs Italy prediction 08.09.2025 | World Cup Qualifiers

Israel's national team had only one World Cup appearance, back in 1970, and haven't appeared in a single EURO thus far. Still, they did a good job in the UEFA Nations League as they moved from League C to A in just four years. However, before these WC Qualifiers, in 2024, they were knocked out of League A. Yet, they started the WC Qualifiers pretty well, winning nine points in the first four rounds. Their wins came against poor teams (Moldova and Estonia twice), so this game against Italy will tell us what they are made of and whether they can continue this good start of the WC Qualifiers. 

After a 4:0 win over Moldova in the previous game, coach Ran Ben Shimon was very satisfied. He said the players had the right approach and is very pleased with what he saw. When asked about the Italy game, he said they do not have the privilege to rest and relax and are already preparing. "The match against Moldova gave me a lot of material, and even the substitutes who entered and were outstanding," he added.

Italy, one of the greatest NTs in the World, haven't had much success in the World Cup in recent tournaments. After winning it in 2006, they failed to come out of the group in the following two and failed to even qualify for the next two (Russia and Qatar). These Qualifiers started really badly, losing 3:0 against Norway and then winning against the poor teams of Moldova and Estonia. With a loss to Norway, they complicated their route and cannot slip against anyone if they finally want to secure the World Cup. 

After a 5:0 win over Estonia in the previous game, coach Gennaro Gattuso spoke to the media. He praised the players' effort and positive mentality, but noted they had a pretty slow start. "This team has quality, but you get nowhere with quality alone. This team has to do everything vehemently, attack the ball, press hard, show hunger, and I think we saw all of that today," he added.