Belgium begin their latest hunt for the elusive silver on Friday when they meet Israel in the first game of a new UEFA Nations League Campaign.

Playing in Hungary for safety reasons, the Red Devils will look to start the game with a win as Italy and France are their other opponents in Group 2 of League A.

Game Preview

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The elimination in the round of 16 of Euro 2024 – against neighbouring France – brought even more misery to Belgian fans this summer, and doubts remain as to whether the current coach Domenico Tedesco can build a talented team that will fight for titles.

The Red Devils also failed to impress in the group stage, so Tedesco hopes to start a new chapter in his first tournament as coach and secure his team one of the top two places in Group 2 of the Nations League elite class.

This would guarantee a place in the quarter-finals of the newly expanded competition, while third place would lead to a relegation playoff and fourth place would mean automatic relegation.

Belgium completed the European Championship qualifiers undefeated and with only four goals conceded, but previously failed to qualify for the Nations League finals after finishing second behind the Netherlands.

Fourth place overall in the 2021 edition is their best result to date and the aim for the coming season must be to surpass that mark – avoiding a slip-up this week is therefore certainly essential.

The Belgians travel to France and then Italy for their next two games, so Tedesco will be expected to beat underdogs Israel, who are under increased pressure after failing to end his dispute with the Real Madrid goalkeeper. Thibaut Courtois.

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Having previously lost four of four games against their opening opponents – conceding ten goals and scoring just one – Israel will not see history on their side at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen.

They were thrust into a devilishly difficult group after being promoted from League B in 2022, when they topped a group containing Iceland, Albania and – initially – Russia.

The sky blue and whites also featured in the Euro 2024 playoff semi-finals, where they lost 4-1 to Iceland. They have steadily improved but are still waiting to end an absence of over 50 years from a major final.

Before we try to end this waiting period in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, Ran Ben ShimonAfter friendly matches in the summer, which resulted in a 0-3 defeat against Hungary and a 4-0 win against Belarus, the team is back in the Nations League this season.

On Monday they will play in Hungary again and host Italy in Budapest, as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East makes it impossible to host games in Israel.

Belgium Form (All Competitions):

Israeli Form (All Competitions):

Team News

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In addition to the self-imposed absence of Thibaut Courtois, several familiar faces will be missing from the Belgian squad this month. The most notable are Romelu Lukaku was able to work on his fitness after a summer of uncertainty before moving to Napoli.

Experienced defender Jan Vertonghen has finally retired from international football, while the versatile Arsenal striker Leandro Trossard will not be there despite regular participation in the 2024 European Championship.

Italy-based duo Koni De Winter And Alexis Saelemaekers were both called up, along with Borussia Dortmund teenager Julien Duranville and Celtic’s latest signing Arne Engels.

Without Lukaku, Manchester City duo Kevin De Bruyne And Jeremy Documentary should deliver Lois Openda in the final third, Galatasaray striker Michy Batshuayi is still in the dark.

In the meantime, Daniel Glazer, Sean Goldberg And Shon Weissman are the most notable absentees from Israel’s squad, which consists of four players who have not yet played an international match.

Maccabi Haifa’s Ilay Fine Gold is one of four players hoping to make their debut in the senior national team, but captain Eli Dasa will most likely start as a right back.

Loan player from Leeds United Salomon Mansion should start in attack, possibly alongside the former Celtic winger Love Abada.

Possible starting eleven for Belgium:
Casteels; Castagne, Faes, De Winter, Theate; Onana, Mangala; Bakayoko, De Bruyne, documentary; Openda

Possible starting eleven for Israel:
Gerafi; Dasa, Shlomo, Nachmias, Gropper; Kanichowsky, Peretz; Solomon, Gloukh, Abada; Baribo

We think: Belgium 2-0 Israel

Even without the support of their home fans, Belgium should do their part and score maximum points, even if they are missing their record goalscorer and world-class goalkeeper: outside of major tournaments, the Red Devils tend to be ruthlessly efficient.

Click here to see a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match.

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