Israel – Albania

Israel hosts Albania in a World Cup qualifier from Group G at the Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa.

If we accept that Spain and Italy will most surely occupy the first two places in the group standings, then Israel and Albania are the teams who are about to clash for the third spot in the group. At the moment Israel are 3rd in Group G, having three points more than Albania. But this could quickly change, if Giovanni De Biasi’s boys manage to win in Haifa.

But it won’t be easy as Albania’s form is far away from being that good lately. The Albanians are in a bad run of five consecutive losses in official and friendly games. In the World Cup qualifiers they lost three times in a row against Spain, Israel and Italy. After that they were also beaten two times in friendly matches, losing against Bosnia-Herzegovina and even Luxembourg.

Right now they have 6 points won in Group G, winning two games and losing three.

Israel on the other hand are having a slight advantage in front of Albania, mainly because of the 3-0 win they manage to record in Tiranna. In their last game Israel were thrashed with 1-4 by Spain, but they are still in a pole position to win the third place in the group.

In their last game Israel faced Moldova in a friendly game in Netanya, but they dissapointed their fans with a 1-1 draw in this match.

So far the Israelis won three games and lost two in the group, having scored 9 goals and conceding the same number.

Although the third place in the group won’t give a chance for a World Cup qualification for the team who wins it, it’s important to finish your qualifying campaigns in the best way possible. This could give you a better seed in the next draws. That’s why both Israel and Albania would like to finish third in this group.