The Israeli national team will be drawn today (Thursday) at 13:00 in the semi-play-off stage of the Nations League against one of the two: Ukraine or Iceland. The lottery will be held in Nyon, Switzerland, with Israel dependent on the lottery to be held earlier. So how does it work?
One of three teams, Ukraine, Finland or Iceland, will move to Tier A. If Ukraine or Finland win the lottery, Israel will meet Iceland. Should Iceland move to Tier A, Israel will have to meet strong Ukraine. Alon Hazan's team hopes to meet the Icelanders, who finished second in the Israeli group in the Nations League, below Israel. They finished this group with 4 draws, no wins or losses.
The Ukrainians finished second behind Scotland, but since the Scots automatically qualified for the Euros, they have another chance to move up through the Nations League. Iceland ended a very disappointing Euro qualifying campaign. She finished fourth, below Portugal, Slovakia and Luxembourg. Ukraine, on the other hand, almost left Italy out, with both teams finishing with 14 points (below England) and only their internal balance lifted the Italians to the Euros.
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Due to the fact that Israel finished first at home, it is scheduled to host the semifinals on March 21. Currently, UEFA does not allow matches to be held in Israel due to the "Iron Swords" war, and only if the war ends soon, this can change. The final (March 3) will be held at a neutral stadium to be determined by today's draw.
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