The Italian national team is preparing to face its Israeli counterpart this evening, Tuesday, at the Udine Stadium, as part of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, amid tight security measures in anticipation of any events occurring outside the stadium, after security reports indicated the possibility of organizing pro-Palestinian demonstrations with the participation of thousands of people before the start of the match.
Date of the match between Italy and Israel
The confrontation between Italy and Israel is scheduled to begin today, Tuesday, at 10:15 pm Cairo, Mecca and Doha time, corresponding to 11:15 Abu Dhabi time, with the match being broadcast exclusively on the Qatari beIN Sports channel network, which owns the rights to broadcast the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The position of Italy and Israel before the World Cup qualifiers clash
The Azzurri enter the confrontation with a clear goal in mind, which is to strengthen their position in the group and maintain pressure on leaders Norway, as the Italian team occupies second place with 12 points, 6 points behind the leaders and only 3 points in front of the third Israeli team, with a postponed match that may play a pivotal role in determining the fate of the competition for the direct qualification ticket.
On the other hand, the Israeli team is seeking to restore its chances in the World Cup race by achieving a positive result from Italian soil, despite the difficulty of the task.
The Italian team has three matches remaining in the qualifying round against Israel, Moldova and Norway, while the Israeli team awaits decisive matches against Italy, Lithuania and Moldova, which makes every point extremely important during the final stage of the qualifiers.
According to numerical calculations, the maximum that Israel can reach is 18 points, compared to a maximum of 21 points for Italy. However, the chances of direct qualification for the Azzurri remain dependent on Norway’s stumble against Estonia, given the Scandinavian team’s superiority in goal difference so far.
European qualifying system for the 2026 World Cup
The European qualifiers are held in 12 groups that include four or five teams, and the winner of each group qualifies directly to the World Cup finals, while the second-place finishers and the best teams from the European Nations League go into a playoff that includes 16 teams, in which the last places are decided through semi-finals and final matches to be held in March 2026 in a single-match system.
