Our prediction for this Nations League match:
Buoyed by a thrilling 3-1 win over France, Italy will look to give fans yet another reason to celebrate when they take on Israel at Bozsik Arena (neutral location). The Azzurri kicked off their UEFA Nations League campaign in style and, as a result, the odds for away win have been dropping. A man to watch in the away team will be Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi, who produced a brilliant display against les Tricolores, while Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori should recover in time to face Israel.
The hosts, meanwhile, failed to spoil Belgium’s party at Nagyerdei Stadion and they face yet another difficult task against Italy. As the game will be played in Budapest (Hungary) due to war crisis in Israel, we are tempted to place our bets on Luciano Spalletti’s men this time out. In their last meeting in a competitive game Italy defeated Israel 1-0, with Ciro Immobile scoring the only goal of the match.
Highlighted Team (Italy):
With four World Cup titles and one European Championship trophy, Italy remain one of world’s most successful teams and they have also finished as runners up at major tournaments on four occasions. The Azzurri have become famous for their result oriented football over the years which is perfectly suited for World Cup and Euro finals, so it is now a surprise when they fail to reach the final stages.
After winning the second and third edition of the World Cup, Italy endured a difficult period until lifting their first European Championship title in 1968, while they also managed to show some improvement at the turn of the century. While winning the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the Azzurri reached Euro finals in 2000 and 2012, and they are still regarded as one of the leading sides in Europe.
There have been too many high-profile players leaving their mark on the national team to count, but the likes of Paolo Maldini, Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Dino Zoff, Roberto Baggio, Luigi Riva and Alessandro Del Piero will go down as some of the most successful ones.