Israel v Czech Republic is a match in the group stage of the European Under-21 Championships and will be played on Wednesday at 18:00: line-ups, predictions.
One point. Just one point separates the Czech Republic from a qualification that not even the most optimistic had anticipated at the time of the draw. After all, with two giants like England and Germany in the same group, the hopes of securing a pass to the knockout phase could only be slim.
A belief that had even been strengthened after the opener against the English, who had prevailed 2-0 despite a decent containment performance from Jan Suchoparek’s men. But last Sunday’s unexpected success against top-ranked Germany helped rewrite the hierarchies in Group C, with the Czech Republic now able to count on two out of three results to qualify for the quarter-finals as runners-up – England are unreachable – and send the defending champions home. A draw against Israel will be enough to reach the goal, because in the event of a tie with the Germans, who are tied at one, the Czechs would have the upper hand thanks to their advantage in the direct clashes. Vitik’s goal three minutes from the end chastened a wasteful Germany and rewarded a cynical Czech Republic, quick to take advantage of the slightest oversight on the part of their opponents.
Czech Republic one step away from victory
Israel, last in the standings with just one point from two matches, were a foot and a half off the mark. After stopping Germany in their opener, Guy Luzon’s selection failed to put a spoke in the wheels of England, who prevailed 2-0 on Sunday.
Luzon, Israel selector
Turgeman and his teammates have no choice: they must beat the Czech Republic and hope the English do the same to Germany. Otherwise the dream of reaching the knockout stage, only ‘touched’ in the 2007 and 2013 editions, will fade again.
The Prediction
The Czech Republic against Germany broke a five-match winning streak, returning to score more than one goal for the first time since September. Israel, who appeared too submissive against England, will not be able to dampen the enthusiasm of a selection galvanised by their miraculous success against Germany. The Czechs are likely to avoid defeat in a match in which the total number of goals will be at least two.
The official lineups for Israel v Czech Republic
- ISRAEL U21 (4-3-1-2): Peretz; Jaber, Lemkin, Cohen, Revivo; Karzev, Gandelman, Azoulay; Gloukh; Turgeman, Jorno.
- REPUBLIC CZECH U21 (4-3-3): Jaros; Gabriel, Vitik, Hranac, Fukala; Zamburak, Cerv, Valenta; Karabec, Sejk, Kusej.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
