Preview: Hungary vs. Israel – prediction, team news, lineups

Hungary will conclude their Euro 2024 preparations as they host Israel in a friendly match in Debrecen on Saturday.

Hungary aims to recover from their recent loss to the Republic of Ireland, while Israel is eager to perform well after their defeat to Iceland in the qualifying playoff semi-finals in March.

Match preview

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Hungary is gearing up for their third consecutive European Championship appearance after a successful qualifying campaign.

They topped their group consisting of Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania, and Bulgaria by winning five and drawing three out of eight qualifying matches.

Following an unbeaten qualifying phase, Hungary secured friendly wins against Turkey and Kosovo before suffering their first defeat since September 2022 in Tuesday’s match against Ireland.

Hungary’s head coach Marco Rossi will aim to get back to winning ways in the final friendly before focusing on Euro 2024, where they hope to advance from a group that includes Germany, Switzerland, and Scotland.

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Unlike Hungary, Israel will not be participating in this summer’s tournament after their playoff disappointment earlier this year.

Although they finished third in their qualifying group, Israel advanced to the playoffs based on their performance in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League.

Despite taking an early lead, Israel faced a 4-1 defeat to Iceland in the playoff, keeping them waiting for their first European Championships appearance.

Israel has since appointed Ran Ben Shimon as their new manager, hoping for positive results in the upcoming friendlies against Hungary and Belarus.

Hungary friendly form:

Hungary form (all competitions):

Israel form (all competitions):

Team News

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Rossi might choose to split playing time between Peter Gulacsi and Denes Dibusz as he did in the last game, with the possibility of Dibusz starting this time.

For Israel, Omri Glazer is likely to feature in goal, and Raz Shlomo and Stav Lemkin could start as the center-backs.

Both teams have various midfield options, and Philadelphia Union’s Tai Baribo may lead the attacking line for Israel.

Hungary possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Lang, Balogh, Szalai; Botka; Styles, Schafer, Kerkez; Kleinheisler, Szoboszlai; Varga

Israel possible starting lineup:
Glazer; Dasa, Shlomo, Lemkin, Gropper; Lavi, Glazer, Kinda; Safuri, Layous, Baribo

We predict: Hungary 2-1 Israel

Despite Hungary’s recent setback, they have shown strength in their recent performances and are expected to secure a narrow victory as they conclude their Euro 2024 preparations.

For detailed data analysis on likely outcomes and scores for this match, click here.

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