Preview: Germany vs. Israel
Germany will be bidding to make it eight straight wins in all competitions when they take on Israel in an international friendly on Saturday evening.
The home side beat Armenia 4-1 in their last match in November, while Israel recorded a 3-2 win over Faroe Islands in their final World Cup 2022 qualification fixture.
Germany will bring a seven-match winning run into this weekend’s contest, with all seven of those victories coming in their World Cup 2022 qualification campaign, and the national team secured their spot in the finals of the competition by finishing top of Group J with 27 points.
DFB-Elf recorded a 4-1 victory over Armenia in their last fixture back in November, while they put nine unanswered goals past Liechtenstein in their last home match.
Die Mannschaft won the 2014 World Cup, but they were eliminated in the group stage of the 2018 competition and were knocked out in the last-16 stage of Euro 2020, so it has been a disappointing few years for the national team considering their talent.
Hansi Flick’s side will take on Israel and Netherlands in their two March friendlies before switching their attention to the UEFA Nations League, with their campaign beginning against Italy on June 4.
Germany have not faced Israel in any competition since a friendly in May 2012, when Mario Gomez and Andre Schurrle were on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory for the home side in Salzburg.
Israel, meanwhile, ended their 2022 World Cup qualification campaign with a 3-2 victory over Faroe Islands, and they actually finished Group F with a respectable total of 16 points.
The Blue and Whites were third in their section behind Denmark and Scotland, though, so they will not be present at the World Cup later this year, which is not too much of a surprise.
Indeed, Israel have not competed in the finals of the competition since 1970, and their focus will soon be on the UEFA Nations League, with their campaign due to begin against Iceland at the start of June.
Gadi Brumer’s side suffered a 4-0 defeat to Portugal in their last friendly in the middle of last year, but they have won two of their last three non-competitive matches against Guatemala and Montenegro.
Israel will certainly be the underdogs heading into Saturday’s match, but there is plenty of experience in their squad, and a positive result in Germany would undoubtedly boost their confidence moving forward.
Germany International Friendlies form:
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Germany form (all competitions):
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Israel International Friendlies form:
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Israel form (all competitions):
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We say: Germany 3-1 Israel
Israel will fancy their chances of causing problems on Saturday, as they certainly have talent in the forward areas, but Germany are a tough team to back against at the moment, and we are expecting the home side to claim their eighth straight victory with a routine success.