England commenced their Under 21s Euros journey on a winning note, comfortably defeating the Czech Republic in their inaugural match in Georgia.
The team, under the guidance of Lee Carsley, now aims for a consecutive win as they square off against Israel this Sunday in Kutaisi. The triumph against the Czech Republic was sealed deep into injury time, following Jacob Ramsey’s post-break goal opener, and a successful strike by Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe.
However, their next opponents, the Israeli side, demonstrated their potency by securing a 1-1 draw against one of the tournament favourites, Germany, in their first match. This impressive result was achieved despite Eden Karzev’s expulsion, which left the Israeli side with just ten players for the entire second half.
Despite conceding 78% of the ball possession to the Germans, they managed to secure a point. The current Israeli squad is seen as a golden generation, with all members, bar three including Red Bull Salzburg prodigy Oscar Gloukh, being home-based. Gloukh was previously rumoured to be moving to Celtic before he joined the Austrian team.
Betting odds bet365 has positioned England as the clear favourites with odds of 3/10, while some bookmakers have them as short as 1/4. Israel’s odds of winning stand at 10/1 with 888sport, and the odds for a draw are 4/1 with betfinal.
Previous encounters These nations had an encounter in the Euros ten years ago, where an England team including players like Jordan Henderson and Wilfried Zaha was taken by surprise by Israel, losing 1-0.
Players to look out for Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon is one to watch out for. Having started in an offensive position against the Czechs, this £40 million player is expected to draw attention when the goalscorers markets are announced.
Oscar Gloukh, having already represented the full team five times and seen as one of Israel’s future top talents, could be a promising choice for a goal. He netted one against Belarus earlier this month in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
