After missing out on promotion from League B of the UEFA Nations League (UNL) in March 2025, Austria now have another chance to achieve that objective, beginning the new campaign against Israel, who were relegated from League A in 2024.
Match News and Current Form
Austria made it to the last 32 of this summer's World Cup before losing 3-0 to Spain, and although that defeat was expected, it is now three games without a victory for Ralf Rangnick's men (D1, L2), following a prior run of just one loss in 12 games (W10, D1). The last time they were on as long a winless run was during their last campaign in the competition when they agonisingly lost their UNL play-off to Serbia 3-1 on aggregate. Austria have been formidable at home under Rangnick overall though, going unbeaten in their last 14 such matches (W11, D3), scoring at least three goals in five of those victories!
Israel by contrast are on their joint-longest unbeaten run since September 2022 after registering two wins and two draws, with their latest result being a 1-0 friendly victory over Albania in June. Things have been tough recently in competitive matches though for the Skyblue and Whites, who have conceded 14 goals in their last four such encounters (W1, L3). Head coach Ran Ben-Shimon will be hoping to address those defensive issues and put his country back on the path to UNL Group A, and has the chance here to oversee four successive designated away games without defeat for the first time since taking charge in May 2024.
Head-to-Head History
Each of the last four H2Hs featured over 3.5 goals (W2 apiece), with the most recent being Austria’s 4-2 World Cup qualifying win in November 2021.
Hot Stats and Streaks
The last eight goals in Austria's matches all came after the 35th minute.
Fourteen of Austria's last 16 games saw the team that scored first win.
Israel's last eight competitive internationals featured over 2.5 goals.
Israel scored each of their last six goals after half-time.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Christoph Lang could make his Austria debut here at his club stadium in Linz after starting this season superbly for LASK, with his last four goals all coming before the half-hour mark. Another player who has hit the ground running at club level this term has been Oscar Gloukh, who got Israel's winner against Albania, with his three scoring appearances since then all contributing to handsome victories for Ajax.
Many players in Austria's recent World Cup squad have not been selected here, including David Alaba and all-time record scorer Marko Arnautović (49 goals), the latter of whom has now retired from international duty. Among the Israel players who featured against Albania but will not do so here is midfielder Neta Lavi.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
Given the open nature of Israel's recent competitive internationals, expect another match with over 2.5 goals here.
Author: Alex Bowmer