The Israel National Team is readying to kick-off against Estonia in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Friday night in Tallinn as they will look to improve on their record of one win and one loss in Group I play. The blue-and-white picked up their victory over Estonia back in March and fell to Norway in the opening window of the campaign as Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon’s team currently finds itself in 3rd place with 3 points. Norway tops the standings, Estonia is in second place while Italy who will play their first games is in 4th and Moldova are in 5th. 

Following the match at Estonia, Israel will travel to Debrecen where they will host Slovakia in a friendly exhibition match where Ben Shimon will have the opportunity to see some of the younger players that are part of the 28-man squad in action. 

The team that will face Estonia will be comprised of some of the veteran Israeli players as well as a number of up-and-coming stars. Keeper Daniel Peretz who has been with Bayern Munich over the past couple of seasons will be counted on in goal just ahead of his expected move on loan to PSV Eindhoven who play in the Dutch Eredivisie league. 

Captain Eli Dasa will be an important contributor on the right flank and has played in Russia with Dynamo Moscow since the 2022 season while Roy Revivo who is with Maccabi Tel Aviv plays on the left side of the defense. 

Other players to keep an eye on will be Muhammed Abu Fani who plays with Ferencvaros in Hungary, Israel’s Player of the Season in Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Dor Peretz as well as Manor Solomon who helped Leeds United earn promotion back to the English Premier League and Oscar Gloukh who stars for Red Bull Salzburg in Austria. 

Just ahead of the game, Gloukh spoke to the One website about the upcoming clash and where his future may lie as he looks to continue to advance in his career.

“We are coming like into this game just like every other one, with pride,” the 21-year old Gloukh began. “I am not looking at whether we are favorites or not as we are happy to be here, even if everyone coming into camp for this game just finished their club season. We all want to win and go into the offseason properly.”

The last time the two teams met back in March, Israel came away with a narrow 2-1 victory in what was a home game in Debrecen due to the security situation in the Holy Land, “We need to be then ones to decide the game first and not let them score and then have to go backwards. We need to score, then play more freely and calmly and it will be easier for us in this game.” 

As for Gloukh’s personal future and if he will make an anticipated move from Red Bull Salzburg to a larger team, the Rechovot native said, “I am not thinking about it. My only concern right now is about helping the national team because that’s the most important thing and after that I’ll think about what to do. I really don’t know what will happen and I have a contract. Right now I’m a national team player and I’m not thinking about the club team. After this window we’ll see what will happen.”