Ireland will look to bounce back from their opening UEFA Nations League defeat against Kosovo when they face Israel at the Nagyerdei Stadion on Sunday.
Israel vs Ireland – Match preview and team news
- Date: Sunday, 27th September.
- Kick-off: 7:45pm BST.
- Venue: Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen.
Ireland team news
The Republic of Ireland team news is heavily dominated by off-pitch developments and political tension ahead of tonight’s fixture.
The squad held an emergency four-hour meeting following intense domestic pressure back home to boycott the match entirely.
Ultimately, a significant majority of the players voted to proceed with the game to avoid severe sporting and financial sanctions from UEFA.
However, the decision was not unanimous, as goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu officially withdrew from the squad after expressing his discomfort with fulfilling the fixture. In response to the crisis, FAI Chief Executive David Courell confirmed that Irish players will wear black armbands tonight in memory of all lives lost in the Gaza conflict.
Additionally, the team plans to skip parts of the standard pre-match protocols and has heavily restricted their media obligations for the remainder of the international break.
There’s no other injury news or suspension concerns in this match. Heimie Hallgrimsson is expected to field a strong and mostly an unchanged XI from the last match.
Israel team news
Abu Farchi, the attacker, is suspended after receiving a controversial second yellow card for a goal celebration that match officials interpreted as mimicking a rifle gesture, leading to an automatic one-match ban.
Off the pitch, the Israeli camp has had to navigate the heavy political backdrop surrounding this international break.
Head coach Ran Ben-Shimon addressed the situation directly in his pre-match press conference, emphasizing his strong desire to separate sport from politics entirely.
Ben-Shimon confirmed that his squad intends to go through with all standard pre-match formalities tonight, which includes shaking hands with Irish manager Heimir Hallgrímsson.
The team is expected to lean on senior figures like Manor Solomon and Oscar Gloukh to drive their attacking play against a distracted Irish side.
Form
Israel
Israel is also desperate for a bounce-back performance following a tough 3–1 loss to Austria in their group opener on Thursday. Despite playing with ten men after a red card, they briefly equalised before conceding two stoppage-time goals. Earlier in 2026, Israel’s form showed promise with a 1–0 friendly victory against Albania in June and a competitive 2–2 draw with Georgia in March. They aim to tighten their defence late in games.
Ireland
The Republic of Ireland enters this fixture seeking consistency under manager Heimir Hallgrímsson. Their UEFA Nations League campaign started poorly with a narrow 1–0 defeat against Kosovo on Thursday, where they conceded a late 83rd-minute goal. Prior to that, their 2026 international friendlies yielded mixed results: a 1–1 draw with Canada, a tight 1–0 win over Qatar, and a dominant 5–0 victory against Grenada. The team is looking to spark their attack tonight.
Predicted lineups
Israel: Da. Peretz; Dasa, Nachimas, Shlomo, Revivo; E. Peretz, Do. Peretz; Khalaily, Gloukh, Solomon; Turgeman
Ireland: Kelleher; O’Brien, Abankwah, Egan, O’Shea, Manning; Molumby, Knight; Azaz, Ogbene; Parrott
How to watch Israel vs Ireland?
You can watch the Israel vs. Republic of Ireland match live in the UK tonight on Amazon Prime Video via its Pay-Per-View (PPV) service.
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