The Israeli national soccer team beat Moldova 4-0 on Friday in a key win that leaves the team in second place in their qualification group, just three points behind Norway in the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be played next year in Mexico, Canada, and the US.
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Dror Peretz opened the score with a goal in the 15th minute, while Manor Solomon, who recently went to Spanish club Villarreal, made it 2-0 with a fantastic run in the 35th minute.
This was the first time in the last four years that the national soccer team managed to reach halftime with a lead of two or more goals during an official match, the last time being during a 5-2 win against Austria in 2021.
During the second half, MLS star and Philadelphia Union striker Tai Baribo made it 3-0 in the 59th minute. Just 18 minutes later, Oscar Gloukh, who recently went to Dutch club Ajax, sealed the deal 4-0 in the 77th minute.
Israel's World Cup dream: Every goal matters
After four matches, the Israeli team managed to squeeze three wins and only lost once against Norway, whose team comprises many soccer stars like Martin Odeegard from Arsenal, or Erling Haaland from Manchester City.
With two wins against Estonia and a 4-0 demolition of Moldova, the Israeli team arrives at the fifth game with a five-goal advantage and must avoid losing to Italy, their main competitor for the second spot.
The Italians played only three matches, winning against Moldova and Estonia, while suffering a 3-0 defeat against Norway, which raised concerns for the four-time soccer World Champions after they failed to qualify for the last two tournaments in 2022 and 2018.
With a great form and all on the line, Israel will travel to Debrecen, Hungary, where the team has been playing their home matches due to the current Middle Eastern conflict, to try to beat the Italians and get one step closer to the WC playoffs.
In the current system of the UEFA qualification stages, the country that is in first place is given a direct spot in the World Cup, with the second-place team being given a shot at a playoff run to qualify.
The UEFA playoff run qualification stages takes the 12 teams that finished second in each of the groups during the qualifiers, and the four best-ranked teams in the Nations League.
Israel will aim to avoid a loss against Italy during their match next Monday, while also trying to avoid another loss against Norway.