UEFA Euro U-21 Semi-final 2023: Israel vs England: predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The Sky Blue team will battle it out with the Three Lions for final spot

Israel and England will battle against each other in the UEFA Euro U-21 2023. The winner goes to the final.

Israel faced one of the co-hosts of the competition, Georgia, in the quarterfinal stages. Both teams battled it out for the full 90 minutes plus extra time, only to be separated by penalties. A narrow margin of 4-3 in the penalties helped Israel reach the semi-finals.

Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon made the difference when England faced an upbeat Portugal in the quarterfinals. Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White laid down an assist to Gordon, who netted in the 34th minute on the clock. This solo goal of the game secured the Three Lions a semi-final berth, only to face similar opponents from the Group stages.

Kick-off:

Wednesday, 5 July 2023 at 4:00 pm GMT (9:30 PM IST)

Location: Batumi Arena, Batumi, Georgia

Form

Israel U21 (in all competitions): W-W-L-D-L

England U21 (in all competitions): W-W-W-W-L

Players to watch

Oscar Gloukh (Israel U21)

Born in Rehovot, Israel, the attacking midfielder netted the fourth spot kick in the Euro U21 quarterfinals for Israel U21 to help progress over the Georgia U21 team. The 19-year-old Israeli player is on the rise, having been transferred to Red Bull Salzburg in January 2023.

From thereon, he appeared in 17 club games, scoring twice and also laying down two assists. He can be a mouthful from the left side of midfield for the England U21 side in the semi-finals.

Emile Smith Rowe (England U21)

We have already seen the Arsenal attacking midfielder score against the same opponents in the Group game. Coach Lee Carsley might start Emile Smith Rowe again, as he did in the Group C fixture back on June 25. In 10 under-21 appearances for the Three Lions, the London boy has netted three goals.

And given Kai Havertz's arrival from Chelsea, it will give Smith Rowe more motivation to leave a lasting impression in Euro U21, giving club manager Mikel Arteta ample reason to have a double look when selecting Havertz over him at Arsenal.

Match Facts

• There is not much history between the under-21 sides of Israel and England. They have only faced each other three times. England have a 2-1 lead over their opponents.
• Earlier in the Group stages, England got the better of Israel. The game ended 2-0.
• This is only the third time Israel have reached the semi-finals of a European competition in any category. The others came for the U19 team last year, while the U16 team did the honours in 1996.

Injury & team news for Israel vs England

Israel coach Guy Luzon has two suspended players in the names of Eden Kartsev and Daniel Peretz. Goalkeeper Peretz will be a key miss, as he was named the player of the match in the quarterfinals. He held the co-hosts, Georgia U21, for the whole 120 minutes.

While in the England U21 camp, Coach Lee Carsley has two right backs on suspension. Norwich City fullback Max Aarons can't be used, nor can West Ham's Ben Johnson. We thus expect Everton's James Garner to slot in, as he did against Portugal's U21 side in the quarterfinals.

Head to Head

Total Matches – 3

Israel U-21 – 1

England U-21 – 2

Draws – 0

Predicted Lineups

Israel U-21 predicted lineup (4-4-2)

Tzarfati (gk); Jaber, Lemkin, Cohen, Revivo; Azoulay, Gandelman, Gloukh, Layous; Gorno, Turgeman

England U-21 predicted lineup (4-2-3-1)

Trafford (gk); Colwill, Cresswell, Harwood-Bellis, Garner; Jones, Gomes; Gibbs-White, Smith Rowe, Madueke; Gordon

Match Prediction

Both Israel and England have narrowly edged past their respective opponents in the quarterfinal stage. Now we will see Group C winners and runners-up face off again in the UEFA Under 21 Euros. This time the stakes are much higher, as a spot in the final awaits them.

The winner will square off against either Spain or Ukraine. But England have been in scintillating form throughout the entire competition, so an upset by Israel is not much of a surprise.

Prediction: Israel U21 0-2 England U21

Telecast

India – Sony Six

UK – Sky Sports

USA – ESPN

Nigeria – UEFA.tv