<p>With the remaining three spots at Euro 2024 up for grabs over the course of the next week, Israel’s football team is hoping to create history by qualifying for the European Championship for the first time despite the current violence in the Middle East.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-530589″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/theindiaprint.com-israel-eyes-history-with-three-spots-left-for-euro-2024-israel-fan-euror-2024-ap-2.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com israel eyes history with three spots left for euro 2024 israel fan euror 2024 ap 2″ width=”1017″ height=”763″ title=”Israel Eyes History with Three Spots Left for Euro 2024 6″></p>
<p>With three sets of four countries competing on Thursday in the semi-finals and the winners moving on to a final on March 26, twelve teams still have hopes of making it to Germany later this year.</p>
<p>Israel joined UEFA, the governing body of Europe, twenty years ago, although they haven’t participated in any of the continent’s main international competitions.</p>
<p>Since there won’t be any international matches in Israel for the foreseeable future owing to security concerns, Alon Hazan’s team is obliged to attempt and complete the work on the road as a result of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.</p>
<p>Budapest, the capital of Hungary, will host the semi-final matchup against Iceland on Thursday. The winners will go to either Bosnia and Herzegovina or Ukraine for the championship match.</p>
<p>However, Israel could have automatically qualified for the fight since, before Hamas’s strikes on October 7, they were in a strong position.</p>
<p>After a shocking 1-0 loss to Kosovo when they returned to action in November, they lost both of their pivotal qualifiers against Romania and Switzerland, which were shifted to Hungary instead of being played at home.</p>
<p>“It is more crucial for us to feel content with our nation and spread joy in order to alter the mood,” Hasan said to Sky.</p>
<p>“This holds greater significance than participating in the competition.”</p>
<p>Saudi Arabia, the 2034 World Cup hosts, and other Middle Eastern football organizations have called for Israel to be barred from playing international football.</p>
<p>And if they make it to the finals, UEFA will be ready for demonstrations and more security.</p>
<p>Israel is expected to win over Iceland, but they may have a far tougher test in Ukraine, a country that is motivated to give its war-torn citizens something to smile about.</p>
<p>A team that includes players like Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk, Real Madrid’s Andriy Lunin, and Arsenal captain Oleksandr Zinchenko is keen to make apologies after barely missing out on the 2022 World Cup.</p>
<p>In Group E of the Euro 2024 competition, the winner of the League B playoff will play Slovakia, Belgium, and Romania.</p>
<p>Lewandowski in Wales’ direction</p>
<p>Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is trying to take Poland to the European Championship for the seventh time in a row in the League A playoff.</p>
<p>In the semi-finals, they play host to Estonia, and the winners go to Cardiff to play either Wales or Finland.</p>
<p>After losing his generational star, Gareth Bale, to retirement since the 2022 World Cup, Wales manager Rob Page is counting on home advantage.</p>
<p>Wales has only lost once in their past 14 Euro qualifying matches in Cardiff, although Aaron Ramsey, a former midfielder for Arsenal, is also questionable due to an injury.</p>
<p>With France, the Netherlands, and Austria waiting for the winners in Group D of the Euros, qualification might be a poisoned chalice.</p>
<p>Greece, the 2004 champions, is the favorite to advance to their first major tournament in ten years in the League C playoff.</p>
<p>They will play a Kazakhstani team that nearly missed out on automatic promotion to Germany in the qualification round by surprising Finland and Denmark.</p>
<p>Both Luxembourg and a Georgian squad led by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia of Napoli are hoping to qualify for their first-ever major competition.</p>
<p>The victors will go to Euro 2024 Group F, where they will play Turkey and the Czech Republic in addition to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal.</p>
<p>Fixtures, unless noted, 19:45 GMT</p>
<p>Thursday</p>
<p>League A playoffs</p>
<p>Poland vs Estonia</p>
<p>Finland against Wales</p>
<p>League B playoffs</p>
<p>Ukraine vs Bosnia and Herzegovina</p>
<p>Iceland against Israel</p>
<p>Playoffs for League C</p>
<p>Luxembourg v. Georgia (1700)</p>
<p>Greece against Kazakhstan</p>
