Israel will look to compete for a top spot in Group F of the UEFA World Cup qualifiers when it takes on Azerbaijan on Saturday.
The Israeli side currently sits in third place in the group with 11 points. The top side moves on to the World Cup qualifiers next summer while the second place team has to take on another runner-up in a two-legged playoff. The winner of that competition gets to be among 32 teams in the World Cup next summer.
Israel trails Portugal by three points for first place and holds a game in hand on the Iberians. However, Israel also trails Russia by one point and has played the same number of games as its rivals.
Israel opened its tournament with a 1-1 draw in Azerbaijan and then lost 4-0 against Russia before quickly asserting its strength with a 6-0 win over Luxembourg in the second match of the tournament. In the rematch with Luxembourg, Israel managed a 3-0 victory. The tournament hit a bit of an obstacle in a 3-3 draw against Portugal; Israel held a 3-1 lead in that match with 20 minutes to go but blew it in injury time. The team then managed a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland to bring its point total to 11. After the match with Azerbaijan, Israel faces Portugal, Russia and Northern Ireland one last time.
Azerbaijan cannot qualify directly and must win its remaining matches to have any hopes of finishing in second place.
Prediction: Israel draws 1-1 with Azerbaijan.
Start Time: 1:45 p.m. EST
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