Estonia and Israel face off in Tallinn on Friday, looking to get off to a good start in 2026 World Cup qualifying. Both teams have accumulated three points from their first two games in Group I, though they still know they can’t afford to drop points in this game if they want to keep pushing for qualification.

Having avoided relegation from their Nations League group and remaining in League C, Estonia head into their World Cup qualifying campaign with a certain amount of optimism. They have proven themselves with four points from two games against Azerbaijan, taking an early lead over Israel in the reverse fixture in March.

However, while favourites Italy were focusing on Nations League matters, Israel bounced back with a 2-1 win in Debrecen to take the initiative in Group I. To their credit, though, Estonia got back to winning ways with a five-goal win against Moldova, leading 2-0 after half an hour and eventually winning 3-2. Jurgen Henn's side therefore have a chance to continue their winning ways with home games against Israel and Norway, although they will ultimately be seen as the underdogs as they bid to retain second place.

From an Israeli perspective, Ran Ben Simon is attempting to guide a relatively young group of players to their first World Cup appearance since 1970. The aforementioned win over Estonia in March ensured they got off to a flying start, but they then lost 4-2 to Norway. Despite the tie, Israel were unable to withstand the attacking prowess of their opponents, a result that added to the odds of the tie.

Nonetheless, thanks to a 0-0 draw in France and a win over Belgium in November, this side could still potentially remain in contention for a World Cup spot if they can get past Estonia.

Estonia's predicted starting lineup:

Igonin; Salist, Kusik, Paskots, Shechonen-Larsen; Poum, Ainsalu; Yakovlev, Kate, Simiavsky; Sapinen

Israel's predicted starting lineup:

Perez; Abada, Shlomo, Lemkin, Nachmias, Solomon; D. Perez, E. Perez, Jaber, Grauk; Turgeman