Broadcast info - Israel vs. Italy
Who's playing: A struggling Israeli side will welcome an Italian team led by a new manager and hoping to rebound after a humbling friendly loss to France. Both teams will naturally be eager to kick-start their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with a victory.
What time: Monday, September 5th at 11:45 PST/14:45 EST/18:45 UTC/19:45 BST/20:45 CET
What stadium: This game will be played at the Sammy Ofer Stadium. Located in Haifa, it's also known as the Haifa International Stadium and has a maximum capacity of 30,870.
Which channel:
- In the USA: ESPN3 USA
- In Italy: RAI Uno
- In Israel: IBA Channel 1
- In the UK: Sky Go UK, NOW TV UK, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports 5/HD
- In Canada: Sportsnet One, Sportsnet World Now
*View up-to-date broadcast listings
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Match facts and other historical stats - Israel vs. Italy
- Israel have never beaten Italy in three prior attempts
- The Azzurri have won two and drawn once, whilst scoring ten and conceding just twice
- This will be the first meeting between the two sides since the 1970 World Cup
Team News
Israel
Not only have Israel failed to beat Italy, but also Monday's hosts have been in a poor run of form as of late. The Blue and Whites have not won a match in over a year, when they beat Andorra 4-0 last September during a Euro 2016 qualifying match. They then followed that up with a scoreless draw against Wales and two back-to-back defeats to Cyprus and Belgium to effectively end their chances at qualifying for what would have been their first ever Euro tournament.
This year has not brought Israel better fortunes, as they were defeated by neighboring countries Serbia and Croatia in March and May. Still, despite their bad record against Italy, they will be playing in front of their home support and will be taking on a team who are still trying to find their identity after a managerial change.
Italy
Giampiero Ventura's first game in charge of the Azzurri did not go as planned, as Italy were overpowered 3-1 by France. However, the ex-Torino boss has only had a few days to actually work with the squad, meaning that there are still a lot of wrinkles to be ironed out.
Despite putting on a good show against Spain, Italy bowed out of the Euro tournament after losing on spot-kicks to Germany. Several Azzurri players - namely Simone Zaza and Graziano Pelle - were guilty of some embarrassing misses, but Pelle, who scored Italy's only goal in the loss to France, has been given a chance to try to redeem himself. Although there are several players from Euro 2016 who were left out, Italy have been boosted by the return of PSG's Marco Verratti after a long injury lay-off, and the 23-year-old, widely regarded as Andrea Pirlo's heir, could be handed a start against Israel.
Broadcast info - Wales vs. Moldova
Who's playing: After seeing their impressive Euro run end at the semi-finals, Wales will now turn their attention to securing a spot at the upcoming World Cup in less than two years. The Dragons will first take on minnows Moldova in a fixture that should result in all three points for the hosts.
What time: Monday, September 5th at 11:45 PST/14:45 EST/18:45 UTC/19:45 BST/20:45 CET
What stadium: Wales begin their World Cup qualifying campaign at Cardiff City Stadium. Located in Cardiff, it has a maximum capacity of 33,280.
Which channel:
- In the USA: ESPN3 USA
- In the UK: Sky Sports 1/HD UK, SKY GO Extra, BBC Radio 5 Live, NOW TV UK, Sky Go UK
- In Canada: Sportsnet World Now
*View up-to-date broadcast listings
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Match facts and other historical stats
- Wales are seeking their first ever World Cup appearance in 60 years
- The Dragons have faced Moldova twice before, with one win and one loss
- The last meeting between Wales and Moldova took place 21 years ago (September 1995)
Team News
Wales
To date, Wales have only qualified for one World Cup. That was back at the 1958 edition contested in Sweden, during which they made it to the quarter-finals. However, they made their Euro debut this past summer and made it all the way to the semi-finals before being unfortunately beaten by Portugal. Nonetheless, third place in one's first tournament appearance in over 50 years is indeed an impressive feat, but they will have to make sure that they regroup in order to pick up their first three points of this campaign.
Although key player Aaron Ramsey is out due to injury, Wales still can count on superstar Gareth Bale. The Real Madrid man had an excellent Euro tournament and was vital in the team securing their spot in France. Naturally, as the (second) most expensive player in the world, Bale, who has won two Champions League titles in the past three seasons, will be expected to play a vital part in the team's qualifying process. Although Moldova are by far one of the weaker teams in their group, Wales will have to take on sides like Austria, the Republic of Ireland, and Serbia, all of whom could represent a much stiffer challenge in the upcoming months.
Moldova
As for Moldova, they are not expected to get out of their group, let alone even qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Ranked 165th in the world, the visitors failed to win a single Euro 2016 qualifying match, and overall, have won just one game in over a year. Despite defeating Andorra 1-0 in March, they will arrive in Cardiff having suffered back-to-back defeats in friendlies against Croatia and Switzerland, and for all intents and purposes, are not expected to get anything out of their upcoming tie with Wales.
