Georgia vs Israel – News and Probable Lineups

Israel is set to travel to Tbilisi on Thursday for an international friendly match against Geórgia.

Both teams are stepping onto the field for the first time this year following disappointing World Cup Qualifying campaigns.

Match overview

Geórgia aims to return to international competitions after a hiatus of more than four months, looking to break a streak of four consecutive losses that concluded their 2025.

This series of defeats ended their World Cup qualifying aspirations, as the Jvarosnebi had ambitions for a second consecutive major international tournament after reaching the round of 16 in Euro 2024.

The campaign began with a narrow home defeat to Turquia, followed by a 3-0 victory over Bulgária. However, Willy Sagnol’s side was unable to secure any further points in their last four matches, suffering defeats of 2-0 and 4-1 during visits to Espanha and Turquia respectively.

A significant home loss of 4-0 to Espanha came next in mid-November, before the Jvarosnebi faced Bulgária in the final round of matches, already knowing their fate. They were defeated 2-0, conceding goals to Georgi Rusev and Filip Krastev, and despite Luka Lochoshvili reducing the deficit late on, they were unable to equalize.

Now, with a fresh perspective in the new year and a couple of March friendlies ahead of the UEFA Nations League commencing in September, Geórgia will seek to start positively and regain winning momentum on Thursday.

Conversely, their opponents also seek to kick off 2026 with a win before shifting focus to the Nations League post-summer.

Israel’s attempt to qualify for this year’s World Cup was also relatively unsuccessful in 2025, despite a promising start in the early group stages.

The Skyblue and Whites began strongly, achieving two wins over Estônia and a dominant 4-0 victory against Moldávia in their initial four fixtures, but they subsequently lost twice to Itália and once in Noruega, where they suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat.

After consecutive losses dashed their hopes of progressing in European qualification, Ran Ben Shimon’s squad capped off their campaign at home against Moldávia in mid-November, having previously registered a friendly draw with Lituânia. They finalized their run with a solid 4-1 victory where Dor Turgeman opened the scoring, and goals from Roy Revivo and Eliel Peretz had them 3-1 ahead before a late own goal from Vladyslav Baboglo sealed the match.

With some valuable takeaways from that qualifying effort that ended in a third-place finish, Israel aims to gain a positive result in Thursday’s friendly to set a rallying tone for the upcoming year.

Team News

Geórgia is fielding a strong squad for their March friendlies, highlighted by the return of influential forward Georges Mikautadze. He missed their last two World Cup qualifiers due to injury, having scored 21 international goals.

Mikautadze will reunite with key player and Paris Saint-Germain ace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has also been prolific with 20 international goals and carries an impressive tally of seven goals and four assists from 11 Champions League appearances this season.

However, notable absences from the squad due to injuries include Sporting Lisbon midfielder Giorgi Kochorashvili and seasoned defender Otar Kakabadze.

Israel will miss the services of key forward Manor Solomon, who has been sidelined recently in Serie A with Fiorentina due to injury.

In his absence, the attacking responsibility may rest heavily on Ajax’s Oskar Gloukh and New Inglaterra Revolution’s Turgeman, who netted his second international goal in their latest match against Moldávia in November.

Additionally, Dor Peretz, who has 54 caps and nine international goals to his name, will continue to provide attacking support, while Gabi Kanichowsky might partner Eliel Peretz in midfield.

Geórgia probable starting XI:

Mamardashvili; Gocholeishvili, Kashia, Lochoshvili, Azarovi; Tsitaishvili, Chakvetadze, Kiteishvili; Kvatarskhelia, Mikautadze, Davitashvili

Israel probable starting XI:

Glazer; Dasa, Lemkin, Blorian, Revivo; Turiel, Kanichowsky, E Peretz, D Peretz; Gloukh, Turgeman

With both nations having reasons for optimism regarding their current squads as they approach 2026, we anticipate a fiercely contested friendly in Tbilisi on Thursday.

Despite Israel having a more favorable World Cup Qualifying journey, we perceive a slight advantage in quality for Geórgia on their home ground.