Israel Football Team Eyes Euro 2028 Berth Via Nations League Strategy

The Israeli national football team has set its sights on qualifying for the Euro 2028 championship, a primary objective under coach Ran Ben Shimon. Success in the upcoming UEFA Nations League is seen as a crucial pathway to achieving this goal.

Israel has been drawn into League B of the Nations League, competing against Austria, Ireland, and Kosovo. The team can secure a playoff spot for the Euros by finishing first in their group, or potentially second depending on other Euro qualifying results. Finishing in the top two positions of their Nations League group will also place Israel in a higher-seeded "quality group" for the Euro 2028 qualifying draw, increasing their chances of being placed in a more favorable qualifying group. A first-place finish would also promote Israel to League A for the 2028/29 Nations League season, a secondary objective for the team.

Qualification for Euro 2028 will see 20 teams automatically qualify: 12 group winners and 8 best runners-up. The remaining spots will be determined by playoffs, with the number of playoff berths dependent on how many of the four host nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland) qualify directly. Between 2 and 4 playoff spots are expected, with 8 to 12 teams participating across two or three paths. Nations League teams finishing in the top positions will be prioritized for playoff spots, alongside second-place finishers in the main qualifiers who did not automatically qualify. Third-place finishers in the qualifiers generally will not have a playoff path unless they also won their Nations League group.

The timeline includes the Nations League running from September to November 2026, the Euro qualifying draw in December 2026, the main Euro qualifiers from March 2026 to November 2027, and the Euro playoffs in March 2028.