Israel and Italy combined for nine goals in a wild World Cup qualifier on Monday night, with the Azzurri winning 5-4 at Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, in a match marred by unsportsmanlike behavior from Italian players and fans.
Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali broke a 4-4 deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time after 90 minutes of play in which Israel twice took the lead, securing three points but not before the Blue and Whites gave the European powerhouse a scare. The Italians didn’t help themselves either, scoring two own goals—by Manuel Locatelli in the 16th minute and Alessandro Bastoni in the 87th.
Israeli midfielder Dor Peretz netted two goals, including one in the 89th minute to tie the match 4-4 just before Tonali’s late winner.
81’ — 🇮🇱 2 - 4 🇮🇹
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 8, 2025
87’ — 🇮🇱 3 - 4 🇮🇹
89’ — 🇮🇱 4 - 4 🇮🇹
90+1’ — 🇮🇱 4 - 5 🇮🇹
This end of this game was a thriller 🍿 pic.twitter.com/3aOZKIpMub
The game took place against the backdrop of escalating tensions over Israel’s nearly two-year war in Gaza against the Hamas terrorist group, which still holds hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel. The Israeli squad wore black armbands in mourning after Palestinian terrorists earlier in the day murdered six people and wounded others in a shooting attack in Jerusalem.
While Rome and Jerusalem have historically maintained good relations, hostility toward Israel since Oct. 7 has seeped into other sectors of Italian society, including sports. The Italian Coaches’ Association last month unsuccessfully urged FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel from international competitions, falsely accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” in Gaza, a charge Jerusalem vehemently denies.
Before the sparsely attended match at the neutral site, dozens of Italian supporters turned their backs during Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah.” The black-clad fans later held up “stop sign” symbols to protest the Gaza war.
On the pitch, Israeli players accused their Italian counterparts of verbal abuse. The taunting escalated into a postgame brawl between both teams and staff members, according to Israel’s Sport5.
“They cursed at us the whole game,” Israeli players told the outlet. Sport5 reported that several members of the Italian delegation apologized afterward for the conduct of some of their players.
Ran Ben-Shimon’s side currently sits in third place in UEFA Group I with nine points, trailing Italy (nine points with a game in hand) and first-place Norway (12 points). Estonia is in fourth place, and Moldova sits fifth. Israel faces Norway on Oct. 11, Italy on Oct. 14 and Moldova on Nov. 16.
The group winner advances directly to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled for June 11–July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The runner-up moves into the second-round playoffs of the UEFA qualification tournament.
