World Cup qualifier, Tuesday, 03/25/2025 at 8:45 p.m.
Both got off to a successful start in the World Cup qualifiers and now want to build on that. In my Israel Norway betting tip, I cover two teams that already have their first three points on the account.
Our bookies agree: the guests (the game is played in Hungary) should actually be clearly ahead here. In my current analysis, however, I will tell you why I think both teams are capable of something and therefore consider the “Over 2.5 goals” bet.
First place is a must! The Norwegian national team is the clear favorite in Group I, with Israel, Estonia and Moldova as their opponents. The opening game went as the team had hoped.
In Moldova, they won 5-0 with no danger to them, with the score already 4-0 after the first 45 minutes. 24 shots, eight of them on target, five different goal scorers, the Norwegian offense made a consistently positive impression.
Julian Ryerson from BVB scored, Erling Haaland, Thelo Aasgaard, Alexander Sörloth and Aron Dönnum were also successful. The victory was basically a sure thing from the first minute, and the team is looking to build on this in Israel.
A very decent performance for the first international game of the year, the Norwegians didn’t perform badly in 2024 either. In League B of the Nations League, they beat Austria, Slovenia and Kazakhstan, and were rewarded with promotion.
Two of the six games were not won, both away from home. In Moldova, the Scandinavians basically proved that they can play away games, but Israel is likely to be a somewhat more difficult opponent.
Norway definitely doesn’t have much experience with Israel, as the two nations have only met twice. When? In 1972 and 1999, so the results of 2-1 for Israel and 1-0 for Norway are completely negligible.
Nevertheless, the bookmakers are absolutely sure that nothing can go wrong for Norway from an away goals perspective on Tuesday. The odds show me an average of 1.65 to 5.30, which is very clear for an away game.
The only away win Norway managed last year was a 4-1 victory over Slovenia. So, can Israel be considered a match for them? The world number 76 is not as highly ranked as Norway (43rd), but they are still a team that can play football.
Speaking of played, due to the political situation, the game will be kicked off in Hungary, so there is no home field advantage for either side. How is Israel dealing with the fact that the home games are not being played at home?
The Blue and Whites were relegated from the Nations League last year, simply because their opponents were too strong. It was only towards the end that the team slowly started to come to life, but by then it was too late.
1:3 against Belgium, 1:2 and 1:4 against Italy and 1:4 against France, the first four matches were not particularly pleasing. In the return match against the French, they managed a 0:0, and finally a 1:0 against Belgium.
The relegation should be bearable, after all it was absolutely expected. Nevertheless, the start of the World Cup qualifiers has been very successful, with a 2-1 win over Estonia.
The early deficit was quickly countered, with a staggering 29 shots (eleven of which on target) in the end. 75% possession, 629 passes, 14 corners, the narrow result does not reflect how clear the game actually was.
For the first time since June 2024, two of their own goals were scored, and it could have been a few more. At the same time, it is still impressive that Israel has only kept a clean sheet once in the difficult NL group stage.
Since there was exactly one goal in each of the five matches, I’ll take a quick look at Interwetten. There you can bet that there will be another goal on Tuesday. The odds of 2.40 are not bad.
Will Norway deliver another commanding performance on the second matchday of the World Cup qualifiers? Actually, both the Scandinavians’ and the Israelis’ performance against Estonia could hardly be improved.
The only difference: the result for Israel was much closer. Nevertheless, I would caution against seeing a class difference here. Israel can be very unpleasant, as the Norwegians should know.
As a result, I can imagine one or two goals being scored on both sides. Ultimately, I have therefore decided on the following bet:
There will be 2.5 goals!
