October 8, 2025 | 12:44 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Italy national team will face Israel in the eighth match of the 2026 World Cup European qualifiers. The match will take place at the Friuli Stadium in Udine, Italy, on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
The Italy-Israel match is expected to attract more pro-Palestine demonstrators outside the football stadium than ticket-holding spectators inside the arena. Demonstrators had approached Italy's national team training camp in Florence last week, demanding the match be canceled due to the war in Gaza.
As of Monday, October 6, 2025, only 4,000 tickets have been sold for the Italy vs Israel match. Italy national team coach Gennaro Gattuso stated, "It's not going to be a calm environment. There will be 10,000 people outside the stadium and 5-6,000 inside the stadium," from the Coverciano training center, as quoted by ESPN.
Pressure to postpone the match has emerged. UEFA had considered sanctions against Israel. Udine Mayor Alberto Felice De Toni had requested the match to be postponed, but the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has a different policy to proceed with the match. "We have to play this match. Because if we don't, we'll lose it 3-0," said Gattuso, referring to the match cancellation rule. "[Italian soccer federation] president [Gabriele] Gravina explained that very well," he stated.
Tension also occurred on the field between the two teams when Italy defeated Israel 5-4 in a match held in Hungary, where Israel had played its "home" matches. A minor clash ensued between players after the final whistle.
Yesterday marked two years since Hamas resistance fighters attacked Israel and the subsequent escalation of genocide by Israeli forces in Gaza. Protesters in Italy also reacted to the international aid mission blocked by Israeli forces. "It's upsetting to see what's happening to innocent people and children. It hurts your heart," Gattuso expressed.
Italy and Israel both trail six points behind the group I leader in the European Zone qualifiers, Norway. Only the top team from the group will directly qualify for the World Cup.
The second-ranked team will advance to the playoff round. In the previous phase, Italy was eliminated by Sweden and North Macedonia and missed the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. "Considering that we're trying to get to the World Cup and we need to give our absolute all, I'm sure you can understand that I would have preferred to play a home game with the enthusiasm that we saw in Bergamo a month ago," Gattuso stated, referring to the 5-0 victory against Estonia.
Israel is also likely to face protests when visiting Norway. The Norwegian Football Federation has pledged to donate the proceeds from ticket sales for the match in Oslo to humanitarian activities in Gaza.
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