There weren’t many of them, but the French fans in the stands were singing along and making themselves heard. Remember that this match is being played in front of less than 20,000 spectators.

Play is temporarily suspended to allow Abu Fani to receive treatment. The Israeli midfielder took an elbow.

Camavinga played long and sent a fine cross to Olise, who tried to take the ball into the box. The Bayern Munich player was perfectly saved by Jehezkel.

Oh Konaté misses his header and sends the ball behind him towards the box. Upamecano manages to recover the ball and revive his team.

Les Bleus manage to combine on the right flank, but Koundé’s pass to Zaïre-Emery is too deep and goes straight into the net. The lack of technical precision has been glaring since the kick-off.

Olise makes the difference and breaks into the box, but his cross to the far post is much too deep. Barcola manages to recover the ball, but his cross is turned away by the defense.

The match did not get off to a fast start. Quite the contrary, in fact. Les Bleus have possession of the ball, but their attacks are too scrappy at the moment.

Faced with a tightly-packed Israeli block, Les Bleus monopolize the ball and try to gain a foothold in their opponents’ half.

The two teams enter the pitch in a very gloomy atmosphere. The national anthems are played.

It should be noted that the announcement of the Israeli eleven was whistled by some of the spectators in the stands.

Without Mbappé, Griezmann or Tchouaméni, Deschamps chose the experienced 33-year-old midfielder to wear the armband against Israel.

Read the article here: France-Israel: Apostle of discretion, the blue “angel” Kanté officiates as captain… by default

France will be facing Israel for the eleventh time in their history. Of the ten previous encounters, Les Bleus have won five and drawn four. The only setback came in 1993, during the qualifying campaign for the 1994 World Cup in the USA.

This Nations League is looking like a crossroads for the Israeli national team, who have conceded four defeats in as many matches. Ran Ben Shimon’s men, whose “home games” have been relocated to Hungary, still have two matches to play to avoid the drop.

The Israeli XI: Peretz – Goldberg (c), Shlomo, Nachmias – Abada, Jehezkel, Abu Fani, Jaber – Gloukh, Solomon – Turgeman.

Second in their group, one point behind Italy but five points ahead of Belgium, France are well on their way to the quarter-finals of the Nations League. Les Bleus will automatically qualify if they don’t lose tonight. A defeat would not prevent the French from qualifying either, should Belgium fail to beat Italy.

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In the absence of Mbappé, not included in the squad, Kolo Muani will play up front in Didier Deschamps’ 4-3-3 formation. Captain Kanté and Zaïre-Emery return to the starting line-up in midfield, while Konaté and Upamecano are paired in the central hinge.

Les Bleus XI: Maignan – Koundé, Konaté, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Zaïre-Emery, Kanté (c), Camavinga – Olise, Kolo Muani, Barcola.

One month after Les Bleus’ 1-4 victory over Israel in Hungary, the two teams meet again tonight in a very tense atmosphere. The conflict in the Middle East and last week’s incidents in Amsterdam have prompted the authorities to install a huge security detail in and around the Stade de France. Fewer than 20,000 people are expected in the stands of the Stade de France, which has not hosted a French team match since June 2023.

EN DIRECT – France-Israel: some fans set up at the Stade de France, almost an hour before kick-off

France-Israel: a gloomy reunion for Les Bleus in a virtually empty Stade de France

Welcome to LIVE coverage of France-Israel, the fifth matchday of the Nations League. Kick-off 8:45pm.