Preview: Georgia vs Israel - prediction, team news, lineups

Israel will travel to Tbilisi on Thursday to take on Georgia in an international friendly.

The two nations both head into action for the first time this year after unsuccessful World Cup Qualifying bids.

Match preview

Georgia return to international action for the first time in over four months on Thursday aiming to end a four-game losing run that ended their 2025.

That put an end to their World Cup qualifying bid, after the Jvarosnebi set their sights on a second straight major international tournament following their appearance and progression to the round of 16 of Euro 2024.

After kicking off with a narrow home loss to Turkey and a 3-0 triumph over Bulgaria, Willy Sagnol's team failed to pick up another point in their final four attempts, firstly losing 2-0 and 4-1 in trips to Spain and Turkey respectively.

A 4-0 thrashing at home to Spain then followed in mid-November, before the Jvarosnebi took on Bulgaria in the final round of games with their fate already sealed and left empty-handed, falling 2-0 down to goals from Georgi Rusev and Filip Krastev and failing to find a leveller after Luka Lochoshvili halved the deficit late on.

Now facing a fresh start in the new year with a pair of March friendlies and the beginning of the UEFA Nations League in September, Georgia will bid to start on the front foot and get back to winning ways on Thursday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, also aim to start 2026 with a victory before turning their focus to the Nations League after the summer.

Israel's bid to qualify for this year's World Cup also ended successfully in 2025, despite them making a strong claim in the early rounds of group fixtures.

The Skyblue and Whites made a strong start, managing a pair of wins over Estonia and a 4-0 triumph over Moldova in their first four outings, before going on to lose twice at the hands of Italy and once in a trip to Norway, where they were thrashed 5-0.

Having seen any hopes of advancing in European qualification ended by those consecutive losses, Ran Ben Shimon's men would finish the campaign at home to Moldova mid-November, on the back of a friendly draw with Lithuania, and bowed out with a 4-1 win as Dor Turgeman had them 1-0 up, Roy Revivo and Eliel Peretz put them 3-1 ahead before a late Vladyslav Baboglo own goal put the game out of sight.

With positives to take from that qualifying bid which ended in a third-placed finish, Israel will now bid to come out on top in Thursday's friendly to set the tone for the year.

Georgia form (all competitions):

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Israel form (all competitions):

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Team News

Georgia have a strong squad available for their March friendlies, including the return of key attacker Georges Mikautadze, who missed their last two World Cup qualifiers through injury having netted 21 international goals.

He will rejoin talisman and Paris Saint-Germain star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has netted 20 goals for his country and boasts seven goals and four assists in 11 Champions League games this term.

Sporting Lisbon midfielder Giorgi Kochorashvili and experienced defender Otar Kakabadze are notable absences from the squad through injuries.

Israel are without key attacker Manor Solomon, who has been ruled out of recent Serie A action with Fiorentina through injury.

In his absence, much of the responsibility going forward may again fall on Ajax's Oskar Gloukh and New England Revolution's Turgeman, who scored his second international goal in their last game against Moldova in November.

Elsewhere, Dor Peretz, who boasts 54 caps and nine international goals, will continue to lend support in attack, while Gabi Kanichowsky may join Eliel Peretz in the engine room.

Georgia possible starting lineup:

Mamardashvili; Gocholeishvili, Kashia, Lochoshvili, Azarovi; Tsitaishvili, Chakvetadze, Kiteishvili; Kvatarskhelia, Mikautadze, Davitashvili

Israel possible starting lineup:

Glazer; Dasa, Lemkin, Blorian, Revivo; Turiel, Kanichowsky, E Peretz, D Peretz; Gloukh, Turgeman

We say: Georgia 2-1 Israel

With two nations having cause for optimism around their current groups heading into 2026, we expect a hard-fought friendly in Tbilisi on Thursday.

Despite Israel having the better World Cup Qualifying campaign, we see more quality in the Georgia ranks at present and give them the slight edge on home soil as a result.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.