TA’QALI, Malta (Interstat) — The Israel under-19 men’s national team opened its UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification campaign with a decisive 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan on Tuesday at the MFA Centenary Stadium.

The host side controlled the match from the opening whistle and secured the result with two first-half goals, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Kazakh squad before the midway point of the first period.

Israel’s attack found an early breakthrough when Goren Tamar opened the scoring in the ninth minute, settling early nerves for the home supporters. The pressure continued, and the lead was doubled just 16 minutes later by Maayan Ben Israel in the 25th minute.

The two-goal advantage established a commanding position that Israel would not relinquish. The Kazakh team struggled to mount a sustained offensive threat against an organized Israeli defense throughout the contest.

The match’s physical intensity was reflected in the second half when Kazakhstan’s Ramina Omarova received a yellow card in the 77th minute.

The victory was in line with pre-match projections from analytics firm Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 1-0 win for Israel. The firm’s ELO rating system had also given the Israeli side a 70.50 percent probability of winning the Group A fixture.

With the result, both teams now hold records of zero wins and zero losses in the UEFA U19 Championship qualification tournament. Their overall records across all competitions also remain at zero wins and zero losses.

The match was played at a neutral venue in Ta’Qali, Malta, as part of the early qualifying stage for the 2026 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. The tournament determines which national teams will compete in the final championship event.

Israel’s next match in the qualification round will be against another group opponent as they seek to advance from the preliminary round. Kazakhstan will look to rebound in its subsequent fixture. The group stage consists of multiple mini-tournaments held across Europe, with the group winners and best runners-up from the qualifying round advancing to the elite round of the competition.