Israel will only complete its Euro 2012 qualifying campaign in three months' time, but found out whom it will be facing for a place in the 2014 World Cup. The national team, which is dreaming of reaching its first World Cup since 1970 and its second in history, was placed in Group F with Portugal, Russia, Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg at the draw held in Rio de Janeiro. The group winner will progress directly to the finals in Brazil, to be held from June 12 to July 13, 2014, while the eight best runners-up from the nine groups will play off for the remaining four berths over two legs from November 15-19, 2013. Israel will begin its qualifying campaign in September 2012, and will play its final match in October 2013, with the order of the games to be decided at a later date Portugal and Russia will be the clear favorites to advance from Group F, but Israel believes it has an outside chance of finishing among the top two after avoiding the likes of Spain, Germany and Netherlands from the first seeding pot and a strong second seed like France.
