Ofir Haim clarifies before the European Championships: The youth team will not be satisfied with actually qualifying for the status quo. On Sunday, the Euro tournament up to the age of 19 will start, and Israel will open its performances against Serbia this coming Sunday. At a press conference on behalf of the association ahead of the departure to Slovakia where the championship will take place, the coach made it clear that the goal is to win one of the five World Cup tickets to be held in 2023 in Indonesia.
“We believe in ourselves, we have come a long way. With food comes appetite, and we are not content with immigration,” the coach said. “I am not trying to lower expectations, the goal is to reach the World Cup and make history, because no Israeli team has done that before. That is the goal for us.”
Team contact Ili Madmon added: “Obviously we are aware of the scouts who will be in the stands and follow the games. In such a big tournament it is obvious that there will be people who will come to see, but it does not sit too much in our head. We come to enjoy the experience. Games that we experience at a level that is not in the country. This is the first thing we have in mind. ”
The campaign was also attended by Bonnie Ginzburg, Deputy Technical Director Yila Hus, who said: “The development of football and the development of the players is important to us. So far the youth team has played 16 international games, and the player development has been very impressive. Six players on the team have already played in the Premier League. Two players – Oscar Gluch and Autumn Lemkin – played with the young team. Reaching the European Championships is a huge bonus for these kids, who get a chance to play at the highest level. We have a very young team, the youngest in the tournament in my opinion. “There are a lot of players in the 2004 yearbook. This yearbook makes up 50 percent of the staff, and these players are here because they are good.”