2024-03-21 04:45:22
The Israel national team will meet tonight (Thursday 21:45, live on 5 SPORT) Iceland in the semifinals of the playoffs for promotion to Euro 2024. In the second semifinal, Bosnia will meet with Ukraine. The two winners will meet in the playoff final for a match where the winner will qualify for Euro 2024. About 550 fans have guaranteed their arrival at the match on Thursday. 400 from Israel and another 150 from the Jewish community in Hungary.
The Israeli national team held a press conference in Budapest last night ahead of the fateful match. The team’s coach, Alon Hazan, commented on the situation: “We would be happy to be after this situation, but we are not looking back. This is an important game for us to qualify for the next stage and the Euros.”
Eran Zahavi celebrates a goal in the uniform of the Israel national team against Romania, in the qualifiers for Euro 2024 (Photo: AP/Dans Erdos)
When asked about his players, Hazan answered: “Even before we step on the pitch, I think we need to increase our commitment. We pay a price for small things. Once we improve that, we are good soccer players, and we need to bring a higher level there than in the last games to to achieve what we want.”
Hazan also referred to the war in Israel and its effect on the team, saying that “None of us refers to any statement that was made and it is not in the context of football. If we have to say a word of motivation to the players without them understanding the size of the class, then we are inferior in advance. We must neutralize every noise and sound around us That doesn’t add to us on the pitch. The ability to decide is how committed and focused we are on the pitch. We are focused, focused on football, concentrating on football.”
Alon Hazan, coach of the Israeli national soccer team (Photo: Israel Soccer Association)
On Manor Solomon, who will undergo another surgery due to an injury: “He is an important player for us, but all along I did not talk about players who are not at our disposal. We need to treat those who are playing, the players who get a chance and are waiting to get on the field, to prove that they should get the keys.”
The captain of the national team, Eli Desa: “Iceland is an aggressive, committed team. Compared to the Nations League, they have improved, they have several players in high-level teams with a lot of talent. You can’t shout favorites, it’s really not like that, it will be like that if we come with 100 percent Ours. From the first moment I joined the national team, this is the last chance, it’s not an obvious thing. We have young talents, we have good coaches and in the coming years we will see football in Israel take a step forward.”
#wins #ticket #Euros #Israeli #national #team #meet #Iceland