After several false dawns, it appears that the Israel national team are on the up. A close inspection of the post-match comments from the manager and some of the players and you will find one common theme — the word “team”.
Under Eli Guttman, there is a real sense of belief and a team ethic which came to the fore in the match against Bosnia. Having made the perfect start, Israel are in pole position to reach the Euro finals for the first time, but, dare I say, the hard work starts now.
Okay, so they may have only played the lesser teams so far, though the Bosnians are no mugs, but these are the kind of games where Israel have slipped up over the years. Three consecutive victories means expectancy levels have risen.
No-one would label Israel favourites to win the group, or even gain automatic qualification to France 2016 right now, but, at the very least, they have given themselves a chance.
The Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa was rocking long before the final whistle and the decision to move the Bosnia match to northern Israel paid handsome dividends. The atmosphere may not have intimidated a Bosnian side lacking the predatory instincts of Edin Dzeko, but it clearly lifted the home team.
No-one would label Israel favourites to win the group, or even gain automatic qualification to France 2016 right now, but, at the very least, they have given themselves a chance.
For starters, the acoustics are far superior to the tired Ramat Gan National Stadium. “The crowd gave us the power. I don’t remember an atmosphere like this for an international match,” said Guttman. “That was all the players were talking about at half-time.”
It was great to see Eran Zehavi bounce back from his recent spat with a fan in the Tel Aviv derby, but for me the key components were Omer Damari and Bebras Natcho.
Several months ago I mentioned that the main thing holding Israel back was the lack of a natural goal-scorer.
Well now they have Damari, a predator, a poacher, a genuine goal threat. He took his goal with great assurance, stroking his shot past the outstretched hand of Asmir Begovic, who is certainly no slouch.
And pulling the strings behind him was little Natcho, a clever player who recently picked apart the Manchester City defence. His probing runs and killer passes have been pivotal in the wins over Cyprus, Andorra and Bosnia, so don’t be surprised if Wales and Belgium man-mark the little magician in March.
In the meantime, there’s just the small matter of Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard for Guttman and co to worry about. Good luck with that lads.
* It’s hard to believe that we’re only in November and Faithfold A are already in a cup final, of sorts. Having withdrawn from the Peter Morrison Trophy and lost four games in the league, an Anekstein away tie at Oakwood A is arguably the last thing manager Zuriel Solomon would’ve wanted right now.
The Oaks haven’t had things all their own way either this season, although they have had to contend with a crippling injury list to some big-name players. But they certainly left an impression on Harmen joint-manager Oli Leslie following the recent 3-3 draw.
He said: "Oakwood gave us our toughest test of the season so far. They are well-organised, big and physical and with their pace in attack, I am sure that they will test all of top sides."
