Eli Guttman insists Israel have been drawn into possibly the toughest World Cup qualifying group after they were paired with former world champions Spain and Italy in their bid to reach Russia 2018.
Having seen their hopes of automatic qualification deteriorate after a strong start, Guttman would have been hoping for a favourable draw, but he admits Israel have it all to do now.
"This is possibly the toughest draw Israeli soccer has received since joining UEFA over 20 years ago,2” Guttman said.
Albania, Macedonia and Liechtenstein complete Group B which start with a home match against Italy.
Guttman said: "Spain and Italy, former world and European champions, represent the best of world soccer. This is a massive challenge for every coach and every player.
"It would be wrong to focus on this at the moment as we are resuming our Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in just over a month.
"We have a real chance of reaching a major tournament and who knows when that might happen next, especially considering the draw for 2018 World Cup qualifying."
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