Israel’s playoff dreams are officially over. Willibald Ruttensteiner’s side beat Moldova 2-1, but it wasn’t enough to keep their hopes of a trip to the World Cup finals alive.
Whilst Israel could technically still qualify for next year's final in Qatar, they’re four points behind second place Scotland with two games to go, and Scotland still need to play rock bottom Moldova, who’ve only picked up one point so far this campaign.
Photo: Israel Football Association
A month ago, when Israel thrashed Austria 5-2, the FA were in an optimistic mood. So much so, they began urgently discussing moving their home match against Moldova from Turner Stadium in Be'er Sheva to Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv. They thought the 16,000 seats in Be’er Sheva were not enough for such a big game, and the increasing interest could allow up to 30,000 fans into the bigger stadium.
One thing that wasn't planned for though, was Israel losing to Scotland, a result that would make their game against Moldova almost meaningless. They lost that match in Glasgow 3-2.
The defeat against Scotland was another disappointing chapter in Israeli football's history, but the first half went better than any fan could have believed. An early lead from a 5th minute Eran Zahavi free kick, and a quick recovery after a Scotland equaliser saw the visitors take a 2-1 lead into the second half.
But things changed at half time. It was a half filled with the same old mistakes that fans have become so used to.
A defensive collapse in the 55th minute led to a Lyndon Dykes equaliser and, in the 94th minute, things got worse. Set pieces have always been a nightmare for the Israeli national team, and a corner kick from the right-hand side saw Scott McTominay score the late winner.
Reaching the playoffs now seemed almost impossible, but there was still some faint optimism that, should they get an easy win against last place Moldova, they might still have a chance to qualify.
Bibars Natcho, Israel national team captain. Photo: Israel Football Association
The Biggest Moment
It seems that Israel couldn’t get over their shock from Saturday. They barely challenged the Moldovan keeper in the first 25 minutes and, as usual, Israel relied on having one shot taken by the right person. As you would expect, that person was Eran Zahavi. It was his 33rd goal for the national team, making him their official all-time leading goalscorer, ahead of Mordechai Spiegler.
Four minutes after the interval, Manor Solomon and Eran Zahavi passed the ball back and forth, all the way to the penalty area. Zahavi left the keeper behind, passing across to Munas Dubbar for Israel’s second. Like we saw in Haifa, Dabbur’s goal drew a mixed reaction from fans - some still criticise him for his Instagram post, after the clashes on Temple Mount in May.
Israel took the advantage and controlled the field and, after Oleg Reabciuk was sent off with five minutes to go, looked even better. There was still hope that results elsewhere would play into their hands.
Israel’s top scorer. Zahavi with a tribute to Mordechai Spiegler after his goal. Phot: Israel Football Association
Old Memories
The reports from Torshavn had reached the stadium in Be’er Sheva. The match between the Faroe Islands and Scotland was still goalless, and the chance to close the gap to second place was once again becoming real. But in the 87th minute, Lyndon Dykes popped up with the winner. A long VAR review didn’t change the decision, and Scotland took home the three points. That was the end of Israel’s dreams.
Once again, Israel conceded a late goal. Another defensive mistake in the box, and Ion Nicolaescu was in the right place to score. Yet again, Israel failed to keep a clean sheet, something they have only done in one of their eight World Cup qualifiers to date.
A campaign that began badly in March, improved with the sensational win against Austria in September, and concluded with them missing out on the opportunity to finish in the top two places in their group.
Mordechai Spiegler, the former national team top scorer, is the only Israeli to score in the World Cup, back in 1970. Eran Zahavi, the team’s new talisman, has missed another chance to become the second.
With or without Zahavi, Israel will try to make it again in four years time. More than 50 years of failure won’t stop the Israeli fans from believing, at least until the next predictably underwhelming campaign that is.
