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So near yet so far for Israel

It was a case of so near yet so far for Israel after two exciting but ultimately disastrous campaigns that brought failure first in the play-offs for EURO 2000™ and then in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

It was a case of so near yet so far for Israel after two exciting but ultimately disastrous campaigns that brought failure first in the play-offs for EURO 2000™ and then in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where they were denied a play-off place by a last-minute goal.

Impressive performances
However, the team, only admitted to the UEFA fold in 1994, confirmed their improvement in world terms – they are now ranked 47th – with some impressive performances in both qualification tournaments, first in EURO 2000™ under Schlomo Scharf, the highlight a 5-0 thrashing of Austria, then in the World Cup under Richard Møller-Nielsen, where they held Spain 1-1.

Victory over Argentina
Israel went into the Euro 2000 qualifying competition on the back of five straight friendly wins, including a 2-1 defeat of Argentina. They carried that form into the Group Six matches, at least initially, notching up a 1-1 draw in Austria, followed by a 5-0 win in San Marino before losing 2-1 to Spain, after they had briefly taken the lead through Alon Hazan. A 3-0 win over Cyprus was then followed by the match that effectively sealed their play-off place, a sensational 5-0 defeat of Austria.

Finished second
The loss of two of their last three matches – an 8-0 win over San Marino was sandwiched by a 3-2 defeat in Cyprus (falling to a penalty three minutes from time) and a 3-0 reverse in Spain - did not prevent Israel reaching the play-offs, although it ended up being mighty close as they only finished second courtesy of a better goal difference than Austria and were just a point ahead of Cyprus.

Revivo sent off
However, the play-off against Denmark was a complete disaster. A goal down after just two minutes of the first leg in Tel-Aviv and two behind by half-time, they were then reduced to 10 men when their charismatic playmaker Haim Revivo was sent off. The Danes struck three more times to put the tie effectively out of reach.

Caught napping
The return leg in Copenhagen was little better. The Israelis were again caught napping when the Danes scored with their first attack after just four minutes – going on to cruise to a 3-0 win.

Schlomo quit
Schlomo, who had led the national team for 81 matches, had always said he would quit if Israel failed to qualify for EURO 2000™, so in an attempt to build on the progress already made the Israel Football Association turned, coincidentally, to a Dane – Möller Nielsen, who had led his native country to victory in the 1992 UEFA European Championship.

Austria ties decisive
Israel’s road to the 2002 World Cup finals was again blocked by both Spain and Austria and once again it was the qualifying games against the Austrians which proved decisive as to which team would make the play-offs. Victories over the other two teams in Group Seven should have been achievable but despite beating Liechtenstein (2-0 at home and 3-0 away), and Bosnia-Herzegovina (3-1 in Tel-Aviv) they were then held to a goalless draw in Bosnia.

Draw with Spain
Although beaten 2-0 in Spain the Israelis did manage an excellent 1-1 draw against the eventual group winners in the return, Revivo’s early goal again forcing the Spanish to come from behind. So, after an earlier 2-1 defeat in Austria, it all came down to the return match in Tel-Aviv. Israel trailed the Austrians by three points but had a superior goal difference so a win would have seen them through to a play-off against Turkey. The Austrians only needed a draw.

Security fears
But that was only the start of the story. Worried by the security situation in Tel-Aviv several Austrian players refused to go to Israel and FIFA agreed to postpone the match. Then, as the rearranged date approached, the Austrians begged for the game to be switched from Saturday to Sunday – arguing that as Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath they wouldn’t be able to get any hot food. A bizarre compromise was reached whereby the game went ahead as planned and the Austrian players had hot food prepared by an Austrian chef in the Austrian Embassy and then driven to the players’ hotel.

Hearts broken
Sadly, the game itself proved to be pretty indigestible as far as the Israelis were concerned. A goal up after a 56th-minute penalty by Shimon Gershon they could have sewn up the match – and a play-off place – when Dedi Ben-Dayan hit the post with just 13 minutes left. But then, as the match drifted into injury time, the Austrians were awarded a free-kick just outside the box and Andreas Herzog smashed the ball home to break Israeli hearts.

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