Israel team guide
Sunday, June 1, 2014
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Israel qualified for their first Under-19 finals in style – they did not concede a goal in topping elite round Group 3 – leading coach Eli Ohana to laud it as his "biggest achievement".
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"This is my biggest achievement as a coach – my achievements as a player don't come close to this feeling," enthused Eli Ohana, a European Cup Winners' Cup winner in 1988 with KV Mechelen, after guiding Israel into their first UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament.
They qualified in style, too, triumphing in all three of their elite round matches without conceding a goal in Switzerland, where they beat Georgia 1-0 in a winner-takes-all encounter on matchday three.
Israel began their campaign at home, recording an impressive 2-0 defeat of Italy in their opening qualifying round fixture thanks to two goals from Michael Ohana (no relation to his coach). A 3-1 loss to Denmark did not cost them top spot, Ohana's charges rounding things off with a 9-0 demolition of Liechtenstein.
Qualifying round: Italy 2-0, Denmark 1-3, Liechtenstein 9-0 (Group 10 winners)
Elite round: Cyprus 4-0, Switzerland 1-0, Georgia 1-0 (Group 3 winners)
Key players: Ramzi Safuri (forward, Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC), Michael Ohana (forward, FC Ashdod), Eden Shamir (midfielder, Hapoel Kiryat Shmona FC), Sagiv Jehezkel (forward, Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC).
Coach: Eli Ohana
Date of birth: 01/02/1964
Capped 50 times by Israel, the one-time Beitar Jerusalem FC, Mechelen and SC Braga player took charge of the U19s in 2008 after top-flight coaching posts at his former club, Bnei Yehuda Tel-Aviv FC and Maccabi Petach-Tikva FC.
Team records
Qualifying top scorer
Michael Ohana: 4
UEFA European Under-19 Championship best
Elite round
Honours in UEFA youth competitions
UEFA European Under-16 Championship
Third place: 1996