The young Israeli team almost touched on a sensational victory over Germany away, but two goals in the final minutes reversed the result and gave the Germans 3: 2 on an excellent evening for the Israelis.
National team coach Alon Hazan said at the end: "We were already 1: 2 so obviously we are disappointed. The substitutions helped and we knew how to do the closing well. Proud of the players despite the loss, we can not get rid of these small mistakes. Against Latvia hope to win, we lost the game But not the tournament. "
Ilai Almkeys said: "I am very proud of the players. We fought, we came to play football even though we played against the European champions, and it is not something that came on foot. It was a good game for us but we suffered bad luck in the end.
Alon Hazan.
Photo: Getty Images,
The first goal scorer added: "What characterizes this team is the ability. We have the ability to cope and play well against each team. There is also a very family atmosphere in the team, each helping and happy for the other. We are very motivated and see it on the pitch. "
Ahead of the game against Latvia on Tuesday, Almkeys said: "As an Israeli team we must not underestimate any game. We achieved two wins in the first games against very good teams and Latvia does not fall short of them. We will start preparing for Latvia from now on to do our best.
Ilai Almkeys in an interview after the loss to Germany, credit: The Football Association