1. The Israeli team went up to the game against Austria knowing that the second place was lost, but although the result of the game (the 4: 2 loss) was unaffected by the battle in the playoffs, it was certainly significant for the lack of understanding of how far we are from the places we all dream of.
"If I had known why it happened, I would have prevented it immediately," Willy Rotensteiner said after the game with an honesty that explains our situation.
He, who has been in charge of the Israeli national team for three years, as a professional manager and coach, has long been a player, sets the lineup and lives the team from the inside - fails to prevent the recurring collapses in the second half.
It happened to us in Slovenia, Vienna and against Scotland, so it is no coincidence that it is detached from the capabilities of the team, players and professional team alike.
The team arrives ready for the games, but the tactical fixation of the professional team, which is reflected in the lineup and lineups, makes it difficult for it to cope with tactical changes of the rivalry and changes in momentum while playing.
In away games, against strong teams, these fluctuations are much harder to control.
It is no secret that the defensive quality of the team falls significantly short of the offensive one.
The defense is ultimately a team, and unlike an attack, it requires maximum concentration and alertness throughout the game, at any moment, and here we fall big.
In the first half at Klagenfurt, Israel managed to move the ball well and got along easily with the pressure that the Austrians were trying to produce.
At the half, their coach Franco Fuda slept hard, when under pressure he turned his lineup into a mirror lineup of the Israeli one.
The midfielder Svitzer pressed Alhamid the stopper, Groll from the wing pressed Abu 'Abid, and Alaba went high to Dassah.
Israel tried to move the ball under this pressure and did not stop losing it, which gave the Austrians more and more opportunities to attack, with the Israeli national team players in chasing positions.
Thus were revealed the brakes and back ties, which swam in the middle in front of the entrances of the Austrian wingers, and the game wisdom of Alaba, who constantly created an advantage for his team in the middle.
Israel did not find an answer to all of this, which made the second half one-sided, and without Marciano's tremendous ability at goal (13 kicks per frame only) - the result would have been higher.
3. The Israeli team under Rotensteiner made offensive progress.
She is daring, interesting and scores a lot of goals.
But in the end, in order to win quality teams from us outside the home - we must make adjustments, and here is the great failure of the professional team.
The same inflexibility in the lineup and tactics makes it very difficult to respond to changes in real time.
The attempt to compensate for the lack of quality in defensive players by quantity is doomed to repeated failure.
The team loses its away games in the center of the field, and as mentioned, this usually happens in the second half, where the legs get tired and find it difficult to cover areas and face a numerical disadvantage.
Our brakes are thus exposed to quality players, and it does not matter if they are two or three - they are in big trouble.
Austrian players celebrate.
Israel's defense can not cope with the quality of rivalry, Photo: Reuters
4. Tomorrow the team will finish the campaign against the Faroe Islands, and we are in a good position to finish home ahead of Austria, but that will not change the fact that we are much less quality than the Austrians - and light years away from a real battle for a place in the World Cup.
The problem is less in the coach and more in the meager supply of players who play in the top five leagues in Europe.
And yet, things can be done better, and for that the thinking of the association's captains is needed, when they sit down with Rotensteiner for a campaign summary conversation.
Is he open to new ideas?
Is he willing to upgrade his team, and listen to those who come to help him and hear from him how he plans to correct the mistakes from the current tournament?
In any case, do not rush to replace the coach, certainly when he receives sweeping support from the players.
Yes one must see how to make the team look better in the next tournament, change, beat a senior rival out there and maybe get a surprising ticket to Euro 2024.
