The party of Israel, pariah and star of the U-20 World Cup in Argentina, ends in semifinals

The support of the fans of the Israeli national team, this Thursday at the stadium in the city of La Plata, Argentina.Natacha Pisarenko (APS)

Hatikvah, Israel's national anthem, was heard loudly amid drums and trumpets Thursday in the city of La Plata, about 60 kilometers south of Buenos Aires. The U-20 team of Israel had given the surprise in the World Cup in Argentina and the pass to the final against Uruguay was played. He did it at home. Argentina's Jewish community, the largest in Latin America, threw its support by the hundreds. A rebound goal in the 60th minute soured the afternoon and Uruguay ended up qualifying, but it did not extinguish Israel's party, which was the most striking event of an emergency organized World Cup.

The Cup should have been played in Indonesia. But the rejection of Israel's presence by some local authorities prompted FIFA to strip the Muslim-majority country of the organization two months before it was due to start. The world soccer government had decided that Indonesia would no longer host the tournament after complaints from the governor of the southern island of Bali, who had threatened not to receive the Hebrew team on his territory. Indonesia condemns the Israeli military occupation of Palestine and has no diplomatic relations with that country. The threat exhausted the patience of FIFA, which after two weeks with the tournament in the air, sought a new venue. It was a window of opportunity for Argentina: its U-20 team, which with six titles is the biggest champion of the tournament, had run out of place for this year after a bad step in the South American competition.

The giant Israel flag made especially in San Juan for this match.
We could not be more proud of the team and this fans who accompany everywhere @ISRAELFA @IsraelinSpanish @Israel @fifaworldcup_es pic.twitter.com/zikvEE1zwW
🇮🇱⚽️💪

— Israel in Argentina (@IsraelArgentina) June 3, 2023

The Argentine U-20 unleashed little illusion, even with the fresh memory of millions of people celebrating the World Cup in Qatar in the streets, and was eliminated by Nigeria in the second round. Without the locals in the tournament, the surprise was given by Israel. The Hebrew team, whose qualification to the tournament had caused a diplomatic tremor at FIFA, went from pariah to surprise and drew crowds. In San Juan, a thousand kilometers to the center of the country from Buenos Aires, the Hebrew team gave the blow and beat Brazil in front of its fans.

"I'm Jewish, it's a feeling, I can't stop!", was one of the reversions of the songs heard in the stadiums of Argentina that was most sung in the stadium of La Plata when Israel faced Colombia, Senegal or Uruguay in that city next to Buenos Aires. "Since we don't all know Hebrew, because most of us are Argentine Jews, Argentine court songs are sung putting Israel in the middle," explained a teenager wearing the shirt of Atlanta, a neighborhood team in Buenos Aires identified with the community, in a video published by FIFA. "Seeing our brothers playing in Argentina is a source of pride and I love it," said another man.

The tournament will be defined by Uruguay against the winner of the other semifinal between Italy and South Korea on Sunday in La Plata. Israel, which played its first world tournament since 1970, will define the third place that same day in the stadium.

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