Ofir Haim: "These actors give me confidence that anything can be achieved" - Walla! sport

The youth team players celebrate qualifying for the semi-finals of the World Cup (Photo: Israel Football Association)

Watch the quarter-final recap. Courtesy here11

The Israeli national team stunned the soccer world by knocking out Brazil. True, this is the U-20 World Championship and not beyond, but Ofir Haim and his players broke record after record all the way to the semifinals of the World Cup, where they will meet the winner tonight between the United States and Uruguay (Sunday to Monday, 00:00, Sports3).

After the Israeli national team made a real sensation last night in San Juan when it twice escaped arrears and beat Brazil 2-3 in extra-time, now coach Ofir Haim and players Stav Lemkin, Eli Madmon and Tomer Sarfati showed up for a press conference, shortly after landing in Buenos Aires and continuing to La Plata, where they will stay in the coming days and accelerate preparations for the semifinals on Thursday at 20:30 Israel time.

Haim was asked how to remain vigilant in light of the many reports of interest in his players: "Relative to their young age, they behave like experienced and professional players at the highest levels, know how to make the switch. It is true that there is euphoria and excitement, but already tomorrow we will start preparing for the next opponent. The players and I meet outside of training hours and I strongly believe that a coach should know the player intimately and the player should know the coach."

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'We will do everything to qualify for the final' (Photo: Reuters)

On the maturation process his players have undergone over the past year and whether he is thinking of coaching a team next season: "I think all Israeli football is progressing well. I don't look too far ahead, I'm only interested in the semi-finals and that's my only goal at the moment - I'm not thinking about any other role in football."

He said of his family: "I have two other children besides Or and I'm happy to announce that they're on their way here. Or saw 120 minutes for the first time in his life, he told me he was proud of me and I was very happy."

The coach was also asked who he prefers to meet in the semifinals: "United States or Uruguay? It doesn't matter to me. It's two different styles and we'll do everything we can to qualify."

'We are all not thinking about the future at the moment' (Photo by Getty Images, ANDRES LARROVERE/AFP)

Captain Madmon commented on the dramatic moment after missing a penalty: "I didn't even remember missing after we won - this win made everything about the game forget and it was worth everything."

Lemkin said of the encounter with Brazil: "We prepared and saw that we could hold the ball in front of them. We were tactically prepared properly." Ofir Haim added: "The lack of training games took its toll, but I saw the things I wanted to see. These players give me confidence and thanks to them I believe that anything can be achieved. We're not surprised by the meltdown after the support we received at the Euros, but it's amazing to see the Jewish crowd in Argentina coming to support us at the games. We also all knew that this tournament could be a leap forward, but all of us without exception are not thinking about the future at the moment."

Goalkeeper Tomer Sarfati added: "It's exciting to see the Jewish crowd every season and family and friends. I hope that the teams in Israel also see the games and believe in us more."

• sport
• Israeli football
• Israeli national teams

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• Youth team
• Ofir Haim