"All the talk about the future of Yossi Benayoun and Alon Hazan is nonsense in dress and has nothing to do with reality." This quote was signed by a senior Football Association official, just after losing the chance of qualifying for Euro 2024 and a day before the match against Andorra, which will lock up the group stage.
Benayoun and Hazan will also prepare the team for the Nations League play-offs in March, and despite the disappointment with the results, chairman Shino Zuaretz believes in the possibility of reaching Germany this summer through the playoffs. Alongside these things, the Association and the professional staff are aware that the results of this campaign are also beyond disappointment.
Eran Zehavi and the child who entered his heart // Photo: Liav Nachmani
"We didn't think we would end this campaign without one win against Switzerland, Romania and Kosovo," the team admitted. In fact, one single victory against one of the three was enough to come into the match against Andorra knowing that a victory would lift Israel to the European Championship. As far as the last three games against Israel's direct rivals are concerned, from which the team has only two points, the professional staff has extenuating circumstances due to a whole range of problems, from the war that took the team to Budapest, the poor playing ability of some of the players and also a missing squad.
In fact, the squad that Yossi Benayoun and Alon Hazan are supposed to have in March is nothing like the one against Kosovo, Switzerland and Romania. The two most significant wing players, Manor Solomon and Liel Abda, are expected to return by then and be the ones to lead Israel. Dolev Haziza and Sagiv Yehezkel (injured) should also be fit by then. In addition, unless there is a significant change in the war sectors, the rest of the players who play in the Premier League should arrive in good shape and not after a month and a half of hiatus.
Shawn Weisman, Photo by Getty Images
As far as the current team is concerned, there is also a clear conduct regarding procedures and discipline and not only on the tactical side. On this issue, Association Chairman Shino Zuaretz goes hand in hand with Yossi Benayoun. It began with Eran Zahavi not being called up for most matches of the campaign and continued through the recent incident in which striker Shaun Wiseman was suspended on the day of the decisive match against Romania.
Zahavi will continue to be part of the squad in March, and after the striker and Benayoun put aside the sediment between them, the team's all-time top scorer will try to take advantage of the last chance of his career to qualify for a major tournament. If that doesn't happen, he will retire, with Benayoun and Hazan almost certainly giving way as well (it's still early and the issue is not on the agenda at this stage).
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As for Weisman, thanks in large part to captain Elie Dasa's request to the professional staff to keep him in the national team, the suspension is only for the game with Romania and already against Andorra Granada's player will return to the squad. The fact that the striker expressed regret for cursing at the bench also helped him.
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