The captain of the Israeli national team, Eli Dessa, along with other players, tried during the day of the match against Romania (2:1) to change the decision to remove striker Shaun Weisman from the squad. According to players in the national team, the thought was that Wiseman was needed in the important game and therefore there was an attempt to change the minds of the professional staff, who did not like the way the Granada striker celebrated the equaliser against Switzerland.
As you may recall, Wiseman made a silencing gesture and later filtered out a curse in Hebrew that, as far as coach Alon Hazan was concerned, was directed against the decision to let him play only ten minutes in the two games against Kosovo and Switzerland. It is still unclear whether Wiseman will play against Andorra or whether professional director Yossi Benayoun and coach Alon Hazan will not be satisfied with his suspension only from playing with the Romanians.
Weissman celebrates equality, a costly celebration, Photo: Reuters
Meanwhile, despite the great disappointment of the Euro qualifying campaign, Yossi Benayoun and Alon Hazan will in any case be the ones who will professionally manage the preparations for the Nations League play-offs in March. The stated goal of the two, as well as the chairman of the association, Shino Zuaretz, is to qualify for the European Championship. Any other outcome may bring an end to the professional path they have begun. Zuaretz himself was one of the sore people in the stadium last night. He told his associates that he believed the team would do its job, but that did not happen in the end. At the same time, as long as there is a chance to rise to the euro and achieve the goal, he stands behind the professional team.
On Sunday, the team will travel to Andorra ahead of the game that will close the campaign on Tuesday. The mood, which had been high all week, turned low and suddenly, the game against Andorra is defined by players in the national team as "stuck", whereas until 24 hours ago, the expectation was that it would be the one that would lift Israel to the European Championship.
The hottest sports articles and updates on your Telegram
Join
Romanians celebrate against the background of a disappointed Eran Zahavi, photo: Udi Zitiat
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us