The Israel National Team opens up their Nations League campaign on Thursday (21:45) when they visit Austria in Linz, marking the first of four matches that will be played in under two weeks.

Ahead of the clash, veteran midfielder Eliel Peretz shared his feelings about having spent the Yom Kippur Holiday abroad with the squad, “There’s no doubt that it wasn’t easy for us to get here and leave our families behind, but we really created an amazing atmosphere here. It was great to pray, thanks to the rabbi who came and having the Torah scroll made us feel at home. There were lots of prayers, Torah classes, and words of Torah. It was great, fulfilling, and we were able to recharge. Today we had a training session; we’re already past Yom Kippur, we’re feeling good, and we’re already preparing for the match on Thursday.”

Regarding the opponent, the Israeli midfielder elaborated, “There’s no doubt that they’re a very good national team. We saw what they did in the World Cup qualifiers and also at the World Cup, and the good things they are capable of producing. But, as with every game, we’ll prepare with the best possible approach. For us, it’s another game, but we also understand that, ultimately, we’re starting a new UEFA Nations League campaign here. We understand the significance, including in terms of the Euros. We want to come out and show our progress and get a good result, a winning result. We’ll really try to stop them, stop their transitions and the quality they have, while bringing our own qualities to the forefront. We hope this campaign will be a good one for us.”

Peretz added about what the training staff has tried to imbue in the players, “They mainly spoke to us about how challenging this is going to be: four games in eleven days. But there are also teammates here and we have such a deep squad. We’re confident that whoever takes the field will be able to help the national team and express themselves. We understand that we’re heading into a challenging period, but we’re here together, enjoying ourselves, and we’ll be ready for every game with the goal of rising to the occasion. God willing, we’ll get the job done and succeed.”