The 2025/26 Israeli Premier League season just kicked off last week, but already next weekend all of the European domestic leagues will pause for the first international break of the season as the Israel National Team set to visit Moldova on Friday night and “host” Italy in Debrecen on the following Monday in 2026 World Cup qualifying. Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon spoke about the upcoming challenges his squad will face and looked ahead at the blue-and-white’s chances to punch their ticket to North America while also analyzing his roster as well.

“We have big ambitions, to win both matches,” a confident Ben Shimon began. “There’s an away game in Moldova, a complex match we need to be well-prepared for. We also want to be competitive against Italy, to fight for second place as that’s one of our main goals.”

With the security situation being one that has not been simple to manage due to the rise of antisemitism throughout the world including Europe, Ben Shimon knows that Israeli athletes have not had an easy time across the board and also need to be prepared for any type of issue that may arise.

“There needs to be preparation for it. We’ll definitely face negativity. I always tell my players that I am a football coach but I also try to teach them how to cope with things beyond their control, because positive energy is more powerful than negativity. I care less about who’s trying to interfere and we’re representatives of the nation and the people of this country want to see a team playing with pride. I want us to stay balanced in terms of motivation and passion, especially in such an emotional period. That’s something I’ll really try to manage in the squad.”

There have been some unfortunate incidents with Israeli club fans putting up signs in protest of some of the organizations that run European football as well as some of the countries where their teams are playing which Ben Shimon addressed as well.

“It’s a cliché, but we need to be smart in this period. Everything has major implications especially in our environment. We need to be as smart as possible. In every previous camp, I always dreamed of playing in Israel in front of 30–40,000 fans. That was the big dream. Today, the dream is just to stay in the competitions. I know who’s holding the dam shut right now with their fingers, the Israel Football Association chairman Shino Zuaretz and the FA itself who are making huge efforts to keep us in these competitions. I’m constantly checking in and asking, I’m very involved. We need to be smart and our goal is to stay in the competitions and be as competitive as possible.”

The squad that was called up for training camp changed a bit after Ben Shimon had stated in the past that he wanted to keep the roster fairly consistent, “Every squad has its complexities and the professional parameters that align with our path and journey. We’re on a trajectory with players we believe are in the best form for each position, alongside players we consider key partners even if they’re not in their best form or not playing much. They are true partners in our objectives.”

Manor Solomon is one of those players who does not have a club yet for this coming season after having returned to Tottenham from a loan to Leeds. While he just returned to training, his future is uncertain, but he still wants to lead the team.

“Manor is a unique phenomenon,” Ben Shimon said. “His form isn’t even part of the equation, he’s our partner. I see him as a partner in the national team’s future successes and he’s fully committed. He has a very positive public image in Israel. I still think people don’t know enough about him and it’s even more powerful in personal conversations. I’m sure he’ll succeed in finding his place very soon because his passion and path are genuine, correct and honest.”

Another player who has not been given much playing time this season is keeper Daniel Perez who went on loan from Bayern Munich to Hamburg where he is the second choice shot stopper.

“I just got back from visiting the players. I feel I need to strengthen some of them, but Daniel isn’t one of them. With him, I try to help as much as I can, but often he’s the one who strengthens me. Hamburg is a club with 50,000 season ticket holders, one of the biggest platforms in Europe. He’s playing at the highest levels and even though there were high expectations and he hasn’t played, he needs to deal with that.

“Daniel has an excellent staff around him at Hamburg. I have no doubt he’ll be first-choice this year. I trust him professionally. Some players will play more, others less and we’ll make our choices. For players in a rough patch, we’ll want to bring them to the national team and give them the stage to return to form.”

Dia Saba who just began playing for a Turkish team wasn’t called up while both Dan Glazer and Ofri Arad who will play in the Champions League with Kairat Almaty after knocking off Celtic this past week also were not invited as Ben Shimon explained his reasons as to why.

“I had a conversation with Saba and I speak with him regularly. He very much wants to be part of the national team. He just arrived in Turkey and we agreed together that he won’t be called up for this round, but is open for future call-ups. As for Glazer and Arad, I saw their game and felt immense pride and joy. Now is the time to congratulate them on a great achievement. They’re future candidates for the squad. Right now, I prefer other players in their positions, but every call-up will come with its own decisions. In those positions, we currently have excellent players.”

On the other hand, Gabi Kanichowsky who just moved from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros last appeared with the national team against Italy last November, “I explained it in previous camps that there’s strong competition in midfield, with outstanding players. These are different phases. From day one, I saw Gabi as a professional and personal partner. I stayed in touch with him the whole time. He deserves the call-up. He took on a new challenge and filled himself with new, fresh energy,” Ben Shimon concluded.