The Israel National Soccer Team will play France in Paris this coming Thursday night as well as Belgium on Sunday in the final two games of their Nations League campaign. To date, Ran Ben Shimon’s squad has had a tough time against some of the top teams not only in Europe, but in the world as they will look to secure their first points in Nations League A Group 2 action.

Israel will be playing under the world’s spotlight after the attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans following their Europa League match against Ajax in Amsterdam and their will be heavy police presence accompanying the team along with in and around the city of Paris and the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The Israel National Security Council have advised fans not to attend the match due to ongoing threats of copycat attacks in France, Belgium and major cities in Britain.

Just before the blue-and-white headed to Paris, Ben Shimon spoke about the security situation and the brutal lynching and pogrom that occurred in Amsterdam.

“The horrifying event that happened in Amsterdam were unimaginable. These were very difficult moments to witness and as with everything else in our lives that we have been going through over the last year, nothing surprises me. We are a strong nation and we will overcome it.”

Ben Shimon continued, “Even going to France at the moment I feel quite safe. We are always accompanied by large security forces and they are amazing people, our guys who are with us. Right now I’m more concerned about the France attack on the pitch than anything that will happen to us. I feel very safe and safe to walk around with the logo of the Israel National Team. We hope that everything will be fine.”

The bench boss also spoke about the fans who will be accompanying the squad despite the warnings, “Two things about the fans; one of the most amazing things I saw in my vision of the Israel National Team is to be close and be a part of our incredible supporters. On the other hand, this is really about human life and every instruction from the National Security Council or of any other security agency should be followed. Ultimately though this is out of my hands.”

“I was at the Olympics this past summer in France and I saw the very large Jewish community and the supporters from Israel and this really warms my heart a tremendous amount. But the most important thing is the safety of the fans.”

There are reports that the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, will be attending the match, “It is a great honor that the French president will come to see the game and we hope that he will make better decisions in terms of Israel than he has recently made. We will concentrate on the field of play in order to do some good for those who will watch it at home. This is a time of pride to represent the State of Israel.”

Ben Shimon is still looking to record his first points of the campaign and that is a goal that he is focusing on, “We would really like to score some points this window but I also know that while it may be difficult to accept, sometimes you can get something beyond taking points in these games. It was clear to us that the games in this group would be difficult but I’m confident that we are gaining something beyond points.”

The bench boss added, “We scored in all four games so we have been playing offensively and not playing too defensively. Before every window I make the best considerations for the squad and invite the best players. I look for where the players can contribute to us and it’s not just necessarily who is the best, but who will connect with the other players the best. As always those who are here with us right now are the most important players with whom we will go into battle, of course this is a sports battle as the real battle is being fought by our heroic soldiers.”