Israel soccer’s dream summer came to an end as the Under-21 squad was humbled 3-0 by England in the semifinals of the European Championships in Batumi.
Head coach Guy Luzon’s squad couldn’t get by the Three Lions in both the group and knockout stages of the competition but showed their quality in wins over Czechia and the host nation Georgia along with drawing against a powerful German side.

Photo Credit: IFA
However, despite not advancing to the final, Israel did punch their ticket to the prestigious 2024 Paris Olympic Games which will mark the first time since 1976 that the blue-and-white will feature in the tournament.
The Under-21’s run coupled with the Under-20’s third place finish at the World Cup in Argentina last month left Israeli soccer aficionados thirsting for more and also gave hope that this could be a golden generation of talent that could one day help the senior team make their mark on the international stage.
“There is still where to aim to and we have a future,” Luzon said after the game. “I want to thanks everyone, they all did the maximum. I have no complaints whatsoever about this game. Every single player contributed to this from the first to the last.”

Photo Credit: IFA
The Israel Football Association Chairman Moshe Zuaretz also spoke about the national team’s effort. “This tournament saw us reach historical accomplishments as we advanced to the quarterfinals then the semifinals and from there making it to the Olympic Games after close to 50 years, while eventually falling to a better opponent. I am proud of the players, professional staff and the entire delegation that have shown us that there is much to strive for in the Israeli footballer and Israeli football.”
Stav Lemkin reflected on the game and the competition as a whole, “This was an exciting journey. We were able to accomplish our main goal but it’s still disappointing as to how it ended. We were the lesser of the two teams in this game. I believe we changed how people view us as well as other countries and our fans as well. You can see that by how many fans cane out to watch us and how they believed in the team. We have some very talented platers here that need to play at the highest of levels.”

Photo Credit: IFA
Luzon made a number of changes to his starting lineup, most notably in goal as Under-20 shot stopper Tomer Tzarfati was in between the pipes in place of arguably the star of the entire tournament Daniel Peretz who was unable to play due to yellow card accumulation.
England poured on the offense early and often testing Tzarfati as Anthony Gordon’s attempt was stopped as was Emile Smith Rowe’s chance. However, a questionable foul call by Karm Jaber on Gordon was called for a penalty but Morgan Gibbs-White’s spot kick went wide right to keep the score goalless after a quarter hour of play.

Photo Credit: IFA
Gibbs-White next chance did find the back of the goal as the midfielder headed home a Cole Palmer cross just ahead of the break to give the Three Lions a 1-0 lead.
England doubled their advantage as Palmer’s sliding attempt made its way into the net in the 64th minute as it needed to be ruled onside by the VAR, overruling the referee’s call on the pitch. Cameron Archer then added the cherry on top of the win with a 90th minute strike to wrap up the victory.
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