Israel overwhelmed Moldova 4-0 as Manor Solomon starred for the blue-and-white with a goal and an assist in World Cup Qualifying action. The Villarreal winger did as he pleased all match long as four different goal scorers found the back of the net to help Ran Ben Shimon’s side collect 3-points in Chisinau ahead of Israel’s big showdown against Italy on Monday night in Debrecen.

It didn’t take long for Israel to open the scoring as a sliding Dor Peretz stabbed home a Solomon cross from it front of the goal to take a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute. Twenty minutes later Solomon scored from the top of the box off a Dan Bitton assist as he finished off a superb effort to double the advantage ahead of the halftime break.

Israel continued to control the pace of play early on in the second half and saw the fruits of their efforts pay off when Eli Dasa sent a magnificent through ball to Tai Baribo as the Philadelphia Union striker gave the visitors a 3-0 lead in the 59th minute. Hamburg keeper Daniel Peretz made a number of tough saves to keep the score as is before Oscar Gloukh scored Israel’s fourth goal of the game off a Dor Turgeman steal and a Yarden Shua pass to close out the victory.

Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon spoke about the win, “As coaches, the players’ incredible attitude is most important to us. The game could have developed very differently but it became a tremendously fun game to play both in quality and in attitude. I am very pleased with what I saw today.”

The Man of the Match Manor Solomon also commented on the victory, “We played like we should, we had fun on the pitch, we pressed and defended and took important points. I don’t want to underestimate any opponent because there were a lot of national teams here in Moldova who had a hard time.”

Oscar Gloukh shared his thoughts on the contest, “We played an excellent team game. I wasn’t involved as much in the first half, but I enjoyed seeing the other players having fun. The substitutes also came on and played great and I’m glad we all had a good time. I think the result reflects the game.”

Next up for Israel is Italy in a home game that will be played in Hungary due to the security situation in the Holy Land. With Israel in 2nd place with 9 points after 4 matches in Group I, Italy is just behind them in third place with 6 points and can leap frog the blue-and-white should they win in Debrecen which would put a huge wrench in potentially qualifying for the World Cup. Norway leads the group with 12 points while Estonia with 3 points is in 4th place and Moldova is in 5th and last place with no points.

Ben Shimon may make some changes to his starting lineup as he spoke about what he was able to take from the win against Moldova and what he may do versus Italy, “We don’t have the privilege to rest and relax, we are already preparing. The game against Moldova gave me a lot of material to chew on and the substitutes came in and played exceptionally well. Many times after we score a goal I go to the bench and I see real cohesion and care from the entire squad but as of right now, I am not committing to any specific system of play for the game against Italy. I can’t say right now if we will play with 5 defenders in the back or four and right now everything is open.”

Solomon also talked about the upcoming game against Italy, “We already played against them in the previous campaign and we know them fairly well. They are now working with a different coach and we will make our adjustments. We proved in the game in Hungary last time that we can be their equal in certain areas. If we are just a little bit better than that last game then I think we can get a very good result. We have to give them respect, but I am always in favor of believing in ourselves and coming in as strong as possible because we are capable of putting in a good showing.”

Gennaro Gattuso, Italy’s head coach commented on facing Israel, “They are a quality team, they are not afraid to pass the ball away, they build their attacks from the back and they have dangerous wingers. Even against Spalletti’s Italy, these were not easy games. They haven’t changed much, so we have to prepare well. Respect and the right mentality are required.”