The Israel Under-21 National Team recorded a heroic result to begin the European Championships as they drew 1-1 with Germany to get the tournament off to positive start. The young blue-and-white saw keeper Daniel Peretz save a pair of penalties while Dor Turgeman scored the lone Israeli marker to split the points.

Guy Luzon’s squad couldn’t have gotten the game off to a more inauspicious start as Roy Revivo’s 2nd minute foul in the box gave Die Mannschaft an opportunity to grab an early lead but Maccabi Tel Aviv shot stopper Daniel Peretz saved Youssoufa Moukoko’s spot kick to keep the match goalless.

Dor Turgeman who starred for the Under-20 team at the World Cup earlier this month scored a highlight reel goal as he ran circles around the German defenders in the box and then slotted home the ball into the far right had corner of the net to give the blue-and-white a shock 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.

It didn’t take long for Germany to draw even as captain Yann Bisseck headed home a free kick to draw his side even just six minutes after Israel had taken the advantage. Just as the sides were about to head into the break all knotted up at 1-1, Eden Kartzev was issued his second yellow card and was sent off leaving Luzon’s crew with just teh men for the entire second half.

Israel was able to keep Germany at bay for most of the final 45 minutes, but a foul by Gil Cohen in the area gave Antonio Di Salvo’s side a chance to snatch the win. But Peretz was up to the task once again as he came up with a big save off of Jessic Ngankam’s penalty as Luzon’s team were able to hold off the Germans and earn a valuable point for their efforts.

A date with England on Sunday is up next for Guy Luzon’s team whole they will close out the group stages on Wednesday against Czechia.

“All the credit has to go to the players,” Luzon began. There’s no question that each and every one of the players gave their all every single second they were on the pitch. We had a number of players who made their debuts and they filled me with pride and excitement for an entire nation. We spoke about wanting to do something huge here and we aren’t looking to draw or lose with pride but we are here to win. Daniel Peretz is the best keeper in the world for his age.”

“The Israeli keeper was incredible,” Germany head coach Antonio Di Salvo began. “We are very disappointed but we have to look ahead. This was a game that we had to win and begin the campaign with 3-points. We played against a tough opponent that was efficient and were excited to come away with a point.”

The man of the match Daniel Peretz also spoke about the draw, “It’s really not me but the team who were great when we were reduced to ten men. They just all came together, all for one and one for all. I’m really proud of everyone as it’s not just me but all of us who had a long qualification competition.”