The Israel National Team will begin preparations for a pair of Nations League clashes against France and Italy next week as the blue-and-white will look to find their first points in the campaign that began at the beginning of September.

Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon’s squad will face Les Bleus, next Thursday October 10th at the Bozsik Arena in Budapest just as they did against Italy last month in what was a home game due to the security situation in the Holy Land while Israel will travel to Udine for a date with Gli Azzurri on Monday October 14th.

Immediately after the roster for the upcoming pair of game was announced, Ben Shimon held a press conference to discuss some of his goals for this campaign while also addressing certain players that are in the squad and some that are not.

“We were very satisfied with the attitude of the players and the squad we chose for the previous window of matches,” Ben Shimon began. “We wanted to continue some kind of line and path, there are players who play more and there are those that play less, but when you want to create team motifs you have to go with the same players along the way. Unfortunately, there was a spate of injuries to important players and we had to make the adjustments.”

“I had a conversation with Dean David, he was not satisfied with the minutes he received and expressed his disappointment to me, which is perfectly fine. Dean was not invited because he requested that if he does not have significant minutes then not to invite him. I thought it was the best decision for the benefit of the national team and this is the decision I made, the decisions I make are for the benefit of the national team.”

Ben Shimon has been in constant contact with his players throughout the past month in order to see who will be available to play and who may not be due to injury, “We were in regular and daily contact with the players and we really want to know who is 100% healthy and who can serve the team in the best way. I don’t like taking injured players, Daniel Peretz really wanted to come, but didn’t have the proper time to recover. Players really want to come to the national team and this is a phenomenon I really like.”

Keeper Omri Glazer returned to the national team and he will be a very important cog in Ben Shimon’s team, “If Omri Glazer is healthy, he is the first goalkeeper in the hierarchy. Yoav Gerafi was a pleasant surprise, he behaves like a super professional and also Sherif Kayuf. I am very satisfied with this position, we have very talented goalkeepers, we also saw amazing things with Omer Niron and this is a very strong position in the team.”

Oscar Gloukh will no doubt be an important contributor to this team as the Red Bull Salzburg star has shown how he has been progressing in his very young career which will make him a perfect candidate to lead the blue-and-white as Ben Shimon shared how he has invested in the relationship with his budding superstar.

“Like any player, Gloukh will play the minutes I think he should get. I really appreciate him. I went to visit him and spent some time with him in Salzburg and I also went to see him play in their Champions League match in Prague because investing in this relationship is important to me. I really want to give him the stage to prove what he has. I also have demands and I think things are also dependent on him. I really like him and think he’s an amazing player. He helps the team and there is no doubt that he will help usvery much so in the future as well. I went to visit him because it is important to me and we had a very successful and good meeting.”

“Gloukh brings outstanding abilities to the team, sometimes there are ups and downs and that’s natural. Can he and Solomon play together? I think a lot of times people questioned the ability of players to play together and those ended up being the best combinations. I think Manor Solomon is wonderful on the right side, showing a tremendous combination there with tremendous abilities and commitment. I would really like to see both of them play together, sometimes it will happen and sometimes less so depending on the needs of the team in that specific game.”

Tai Baribo who has been tearing it up in the MLS with the Philadelphia Union could be an important player for the bench boss, “As for players and minutes and who will get them – we’ll see. It’s pretty clear that players will get minutes, I don’t think the conversation should be how many minutes, but what they will do with their minutes. Everyone will have a chance.”

Ben Shimon added, “The contribution of bench players is increasingly significantly. Finding good players who can bring a change from the bench is something that needs to be found, this is also why I took a deeper roster. We see Dor Peretz and Gabi Kanichowsky playing a lot of minutes and constantly busy. It is important that players are always ready to enter the match and I liked how Jaber and Abu Fani came on, but I also liked things with other players.”

Unfortunately, Roy Revivo will be out of action as the defender is injured and won’t be able to take part in this window of matches, “I expected a lot from Roy Revivo and I still managed to be surprised by him, he is on an outstanding line of progress. His injury came about at a poor time, but that is part of the game. I really wanted him to be with the squad for this window and he will be in the future. I really liked his attitude and what he gave to the team in the last window of matches. In the national team, it is not always about finding the specific players who are the best on an individual level, but you have to find the players who can best play together. If I want to play a 5-3-2 system, I will call on certain players and if not then other players, all these complexities are taken into account.”

While it’s not expected that Israel will finish atop a Nations League group with the likes of Belgium, France and Italy, Ben Shimon has clear goals that he wants his team to meet, “There are things that are important to me to see in this campaign. It often happens that we play well, feel a little comfortable with ourselves and take our foot off the gas. It is important for me to see a continuation of the line of progress like against Italy in the second half and against Belgium. In this Nations League campaign, we set a goal to see which players we will go along the way with and to be a team that is difficult to play against. We want to see progress in all areas, also after conceding goals, an aggressive approach and more. The most important thing for me is that we also play for a result and bring results. Even at these levels, I want to see a team that believes, can and is brave enough to go one step further.”

The squad will be flying out of Israel on October 7th for the pair of games which was not ideal for Ben Shimon due to the significance of the day in Israel’s history, but nonetheless he will ensure that it will be marked in an appropriate manner.

“The national team will fly on October 7th and if it was up to me we wouldn’t have flown on this day as I would want to have been close to family and friends. We will find a way to mark this day as a team as it is a very important day for our people and we will do so in the most dignified way we can to commemorate the fallen, strengthen the wounded, the soldiers and the bereaved families. We are with them in heart and soul and so we will be on October 7th as well.”