The Israel National Team will play a pair of matches next week when they face Estonia in a World Cup qualifying clash on Friday and then they will kick off at Slovakia in a friendly a few days later. The blue-and-white will look to improve on their record of one win and one loss and pick up another victory over Estonia after having won the first game against them that opened up the campaign back in March.

Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon’s team currently finds itself in 3rd place with 3 points in Group I with Norway at the top of the standings, Estonia in second place while Italy who will play their first games of the campaign in 4th and Moldova who are in 5th spot.

The bench boss called up a large squad for the matches, 28 players in all and spoke about his selections as well as who was not brought into camp along with how he views the upcoming contest.

“We’ve been in a complicated period of time now for a few years due to the war,” Ben Shimon began. “I’m not the first one to have to deal with this of course, but June’s call-ups are also the most difficult. You have to be very focused and the most important thing for me is to call up the players who aren’t necessarily the best, but who are the most focused on the task at hand both physically and mentally. Following my conversations with some of the players, some are just not ready to play. I called up players that I know are focused, some are still playing and that’s why I thought it was right to take players that will be all in.”

One of the players that was not called into camp is Maccabi Haifa striker Dia Saba and Ben Shimon explained why, “I had a conversation with Dia and we decided that we would give up on this window. He went through a complicated and difficult year, we decided together that he wasn’t 100% ready to take on the task. But this is not the end of the story with anyone, there’s no one, not one player who is disqualified in my opinion.”

“As for the size of the squad, after the first game we will have to release some of the players as there is a Muslim holiday coming up. The opportunities that we have for some younger players in the summer are important as we would really like to see some of them in, especially against Slovakia.”

Ben Shimon understands that the past season had complexities for many players and with the recent death of Gadi Kinda who was also a national team player, he wanted to be careful with the players he brought in.

“The sudden death of the late Gadi Kinda had an impact on some players and we have to understand that the human psyche is complex. Many players had a very difficult season and we need them to stay fresh. Sometimes their freedom to relax and rest now will benefit all of us later on and is more important than them playing now.”

Despite having 28 players in camp, there are fewer defensive players than expected, “The players are selected based on professional vision and not by quantity. We already know more or less how we will play against our opponents in these games as we have been scouting them. Stav Lemkin is in good shape and he has been called up, as have Roy Revivo and Eli Dasa. We also have players up front who know how to play defense.”

It;’s rare for a player who had been plying his trade in the second division being called up, however, Stav Turiel from Hapoel Tel Aviv earned the opportunity to be part of the camp, “Stav, like others, are seen as a future prospect and a player who can develop. His call-up started with him training with me and playing part of the time in Ashdod. I know what his future potential is and this is a good opportunity to see him together with the team. We will evaluate those players and see how they will fit into this framework.”
 
The squad includes Tai Baribo who is playing for the Philadelphia Union in the MLS is in excellent form, but didn’t receive much credit in the last two games the nations team played, however, Ben Shimon feels that any one of the players could be given an opportunity at any given time.

“Every player in the squad has the potential to be a part of the starting lineup and I always want to include the most up to date date in order to make a informed decision. He’s in excellent form and a candidate to start just like anyone else.”

20-year old Anan Khalaili was just getting his feet wet in Belgium in the previous window and now he’s a part of the country’s brand new champion in Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, but he is still young explained Ben Shimon, “I think about him all of the time and his time will come. I like him as a player and as a person. Just as he’s in excellent form, there are other players as well that we have to choose from. I have no doubt that Anan will play a lot for the national team as time goes by.”

As for preparations for Estonia in a game that will be played in Tallinn, the bench boss didn’t hide his concern about the contest despite having beaten them the first time they played, “I don’t want to over exaggerate this game, but when you look at the facts you’ll find that when Estonia plays the big teams at home they cause them plenty of issues and they have played exceptionally well. We need to be tough on ourselves.”

“We need to ensure that the players are prepared and ready and I trust them so much in terms of their attitude. We’ve all had those moments when you’ve underestimated your opponent and when you do that you end up underestimating yourself. The players are well aware of that.”