The Israel National Soccer Team plays Georgia in friendly action on Thursday (7pm Israel time) as a Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon will use the match as an opportunity to prepare for the Nations League which will begin later on in 2026.

Prior to the matchup, Hapoel Beer Sheva’s Eliel Peretz spoke about the upcoming game along with the league getting back to play after the international break as well as his general feelings concerning the current situation that the country is currently experiencing.

“Like all of Israel, these are not easy days,” Peretz began as he commented on the ongoing war with Iran. “We’re optimistic that maybe this will truly be one of our last wars. We’re waiting to return to normal life.”

As for staying focused on the soccer, it’s been a challenge for Peretz as well as any other professional, “In the first few days it wasn’t easy, but we have to make adjustments and we’re experienced with this. In the south it’s a bit quieter than in the center.”

Due to not having competitive games this past month, Peretz feels that he is in shape and can contribute to the squad, “I feel good. There’s no substitute for match minutes in the end and we’ve had almost a month without official games. So it’s natural there will be a drop, but we’re training at a very high level and pace.”

The Georgia game will be an important stepping stone for the squad Peretz explained, “Georgia is a good team; they reached the last Euro and have excellent players. It will be interesting to see at what level we are against them. The goal is to reach a major tournament and this is another game where we’ll want to show our abilities. It will be a big challenge for us.”

On a personal level, Peretz’s has made a significant step forward in the national team program and also plays a bit differently than with his club team Hapoel Beer Sheva, “I’m happy to come and represent the national team. Every call-up is exciting and in every national team game, I hope to keep my spot. There are different demands between Beer Sheva and the national team but I feel comfortable in both roles. In the national team I play deeper and manage the game, but I feel good in both positions.”

Dan Biton who is Peretz’s teammate at Beer Sheva is going through a complicated period medical wise and won’t be a part of the national team this time around, “Dan is a strong guy and we’re here to support him. We want to make him happy and win the championship for him. We’ll do our maximum to make him happy at the end of the season. God willing, next season he’ll come back and feel good.”

As for the league returning to play the weekend of April 4th, Peretz added, “I think those who made the decision, Home Front Command and the league administration did a proper situation assessment. It’s not ideal to play in this situation, but at the end of the day there’s a schedule and we have to keep to it. It won’t be easy, but we need something to keep our sanity. We want to get back to playing and we have a championship to win.”