Israel takes on Estonia on Friday night (21:45) in World Cup Qualifying as the blue-and-white will look to pick up another win against their Group I foe this time in Tallinn. Ran Ben Shimon’s squad defeated Estonia to open up the campaign in March and then fell to Norway as they will try and double the amount of victories in a group that also includes Italy and Moldova.

Just ahead of the contest, Ben Shimon spoke at the prematch press conference about their upcoming opponent, “It will be a completely different game from the previous one. I have experience against Estonia, I also played against them with Cyprus and I know they play differently at home. We are expecting a tough game.”

“When you underestimate your opponent, you underestimate yourself and that’s something that no longer exists in football. It’s a great honor to represent the team, you can’t arrive unprepared. I felt that the players were very focused on what needs to be done.”

Regarding the game in March the bench boss said, “We need to be careful, anything can happen and we need to expect the unexpected. Our focus is on ourselves and our preparation for a tough game with ups and downs. We will try to give the players the tools in order to know how to handle any development that may occur.”

Ben Shimon explained that there was no special pressure ahead of the game, “We learned what we needed to improve from the previous game, we’re constantly looking ahead and seeing how we can make the team better. I don’t feel any weight on our shoulders as we have a very talented and mentally strong generation of players.”

Manor Solomon picked up a small injury and due to his condition there is concern that he won’t be available, “I spoke to him and he wants to play. I hope and believe he’ll be fine and will play.”

The captain Eli Dasa opened with his remarks, “It will be a different game from the first, we took the three points then, but it was a tough game. We’ve watched Estonia many times and seen the difference when they play at home. We’ll have to be careful, if we get into trouble again it will be hard for us to change things up like we did in the first game.”

“They proved in the previous game that they have something to offer. Everyone can underestimate them, but it was clear that it would be difficult. You can see Estonia’s positive results, so we’re in for a tougher game than the last one and we need to take a step forward mentally.”

There is the general conception that players in general are in vacation mode once their club season comes to an end, however, Dasa puts that thought to rest, “The season is completed after the National Team, not prior to that so it’s simple. There’s not a single player here that you’ll hear talking about vacation, in terms of the football season, only once the national team games are over is when one can head out on vacation. It’s ridiculous to me to think about vacation when you can play in your national uniform.”

Gadi Kinda passed a way last month and was an integral part of the national team program Dasa explained, “It’s a nice gesture to play with a black ribbon, but Gadi was a very significant personality here for many players and also for Ran as a coach who knew him for many years. He was a source of immense pride and inspiration for many people from the Ethiopian community. Sometimes we would have an argument between us about who is the greatest in the community and I always claimed that he was the king. I miss him, we will commemorate him at every opportunity and I hope we can maintain the joy of life that he left behind.”