Israel and Lithuania played to a goalless draw in a friendly match that took place in Kaunus ahead of the blue-and-white\u2019s final 2026 World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Sunday. Chances by both teams were at a premium as no fans were present for the clash that was held at the Dariaus ir Gir\u0117no stadionas. <\/p>\n
Ran Ben Shimon spoke about the draw, \u201cWe\u2019ll try to look better against Moldova; today was a bit of a trench battle. In these kinds of games, you need to make sure you don\u2019t concede on a counterattack and lose and that when you get your chances you take them. It was a tough game and I could feel how hard it was for the players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all want to see better football, no doubt. What I take from today is that we didn\u2019t concede a goal. There was a lot of effort, less quality. We\u2019ll go with the players to Moldova to win the official match. There was energy; I didn\u2019t feel a lack of commitment, just a lack of quality. We want to win every game, but in matches like these, the result is less important. We\u2019ll look better against Moldova.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bench boss also spoke about the players who hadn\u2019t played much in qualifying but had time on the pitch in this match, \u201cOverall, they did some good things. Sometimes it\u2019s hard, especially in a game like this when it\u2019s not easy to move the ball, so it\u2019s difficult to see outstanding quality. Everyone tried. Every player has his own way with the coach, we\u2019ll correct things with everyone and move forward. The most important thing in national team camps is making the quick switch (mentally).”<\/p>\n
The Israel keeper Omri Glazer who recorded a clean sheet discussed the contest that was, \u201cHonestly, it was a tough game. The opponent came out aggressive and the pitch wasn\u2019t great, plus, no crowd. We came committed and that\u2019s the most important thing, but it was also an opportunity for other players to get minutes. Personally, like every footballer, I have difficulties at my club and I work hard every day. With the national team, I do my best and I\u2019m happy I kept a clean sheet. We want to win against Moldova.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shot stopper also spoke about the lack of playing time he is experiencing at Red Star Belgrade, \u201cFor now, it doesn\u2019t affect me. I work hard and I\u2019m an experienced goalkeeper. I\u2019m happy I can show that with the national team. Maccabi Tel Aviv? It\u2019s still too early to know. In January, God will decide and I\u2019ll look for the right place for me. Would I like to return to Israel? I prefer not to comment on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gaby Kanichowsky reflected on the draw, “It was a very intense and difficult match without fans; the opponent defended really well. We wanted to finish on a good note, but it was a bit tough today. We’ll need more quality in our finishing against Moldova to come in sharper and hungrier. As an athlete and especially when you wear the national team jersey, the energy has to come naturally. I think we came today with energy and passion; it just didn\u2019t work out, but I\u2019m sure it will be better against Moldova.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israel and Lithuania played to a goalless draw in a friendly match that took place in Kaunus ahead of the blue-and-white\u2019s final 2026 World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Sunday. Chances by both teams were at a premium as no fans were present for the clash that was held at the Dariaus ir Gir\u0117no stadionas. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":162021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-162019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football-israel-2","tag-israel","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n