Israel falls to France 4-1 in Nations League clash in Budapest

Israel fell to France 4-1 in a Nations League game held in Budapest due to the security situation in the Holy Land.

The blue-and-white conceded an early goal that went right through the hands of ’keeper Omri Glazer. While Omri Gandelman found the equalizer, Les Bleus retook the lead just minutes later and went on to score two more late goals to close out the game.

The loss dropped Israel’s record to 0-3 as Head Coach Ran Ben Shimon is still searching for his first points since taking over the National Team program earlier this summer.

Next up for Israel is a match against Italy in Udine on Monday night. There are several anti-Israel protests scheduled to take place around the stadium and in the city ahead of the game. Gli Azzurri drew 2-2 against Belgium in an entertaining match that saw Andrea Cambiaso open the scoring in the first minute, with Mateo Retegui doubling the lead soon after. However, a red card to Lorenzo Pellegrini reduced Italy to 10 men, and the Belgians took control, scoring two goals – Maxim De Cuyper just before halftime and Leandro Trossard just after – as both teams earned a point.

Against France, Ben Shimon started a very offensive-minded lineup, hoping to give supporters both in person and at home some entertaining soccer. That was certainly the case in a blockbuster first half.

Eduardo Camavinga took a long-distance shot from outside the box that looked like an easy ball for Glazer to handle, but the ball skipped through his hands and into the back of the net, giving France a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute.

Less than 20 minutes later, Gandelman headed home an Oscar Gloukh ball to even the score at 1-1. However, Christopher Nkunku slid the ball past a helpless Glazer, putting Les Bleus back in the lead in the 28th minute. Didier Deschamps’s squad went into halftime with a 2-1 advantage.

Significant changes to the lineups

Both coaches made significant changes to their lineups in the second half, and with chances at a premium, neither side created any serious opportunities until France put the game away in the 80th minute. Matteo Guendouzi added an insurance goal in the 87th minute, and just two minutes later, Bradley Barcola scored his debut goal to seal the French victory.

“For 86 minutes, I was optimistic about our chances,” Ben Shimon said after the game. “This was not a 4-1 game; it was a very tactical match for 86 minutes, and I feel badly for the players who had to give up two late goals. The players really want to succeed, and some had terrific games despite the defeat. I will take responsibility for this loss.”

Glazer, who plays his club soccer for Red Star Belgrade, conceded a poor goal early in the game when the ball slipped through his hands, giving France an early 1-0 lead and putting Israel in a difficult position from the start. He reflected on the mistake and the team’s performance:

“It’s part of the profession,” Glazer began. “Being a goalkeeper is sometimes a very cruel job. Starting a game with a mistake like that is not easy – it’s a big mistake, and I take responsibility. I’ve never shied away from taking responsibility; I’m my own biggest critic. But I had to pick myself up. There was nothing to do – it happened in the sixth minute, and there were still 90 minutes to play.”

“I wanted to be there for the guys, to do something big, to try and make the country happy during such difficult times. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but tomorrow is a new day. We will learn from this, and we have another game against Italy on Monday, which will not be easy at all. But we will keep our heads up and continue forward.”

The Israeli netminder also discussed the team’s overall performance.

“The team doesn’t have much time to work on the field; it’s a lot of tactical preparations and meetings. Ran and the staff prepared us in an amazing way. Throughout the game, we knew what we wanted from ourselves, and until the 85th minute, we were still in it. We talked at halftime about keeping the score as it was and then making offensive substitutions and taking some risks.

“In the end, it came down to us, and we won’t apologize for a moment. We wanted to get points, and it was time to bet on ourselves, but then we conceded two goals. Of course, it’s unpleasant to lose 4-1, but for me, losing 2-1 or 4-1 doesn’t really matter because we want points, not compliments.”

Glazer, who wore the captain’s armband, looked ahead to the Italy game.

“We are in a group with three of the best teams in the world, but I think we showed we can play against them. Yes, we are missing some players, but we don’t focus on that. We only deal with who is available. We try to play positive, attacking football, take the initiative, and not just sit back and hope for a good result. Sometimes the results don’t go our way, but we try to push forward as a team. This is a new team, and we always believe in ourselves.”

Israel, currently in League A, will most likely be relegated to League B due to its results

“We were in League B, we won, and we were promoted to League A,” added Glazer. “It’s true that it’s not easy, but to reach the level we want and to qualify for a big tournament, we have to go through tough moments like these.

“We are learning from everything, and there will be mistakes. In the future, we want to be a team that knows what it wants, not one that just defends. We are learning from this journey and want to keep moving forward.”