The U-20 FIFA World Cup which happened in Argentina has brought to light certain talented young players, some thrilling moments and a few great stories, none more so than unfancied Israel’s run to the semifinals.
The dream run ended with a heart-breaking 1-0 loss at the hands of Uruguay, with Anderson Duarte’s goal in the 61st minute being the difference between the two sides.
But the side managed by Ofir Haim capped its historic run with a podium finish, after defeating South Korea 3-1 in the third-place playoff match on Sunday thanks to goals from Ryan Binyamin, Omer Senior and Anan Khalaili.
Israel football has been through many hardships. It was shown the door by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1974 after the Arab boycott and had to contest from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to participate in qualifying for global events. A move to UEFA finally materialised in 1994 and the country has been a part of it since.
The road to the semis
Israel’s tryst with this year’s event started off on a sour note with a loss to Colombia in the opening group match. A tame draw with Senegal in the second game threatened to bring its tournament to an early end. But a comeback win over Japan in the final group game sealed its progress to the knockouts as the second placed team in the group.
This was Israel’s first ever win in any World Cup. It’s only other World Cup participation, in 1970, had ended in two draws and a defeat, with only a solitary goal to show.
The knockout stages of the tournament brought the best out of the Israeli team. The round-of-16 game with Uzbekistan looked set for a penalty shootout before Anan Khalaili scored a 97th minute winner to seal a place in the quarterfinals.
The team’s greatest moment came in the quarters against a formidable Brazil team. After going a goal down, twice in the game, the Israelis managed to stage a comeback, with their number nine Dor David Turgeman completing the comeback with a strike in the 115th minute following some quick footwork to dance past the defenders.
“Project 12”, the youth development program constituted by the Israel Football Association and the national football academy and supporting development centres setup in 2018 have helped the team in its latest achievement.
After achieving history by securing third place in the U-20 tournament, the country will now hope that this success will be translated in the near future, to the main event - the FIFA Men’s World Cup.
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