Israel v Greece March 28th 2009 World Cup Qualifier [R]

I reckon this is a must win.

I was thinking the same thing. The problem is more deeper.
A win and a kept win......
We cannot go and pull off 2 ties or a win and a loss. We need a Win and then a Tie.

Its mentality. And I hope our players have what it takes.
Israel will be a huge advantage for us Game 1 and we need to take control. In Game 2 we need to be more decisive and stategic so we can manage the ball well and hopefully tie.

Im really scared. I dont know what to think about Greece.
This is similar to having Israel play Czech Republic. We only played them once and there is good possibilities that we may have them in the future. They are very good and also they have weak spots...but you never know until the kick off starts.
******** the papers!

I don't see Israel picking off 4 points in those two games. If it's a win-loss, it would be good. If it's a tie and a tie, it's still not a horrible result considering where the Swiss are. Ultimately, we are going for second place with a hope to win the playoff round.

I disagree. If we come in 2nd, we will not survive. This is a prime opportunity for Israel. Win a big game or two, and don't screw up the stupid games like Latvia, and we have a great chance at top spot.

Of course, I would love for us to win both games but a win and a loss is preferred to two draws.

A win and a loss = 3 points
Two ties = 2 points

We'll see what happens...

Well, let's hope that Benayoun, Sahar and Barda are at full fitness in time for these matches. Aouate and Ben Haim have been playing full matches, and all the Lokeren boys are also playing regularly. Colautti and Alberman will not have very good match fitness because they only play a few minutes here and there. Tamir Cohen has not played this season. Tuama barely plays for Standard. How are the Israeli-based members of the national team going in preperation for the match - Den Dayan, Saban, Buzaglo, Shechter, Kiyal?

By the way, do we have any suspensions on either team?

The way in would be to beat Greece at home and tie with Greece and Switz on the road. Then hope GR-SW draw. Then the total points would be 22 with Greece at 20 and Switz at 21.

The other option would've been to beat Greece and Switz, and also lose once to Greece with a GR-SW draw. Then Israel has 23 points, Greece has 22 and Switz has 20.

Here's a dream come true. Israel beats Greece twice and the Swiss lose one game to Mold.

After April 1, we have 14 points, Swiss have 10 and the Greeks still stuck with 9. Then a draw with the Swiss or a Greek victory over the Swiss would be enough to get Israel in so long as it takes care of the 3 home games against the weaker teams in the group.

One can dream, can't he?

This game and the one after are MUST WIN!!! I will not settle for anything less

Cant wait for this game!
I think Israel needs a win at home and draw on the road.
If we split the serious with Greece, we just have to beat Switz
and then take care of the three home games.

This isn't the 2004 Greece. This is a very weak Greece and I think Israel are on a significantly higher level. Winning both at home and away with Greece is realistic, imo.

Shekel is right. Also in 2004 they played the most unattractive football ever. Since then they are too much overrated. We saw in the last Euro the real Greece...

Kashtan announced the full squad today:

Goalkeepers: Auate, Davidovich, Shtrauber

Defence: Ben Dayan, Kleimi Saban, Keinan, Ben Haim, Yoav Ziv, Avi Strul, Din Mori, Meshumar.

Midfield: Tamir Cohen, Gal Alberman, Biram Kial, Benayoun, Aviram Bruchian, Ravid Gazal, Gili Vermut.

Attack: Ben Sahar, Itay Shechter, Omer Golan, Barak Itzhaki, Amit Ben Shushan, Elyaniv Barda.

Kashtan better start Bruchyan, he has been on fire lately, scored two goals in the last two games.

This would be mine start line-up:
Goal: Aouate
Defence: Ben Haim, Strool, Keinan, Ziv
Midfield: Baruchyan, Alberman, Cohen, Benayoun
Attack: Itzhaki, Sahar

What about Roberto Colautti? Salim Toama? Pini Balili? And Gai Assulin?

Wow, props to Kashtan. Finally called up the players I wanted called up.

Wow, no Buzaglo!? Why is Kial and Cohen included?? I just don't get this. Cohen has only played a couple reserve matches for Bolton, THATS IT. I'm closer to match fitness than Cohen is! Other than that, the list looks good. Im just worried about our midfield. Benayoun and Alberman and Bruchian is what we have to rely on, which isnt bad, but the 4th mid and even the one or two coming off the bench are lacking the quality we need. I'd use Shechter as a winger rather than a striker.

Yea the buzaglo and cohen decisions left me a little clueless, Kashtan is up to his old tricks again. With or without Benayoun, I could see him running a 4-3-3

But from this group of players, Im really not sure who he is going to select.

Balili is not in form? From what I recall he's a prolific scorer in Turkey.

I'm sorry but Cohen is completely useless, I never really liked him when he was in form and now he hasn't even played for a year.


I agree we should go for a 4-3-3 since we have more quality strikers than mids. Greece isn't known for its attacking football and we're at home, so lets go for it! With Benayoun, Bruchian, Shechter, Itzhaki, Ben Sahar or Barda on the pitch I'm sure we will cause a lot of problems for their defense. BUT I bet you Kashtan will be too scared and go with a 4-5-1. I'm sure a midfield with Cohen/Alberman/Kiyal is what he's thinking of. I'm telling you we can't win this thing with Kashtan but there's no use complaining at this point

Seems like Tamir Cohen is in the team because of daddy, otherwise I won't understand why he picked him. He's a good player and he was fantastic last year in Netanya, but he's was injured for a really long time...Waist of place if you ask me. I think Katan should have been called, he's in a good form lately. Much of Haifa success so far this season is because of him.
Kashtan must open with Itzhaki and Shechter! Attack is the key in this game. For sure Greece will come to close the game, we need these players quality in the field.

Just to update about the tickets, already sold 33,000!

Honestly greece is a very deep team. I saw the game vs switzerland and they were unlucky to lose as they dominated. they dont have any superstars but they are complete and have some very good players especially on defense. We have to be on top of our game in order to grab a point here, game by game.

Gai is really too young for this game. I can see getting him in there for a few minutes against one of the lesser opponents like Lux and Moldova when we are up 2-3 goals, but he would be harmed by being rushed into a game against a top team like Greece and Switzerland.

Let's remember that for all his talent, the kid is still only 17 years old.

I am not all that upset about Toama and Balili, though they probably should be on the roster. But what the hell is up with Colautti?

I specifically looked for his name. He's a very good player. He may be out of shape, but Israel should really do something to help him get on a team where he could play.

I consider him the best striker on the team.

Will Yossi Benayoun be fit to play?

Does anyone know what are the odds of him playing? And being fit?

The Greeks are terrible in the midfield and that could be Israel's crucial advantage. Losing Benayoun would mean losing the one thing that benefits Israel.

This is just terrible news. They get into an easy division and Benayoun is injured right before the 2 most important games. At least if he was out for Latvia, Mold and Lux, it wouldn't harm us so bad and we'd still likely win.

Colautti isnt the same player as he was during the euro qualifiers, hes slower, and he isnt playing with any confidence. He isnt playing well for Borussia, I dont think hes scored any goals this season. It was the right decision to not call him up. Barda, Sahar, and Golan are all better choices right now.