Israel edged Slovakia 1-0 in a friendly match late Tuesday night in Debrecen, Hungary—Israel’s home base since the outbreak of the war with Hamas.
After a goalless first half, Ran Ben Shimon’s squad broke the deadlock in the 47th minute when Yarden Shua headed in a perfect cross from Roy Revivo.
The blue-and-white had previously defeated Estonia 3-1, improving their 2026 World Cup qualifying record to two wins and one loss in three matches. Norway leads Group I with 12 points (four wins), followed by Israel with six points. Italy and Estonia have three points each, and Moldova remains winless.
Israel’s next qualifying match is in September against Moldova, followed by a home game in Debrecen against Italy, which recently dismissed head coach Luciano Spalletti. In October, Israel will face Norway and Italy before concluding the campaign in November against Moldova.
Shua, who plays for Beitar Jerusalem and turns 26 this week, spoke after the match.
“It’s always fun to score, it’s an exciting position to be in, of course, especially wearing the National Team uniform. It was also a great birthday present. It’s such a different feeling to score for the national team than for your club team. I took the opportunity that I had, and I’m happy with what I’m doing and how I am improving.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Revivo, who assisted on the goal and is being courted by FC Copenhagen, also reflected on the winning tally and qualification.
“I took control of the ball, I dribbled, and that’s how the cross came about. I always believe that it’s possible for us to reach the latter stages of qualifying and there’s something special about this team. It’s been a long year and one that has not been easy, but I’m always happy to play as much as possible. As for my future, my dream is to get to play in Europe and my father and I are working on that. The leagues in Europe are at a much higher level.”
'Players are doing extraordinary things'
Ben Shimon praised his players and emphasized the significance of the match despite its friendly status.
“We understand the situation that we are in, and within that situation, we are trying to do our best to achieve our goals. What I’m most pleased with is seeing players like Guy Mizrahi making his debut, getting a chance to really see what Eliel Peretz has become as well as Stav Lemkin. There are players here who are doing extraordinary things.”
Ben Shimon praised his players and emphasized the significance of the match despite its friendly status.
“On an international level, coming in the summer and also coming in our situation, beating a team like Slovakia that was in the last European Championship, who came with half of their first team and with everyone playing in Europe, well, that’s very nice.”
Ben Shimon experimented with different formations, including one with three central defenders.
“We’ll start thinking again, and this will allow us to keep all options open. Football is a sport that is always moving forward very, very quickly, and the best reaction that I saw was from the players who played much better for the first time together than I expected. I was very afraid of that. There was a good connection between them and that’s very important going forward.”
He also noted the chance to introduce younger players after resting veterans following the win over Estonia. Some absences were due to personal commitments, including Manor Solomon’s wedding and Daniel Peretz’s signing with PSV Eindhoven.
“This is a chance to give me a headache, as many more players have now performed well, and it gives me even more options. It’s better to have a headache to choose from a multitude of players and I think that competition is the number one parameter for coping in life.”
Looking ahead to the Italy match in September, Ben Shimon said the team will be ready for the challenge.
“We don’t know yet what will happen as they will have a new coach by then, and they will have one more game against us under that new coach. We will also play Norway, and it was clear that they would have a very difficult time in Estonia, as they only won 1-0. We saw their celebrations after that win as if they had won the World Cup. I think that makes us appreciate what we did there by winning 3-1 even more.”