Israel’s football coach, Ran Ben Shimon, admitted that the team was affected by the context of the war experienced by his country, this Wednesday on the eve of playing against France in Paris, in a Nations League duel with many step.
“We cannot use the word difficult. It is difficult for the people who are fighting with Israel to bring peace to our children and for our future. That is difficult,” the coach answered a question in his press conference in Stade de France.
“I don’t want to use this situation to prepare a justification because I am an athlete,” added the coach, whose team lost 4-1 against France in the first round of their group, in the game where Israel played at home. in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
“When we are not on the field of play, it is very difficult as a national team to hear bad news about Israel. That affects us a lot,” he said.
“I want to be ready to play the best possible game and help soften what is happening in Israel a little bit. I know it will be very difficult,” concluded Ben Shimon before this “high risk” game, with 4,000 gendarmes. and policemen in their security devices.
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For Israel captain Eli Dasa, “the situation is not easy” despite his team feeling safe. “I thank the French government for the peaceful environment they have offered us,” he said.
The war in the Middle East “is the reality for all of us, for our friends, family and the whole world, every day and every hour,” added the defender of Dynamo Moscow.
Asked about the hundred Israeli fans expected at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (north of Paris), in a stadium with almost 20,000 spectators even though it has a capacity of 80,000, recalled Dasa that Israel cannot play home games in their territory.
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“We feel grateful to those who are brave enough to come. I have many friends in Paris who want to come to see the game. Some cannot, others are afraid to come,” he concluded.
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