The Israel National Team once again fell in Nations League group play late Monday night by the score of 4-1, this time to Italy in Udine, thanks to a brace by Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
With the defeat, Ran Ben Shimon’s squad saw its record drop to 0-4 in the bench boss’s first campaign with just two games remaining in League A play slated for November in the final international window ahead of 2026 World Cup qualifying.
In an emotional moment prior to the game, almost all of the Italian fans at Stadio Friuli in Udine cheered the Israel national anthem in support of the Jewish State, leaving many Israeli fans teary-eyed as the war in the Holy Land continues.
Israel played Italy tight out of the gate, but as the first half neared its end, Dor Peretz tripped up Sandro Tonali in the box, handing the hosts a penalty that Mateo Retegui converted by beating ’keeper Omri Glazer with a stutter-step and top-corner blast for a 1-0 lead at the break.
Di Lorenzo doubled the advantage early on in the second half when he headed home a stunning free-kick by Giacomo Raspadori as the ball just made it past an outstretched Glazer for a 2-0 lead in the 54th minute.
‘We really have to give kudos to the hosts’
Muhamed Abu Fani pulled a goal back when his corner kick curled into the Gli Azzurri net behind second-string ’keeper Guglielmo Vicario to cut the lead to 2-1. But just minutes later, Italy regained the two-goal advantage when Davide Fratessi slammed home a Federico Dimarco pass. Luciano Spalletti’s side polished off the match when Di Lorenzo completed a brace off a Destiny Udogie ball for a comfortable victory.Shimon began his press briefing about the support from the Italian faithful prior to the match.
“The truth is that it was very exciting. We stood during the anthem and heard the applause from the majority of the spectators. We really have to give kudos to the hosts.”
The Israeli bench boss also spoke about the game itself.
“We also lost 4-1 against France, but we were in that game until the 89th minute,” Ben Shimon explained. “Against Italy, it was more difficult. You can see Spalletti’s hand on this team, and when they play like they did tonight, it becomes really difficult for the opponents. I try to look at the bigger picture. We learned a lesson from a quality Italian side. For many minutes, we were still in the game; in the second half, we tired both physically and tactically, and we started going backwards. I have no complaints, we tried, there was a good structure, we learned a lesson from Italy.”
The blue-and-white tactician also commented on the nature of the top-tier competition.
“We had a feeling that we could stay with these big teams in our group, Belgium, France, and Italy, and for many minutes, we did manage to do that. There wasn’t a game in this campaign that we weren’t in from start to finish. These quality minutes should be appreciated. In the next window there will be players who will return to our squad, we will be able to innovate more, but these games are really being played at a very high level. Italy is experiencing a renaissance, a reawakening. A super high-quality team and it deserves a lot of compliments for the way they played. We will continue to move forward and work hard and we have to take the fact that there were many minutes where I really liked what I saw from the team.”
Di Lorenzo, the Man of the Match, spoke about his side’s win.
“It was exciting to wear the captain’s armband, and to score two goals is something beautiful. It was an exciting evening that I will remember for the rest of my life. This match was difficult, but we made it look easy because we played very well. This is a great squad, and even the new players are making a great contribution.”Israel’s Glazer also reflected on the match.
“I made a few good saves, but football is not an individual sport. It was very difficult to play against this Italy side, who were excellent. We are in a difficult group with three of the best teams in Europe, and we are learning from every game. Our goal is to qualify for big tournaments, and these games against top teams can certainly help us.”
Dor Peretz, who wore the Israeli captain’s armband in place of the injured Eli Dasa, also commented on the result.
“When you face these kinds of teams, you have to score whenever you get a chance. We had a couple of half-chances in the first half when it was still 0-0, but unfortunately, we did not manage to put the ball into the net. In the second half, Italy were incredible and made it very difficult for us.”
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
