Israel suffer defeat in Serbia
Elisha Levy's first game in charge of national team ends in a friendly defeat
Andrew Sherwood is the Jewish News Sport and Community Editor
Elisha Levy’s reign as the manager of the Israeli national team got off to a losing start on Tuesday evening.
Using the game as preparation for their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, they fell behind in the 33rd minute when Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, who capitalised on a mistake from 36-year-old goalkeeper Dudu Goresh, who was making his debut for the team.
Eran Zahavi drew the sides level in the 49th minute from the penalty spot, but Nemanja Milunovic’s 74th minute header and Dusan Tadic’s late strike sealed the win for the Serbs.
Levy said: “We arrived at the game after a long and exhausting season. The players were committed throughout the game and I don’t think the result reflected the differences between the teams. We came back to draw 1-1, and that makes the loss all the more disappointing.
“Despite the disappointment, there were a lot of good things during the game. We saw the Israeli team that plays attacking football, and I personally I felt mission and pride. We will find strength and try to continue to improve in the future.”
Zahavi said: “It was exciting to captain Israel for the first time. We are at the beginning and at the moment can’t be compared to Eli Gutman’s reign, I don’t like such comparisons. It’s clear to us we wanted to initiate more, look for the goal. We played in front of a very talented team with strengths, the past European campaign was very messy, but we’re now being rebuilt and it’s clear that there is great potential.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
