Last Updated: November 15, 2023, 02:30 IST
FELCSUT, Hungary: The captain of Israel’s soccer crew on Tuesday displayed the shoe of a younger boy he stated was kidnapped by Hamas militants throughout their lethal Oct. 7 raid, an act of solidarity with Israelis held captive in Gaza forward of the crew’s recreation in Hungary.
Team captain Eli Dasa was addressing a information convention in Felcsut, the small Hungarian village the place Israel’s crew is about to face Switzerland on Wednesday in a Euro 2024 qualifying match, when he raised the small athletic shoe and displayed it to reporters.
“It is hard to speak at the moment, but I don’t think that any of you can guess what is the story behind this shoe,” Dasa stated. “This kid is in Gaza Strip at the moment with seven, seven people from his family.”
“That’s all what’s left from his house. This left shoe. We wait for him here,” he continued, earlier than standing up and leaving the information convention.
The shoe was taken from Be’eri kibbutz, the small group in Israel from which 8-yr-previous Nave Shoham was kidnapped together with seven of his kinfolk on Oct. 7, in keeping with the Israeli crew’s press officer, Eitan Dotan. Three members of the boy’s household had been killed throughout the raids, Dotan stated.
The information convention happened as Israel’s crew held coaching classes on Tuesday in Pancho Arena, the three,500-seat stadium the place they may face Switzerland on Wednesday and Romania on Saturday.
In the stadium, a banner lining the sector learn in each Hebrew and English: “Bring them home!”
The crew is chasing a qualifying place within the Euro 2024 continental championship, which might be its first since becoming a member of the European soccer confederation UEFA in 1994.
The match in opposition to Switzerland had been set for Oct. 12 in Tel Aviv, however UEFA suspended all video games in Israel as a result of safety considerations. The match in opposition to Romania had been set for Tel Aviv on Nov. 18.
On Tuesday, the Israeli crew’s head coach, Alon Hazan, stated he expects a tricky and emotional recreation in opposition to Switzerland, saying that “we represent our country, not only the national team.”
Hazan commented on statements from Hungarian Jewish organizations that they’d attend the matches in Felcsut, saying, “In this part of our life, wherever we play, even if one Jew sits on the stand to support us, we feel at home.”
Israel’s probabilities of reaching the European Championship finals suffered a blow on Sunday after their 1-0 loss to Kosovo of their delayed qualifying recreation.
Israel are third in Group I of Euro 2024 qualifying, 5 factors behind group leaders Romania – who’ve performed yet one more recreation – and 4 factors behind second-positioned Switzerland.
The high two groups of the group qualify straight for the 2024 European Championship in Germany.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
