The captain of Israel’s national football team, Eli Dasa, said that the victory in Kosovo will bring “a little happiness to the Israeli people.” The match will take place on Sunday in Pristina in Group I of the preliminary tournament of the 2024 European Championship (which also includes Romania).

Israel national football teamPhoto: JACK GUEZ / AFP / Profimedia

>> Pristina police on alert before Kosovo-Israel match: “Child killers are not welcome here”

Israel Football Federation: “Nothing will stop us on the way to EURO 2024”

Israel arrived in Kosovo on Friday to play their first match since the October 7 cross-border attack by Hamas. The match was scheduled for October 15, but was postponed due to the conflict.

“We are not afraid, we are the people of Israel. At this moment, there are chances to achieve a great goal that will bring a little happiness to our people” – Eli Dasa, captain of Israelat the press conference.

  • Kosovo – Israel plays on Sunday, from 21:45. The match at the Fadil Vokrri Stadium (Pristina) will be broadcast live on DigiSport 2 and LiveBLOG on HotNews.ro.

There was an increased police presence around the stadium in Pristina, and special forces escorted the team from the hotel to training. Other special forces were deployed around the command hotel on the outskirts of the capital.

On the way to the Israeli airport on Friday, the team had to flee from the bus and hide from possible rocket fire.

“Nothing will stop us on our way to Euro 2024,” the Israel Football Federation wrote on X.

The statement of the Kosovo police refers to the preparation of an operation to control possible crowds of fans, stop criminal activities and other activities.

Despite being predominantly secular, Kosovo is over 90% Muslim. Many supporters of the cause of Palestine took to social networks to demand that the authorities in Pristina ban the entry of the Israeli team into the country.

“Having thousands of people in a stadium during a war with Israel is one of the most difficult security operations we have to carry out,” a senior Kosovo police official told Reuters.

Israel has recognized Kosovo as a sovereign state since 2020, and the two countries have established diplomatic relations, writes News.ro.

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EURO 2024 preliminary matches, group I standings

1. Romania (goal difference 13-4) 16 points/ 8 matches

2. Switzerland (20-8) 15 / 7 matches

3. Israel (7-7) 11 / 6 matches

4. Kosovo (8-8) 7 / 7 matches

5. Belarus (7-14) 6 / 8 matches

6. Andorra (3-17) 2 / 8 matches.

* The top two teams will advance to the final tournament next summer (June 14-July 14), which will be hosted by Germany.

*In case of a tie, the tiebreaker is determined by the results of direct matches.

>> Rezvan Burleanu, optimistic before the game with Israel: “Edward Iordenescu created the culture of the game”

Romania in the preliminary tournament of EURO 2024, which broadcasts every match of the tricolor

*All previous matches of Romania will be published in LiveBlog on HotNews.ro.

25 March 2023: Andorra – Romania 0-2

March 28, 2023: Romania – Belarus 2-1

June 6, 2023: Kosovo – Romania 0-0

June 19, 2023: Switzerland – Romania 2-2

September 9, 2023: Romania – Israel 1-1

September 12, 2023: Romania – Kosovo 2:0

October 12, 2023: Belarus – Romania 0-0

October 15, 2023 – 21:45 Romania – Andorra 4-0

November 18, 2023 – 21:45 Israel – Romania / Prima TV

November 21, 2023 – 21:45 Romania – Switzerland / Antenna 1.