ISRAEL V ENGLAND

i must admit that on Friday i was busy cooking and waiting for the man from HOT tv to come and finally connect me to cable TV and i forgot about the draw for the European Championship qualifiers. england and israel have never been drawn in the same group and as much as i loved the idea of england playing here in my new homeland i never thought it would really happen. the closest weve got is when israel played ireland in march last year which was great fun (i was up till 4am drinking with the irish after the game) but it wouldnt compare to watching england.

ive been a big supporter of the national team since i was very young. i nevr had a proper club team to follow when i was a kid (i used to "support" liverpool) but gave up after the hooliganism in heysel in 1985. but ive always lived a few minutes drive from wembley stadium and from when i was about seven years old i used to go to nearly all the home games. ive seen the best play and not manage to beat england - from brazil in 1987 (1-1 draw) to the great 1988 holland team (2-2) as well as the emerging French side in 1992 (cant remeber the score!).

so u can imagine the shock i got when my brother andrew rang me from work all over excited that england had just been placed in group E with england. "of course im going to fly out for the game" my bro said.

it of course got me thinking about the age old questoin of whowould you support in such a match. england have never played israel in a competitive game, and the last friendly was about 20 years ago! for me theres no doubts - its got to be england. so hopefully im going to get andrew to get tickets from the fa and we can sitwith the hooligan travelling support and see rooney, beckham and co wallop avi nimni and tal ben haim.

by the way, i have started writing a column for the jerusalem post about football. the first one was published today. heres a link to it http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1137605944103&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull and ill copy it below. (its called The Last Word and theres even a little pic of me in the paper on page ten, although not on the internet!)

jeremy

Israel vs England - who to root for?By JEREMY LAST

Having made aliya, most olim aim to immerse themselves into Israeli society and take on the local culture. The national soccer team's matches in Ramat Gan have always provided an opportunity for newly-arrived and long-term residents of Israel to join together with their fellow countrymen and show their true Zionist values.
Who can forget the atmosphere in March last year as Israel somehow managed to gain credible draws against Ireland and France?
However, on Friday, the thousands of Englishmen living in Israel were handed both an exciting prospect and a test of their commitment to this country when England and Israel were drawn together in Group E of the qualifying round for the 2008 European championships.
Now the age-old question, "Who would you support if England played Israel?", has to be answered. Never before have the two countries faced each other in a competitive game.
Many of the Brits who will be fervently cheering on Rooney, Beckham and Co. during this summer's World Cup (if they can afford the pay-TV prices) will be willing to forgo their national upbringing and pledge their allegiance to Dror Kashtan's side.
But for others it won't be so easy. Growing up in England, the national team is pervasive, especially during major tournaments. When England is playing in a World Cup or European Championship finals, the team's fortunes seem to be the main news story and talking point wherever you go, and a lifetime of support may leave its mark on some.
There were few soccer fans, for example, who stayed in bed that Friday morning in June 2002 when England played Brazil in a World Cup quarterfinal.
What soccer fans always crave is that little bit of quality to go with the passion. And the Israel vs England game promises to provide just that, and more. On paper it seems that Israel has no chance to beat the English. Israel has only ever qualified for one major tournament - the 1970 World Cup - and is 35 places below England in the FIFA rankings.
However, the Israelis have clearly been improving in recent years and only just missed out on qualification for this summer's World Cup. Another home draw against a top team is not out of the question
Yossi Benayoun's success at West Ham and the potential of Yaniv Katan to gain Premiership experience alongside him can only help the national team.
There is also the prospect of emerging youngsters such as Betar Jerusalem's Maor Melikson and Aviram Bruchian and Maccabi Haifa's Shlomi Arbitman making an impact, as well as the other more established stars.
For its part, England's experience and class can not be doubted. The team exudes quality, from John Terry in central defense through to Lampard and Rooney. But, the side lacks strength in depth and, with a few injuries, England could be vulnerable, as seen in its shock defeat to Northern Ireland in last year's World Cup campaign.
One thing the two sides will have in common will be a new manager/coach at the helm. Kashtan, one of the most successful Israeli coaches, has already been named as the man taking charge of the Israeli team, but as yet we do not know who will replace Sven Goran Eriksson. If, as feared by many fans, Bolton boss Sam Allardyce gets the job, then who knows what will happen!
Either way, whenever the matches will be held (all the teams in the group will meet next month to decide the schedule), they will be full of excitement and passion. Expect two unforgettable nights. Let's just hope the English fans behave themselves as well as the Irish did when they came to Tel Aviv.
jeremylast@yahoo.com