The country’s hopes for qualifying are slim but today in Belfast the team was able to play Northern Ireland to a 1-1 draw.

Grant McCann scored an excellent first half free kick for Northern Ireland, while Elyaniv Barda quickly equalized for the Israelis.

Both managers made plenty of substitutions in the second half and neither side managed to settle into any sort of flowing rhythm.

Interestingly, Israeli goal-scorer Barda has reportedly attracted interest from the EPL recently – with clubs like Portsmouth, Everton, and Bolton all interested. Perhaps his goal in Belfast will help him secure a move to the greatest league in the world?

Israel needs to win all 4 of its remaining WC qualifying games to force a play-off to get to South Africa. 3 wins and a draw may be enough, but 10 points (minimum) will need to be secured to leapfrog Greece and/or Switzerland. Morale isn’t high, but as always, we can continue to dream…

Assulin played the first 45 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at London’s Wembley Stadium.

The 18-year old Israeli international put in a good shift despite being played out of position – on the left wing. Assulin prefers a more central creative attacking midfield role, but proved his worth.

With Israelis now at Liverpool (Benayoun) and Barca – the country’s national team fans may start itching to see the team perform to its highest level – and qualify for either a World Cup Tournament or Euro Tournament within the next two cycles. But despite the “itch” to see our domestic stars perform brilliantly on the international (not just club) stage, the Israeli national team has yet to make waves on a big stage.

Perhaps Assulin’s career with Barcelona will grow in parallel with the Israeli national team’s rise to prominence too?

One can only hope.

At this point, it’s just a wish.

Hapoel Tel Aviv midfielder Shay Abutbul is close to signing a deal with struggling MLS club New York Red Bulls.

The 26-year old former Israel U21 international is currently a free agent after spending about eight seasons with Hapoel. He’s no Benayoun, but he is a strong midfielder with good tackling ability and vision.

The star midfielder had received interest from Barcelona, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, and other clubs around Europe this summer – but he has decided his future lies at Anfield.

Great news for Liverpool fans – as the 29 year old quickly became a fan favorite last year after scoring crucial goals in the league and Champions League.

Today, a few Israeli teams received their draws in European competitions.

Bnei Yehuda will take on Simurq (from Azerbaijan) in Europa League qualifying while my club Maccabi Netanya faces off against Sliema Wanderers FC (from Malta).

In Champions League qualifying, Maccabi Haifa will face Northern Ireland champion Glentoran.

This beautiful game is truly global. Azerbaijan. Malta. Northern Ireland. Pretty cool.

Good luck to the Israeli clubs.

Spanish sources have reported that Israeli young stud Ben Sahar will be joining Espanyol from Chelsea as early as this week on a permanent basis. The Israeli striker / winger found his scoring touch on a loan spell in Holland this season – finishing with 6 goals and 3 assists in the new year for relegated De Graafschap in the Eredivisie.

Sahar, only 19, will reportedly join the Barcelona based club Espanyol, who finished 10th in La Liga this season.

Espanyol wear blue and white, just like the Israeli national team, and fans from both teams can only hope that Sahar lives up to his true potential no matter what kit he happens to be wearing.

Whilst Benayoun would probably prefer to stay with Liverpool and fight for some silverware, he clearly must understand the two massive factors that could sway him in this decision.

The two unresolved factors (in my opinion) are clear: a) a permanent starting position and b) an improved financial contract.

Benayoun, despite his brilliance on the pitch this season, is far from a “guaranteed” starter under Rafa Benitez (is anyone besides Steven Gerrard?).

At 29 years-old, Yossi probably has 3 great years left at the top of his game – does he want to spend those 3 years rotated in and out of the starting lineup – or even worse – on the bench?

Will he stay or will he go? Who knows. But wherever he goes, the whole of Israel will surely support him.

Well, Gai Assulin, that’s who.

Israel’s finest footballing prodigy – the next Benayoun – the next Barcelona superstar, has decided to shun the U-21 national team and skip the squad’s European Championship qualifier against Bulgaria next Wednesday.

I couldn’t agree more with the IFA (Israeli Football Association) on this one, so I might as well just copy and paste their response verbatim:

“It’s a shame that Guy is acting completely different from Eyal Berkovic who did everything he could to play even when he was with Celtic or [Liverpool's] Yossi Benayoun who even played injured,” the IFA said. “We’re just disappointed.”

Will Israel beat Bulgaria without the team’s best player, Assulin? Probably not.

And, even though it’s summer, and even though Barcelona’s season is over, the club vs. country debate never seems to end…

Oh, how the mighty Israeli has fallen…

Israel’s youngest ever goalscorer was never given much of a chance at Stamford Bridge (Drogba and Anelka, I guess, are just too good) and spent some time on loan at QPR and Sheffield Wednesday.

This season, the now nineteen year old was curiously loaned out to Portsmouth – where he had to compete for first team football with Peter Crouch, Kanu, and Jermain Defoe.

But just a few months ago, Sahar finally got the breakthrough he needed to get his career on track.

The Israeli striker joined Dutch side De Graafschap on loan in January and has scored 5 goals in 14 games. The 19 year old is now being linked with a permanent move away from Chelsea – with Dutch side Ajax and German side Borussia Dortmund leading the race.

He’s still a teenager with potential – so it will be interesting to see if Sahar does ever become the next “Benayoun.”

FIFA is currently investigating a complaint put forward by the Swiss Football Association that lasers were pointed at Israeli goalie Dudu Aouate in order to distract him during the crucial penalty kick which won the match for Greece 2-1.

Whilst it is highly unlikely that FIFA will force Greece to forfeit the World Cup qualifier, a fine is much more probable.

Despite this (slim) glimmer of hope for Israel (and Swiss) football supporters, the state of depression for Israeli football fans continues as the nation’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup now seem all but lost. Only 4 wins out of the nation’s final 4 matches will be enough for Israel to challenge for a playoff position and ultimately a spot in the World Cup.