Controversial Penalty the Difference: Israel Lose 2 – 1

On another day, it could have easily been a draw yesterday in Ramat Gan. The first 35 minutes were even. 50 - 50. Israel pressuring from the wings and forcing 4 or 5 corners while Croatia worked their combination plays through the middle and Tottenham's stars Modric and Kranjcar created chances for Ivica Olic.

But in the 36th minute, Blackpool defender Dekel Keinan was penalized for allegedly bringing down a player in the box. Replays showed that the touch was a "phantom touch," nothing much at all - the typical jockeying for position in the box by both players, but the referee blew the whistle - and perhaps blew the whistle on Israel's Euro 2012 dreams.

Keinan was booked. Kranjcar struck a brilliant penalty. And that was it 1-0 down at home. The Israelis were shell-shocked. Their captain Yossi Benayoun, injured, looked on depressed.

One more defensive mistake combined with a wonder-goal by Kranjcar (he put the ball in the only place he could - the upper left corner - a really tiny window to squeeze the pelota through and an amazing hit) and the Croats had a precious away win, one they will remember as a vital 3 points when they are playing in Russia and Poland in the summer of 2012.

Israel scored through Itay Shechter and piled on the pressure late - threatening the Croatian goal between the 80th and 90th minute, looking for an equalizer, but it wasn't to be.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said, "It was a very exciting game to watch, Israel had some early chances when we made some technical errors but we took control later on and played our normal game, controlling mainly on the right side."

Bilic was spot on. The action came through Corluka, Modric, and Kranjcar down the right - and the better team eventually won out.

A draw would have been a superb result for Israel (who are now winless against Croatia in all seven matches played all-time) and the players will point to the penalty kick, as always, as the turning point in the match:

Goalkeeper Dudu Aouate said, "It's about time that the referee whistles a penalty in our favor. There was a penalty given to Croatia, but we shouldn't have come apart afterward and allowed them to score that second goal. We could have gotten a good result. We played well - Croatia is a good team, but it's not better than us."

Aouate is correct, to a point. The teams seemed pretty level throughout but the difference was in defending. Israel's was poor at times, and Croatia's defense was more solid.

Israel, on 4 points, trail Greece (their opponents Tuesday) and Georgia by 1 point in the standings. A win in Greece and Israel will again control their own Euro 2012 destiny - at least for a spot in the playoff qualifications. A loss in Greece and the campaign will be all but over.

For fans of the Israel national team, they can only hope that not only does the defense improve for the match against Greece, but that "phantom" penalties don't get called in Athens either...