Israel's U20 summer of hope in Argentina, then Hamas attacked the country four months later
Israel's under-20 team captured national attention with its run at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina in the summer of 2023; four months later, on 7 October, Hamas attacked Israel. The armed Palestinian group killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, and Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza that the United Nations believes has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians.
Israel's senior side had qualified for the World Cup just once when the under-20s beat Brazil 3-2 in the tournament's quarter-finals and went on to finish third after a 1-0 semi-final defeat by eventual champions Uruguay. Five days after the Brazil victory, the semi-final against Uruguay was the most-watched programme of the evening on Israeli television, drawing a 23% viewing share, and politicians publicly congratulated the squad.
The team produced moments that felt unusually unifying for the country: after a stoppage-time winner against Uzbekistan in the last 16, Anan Khalaili, an Israeli Arab, thanked viewers back home for staying up late to watch his team win in Argentina and used the Hebrew phrase 'Am Yisrael'. "That an Arab player used that figure of speech said something about the identity of that team," says Ido Rakovsky, who covered the side for Haaretz. Rakovsky added: "That summer, everybody was watching under-20 football, everybody knew the players. Everybody in Israel fell in love with these kids."
The cohort's achievements extended beyond the World Cup: the same core had been runners-up at the 2022 Under-19 Euros, beaten by England in extra-time in the final, and reached the semi-finals of the 2023 Under-20 Euros. Several players have since moved to prominent clubs — Khalaili saw a £21.5m move to Inter Milan fall through before Crystal Palace signed him for a similar fee from Union Saint-Gilloise; Oscar Gloukh, 22, joined Ajax and wears their number 10 shirt after moving from Red Bull Salzburg; left-back Roy Revivo joined Elche from Maccabi Tel Aviv on transfer deadline day this month; Twente's Stav Lemkin, also 23, is highly rated; and Dor Turgeman, Ilay Feingold and Idan Toklomati are playing in Major League Soccer. All have won full caps and were moulded into a cohesive unit by age-grade coach Ofir Haim.
Ofir Haim described the squad's internal cohesion in Argentina in blunt terms: "It isn't an issue at all here," he said of the different backgrounds in his squad. "We don't have any problem with religion. Not at all. We have players here who put on tefillin [Jewish ceremonial wear, containing verses from the Torah] - and Anan [Khalaili], Hamza [Shibli] and Ahmed [Salman] perform the Muslim prayers. "We don't even talk about this. We unite everybody, and I wish the country were as united as this team."
Historian Dr Omer Einav placed football's role in social mixing in long-term perspective, saying: "They were Europeans and when you think about cinema, music, theatre, dance, they had nothing in common with Middle Eastern culture. Nothing, except football. That was the only common language, the only thing they both love in the same way." Arab citizens make up about 20% of Israel's population but represent roughly 35% of those involved in elite-level football domestically; the first Arab to represent Israel's national team was Rifaat Turk in 1976 and Bibars Natcho became the first Muslim to captain the side in 2018, a decision that drew condemnation when he chose not to sing the national anthem.
Racism and political tensions have affected the sport: Beitar Jerusalem ultras burned down their club's offices in 2013 in protest at the signing of two Chechen Muslims, and hardline chants have targeted Arab players. Matan Segal, who ran Kick It Out Israel until recently, said the abuse intensified after the Covid lockdowns and the election of a far-right government at the end of 2022 and worsened again after 7 October. "Before 7 October, people generally respected the Arab players," Segal said. "After 7 October though, we saw an increase in racist remarks. "It was happening at small clubs where we hadn't seen it before. There were terrible songs - 'Let's kill all Arabs', 'There are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left'."
The conflict has also pressed directly on individual players and clubs: supporters and rival groups united in commemorations for those killed by Hamas, scarves were part of the remembrance at the Nova music festival site, Hapoel Jerusalem's badge now features a silhouette of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and Israeli Defence Force soldiers have posed with club flags while on operation in Gaza. Players closely connected to the conflict through national service have faced online abuse; Gloukh's lifelong friend Afik Tery was killed by a Hamas explosive while serving in the IDF and Gloukh's subsequent social-media posts received pro-Palestinian taunts. Dia Saba's wife Narmin posted "There are children in Gaza, too" on Instagram; Saba apologised and left Maccabi Haifa in 2025 and now plays for Turkish side Amedspor. "My dream was to play for Maccabi Haifa, the club that I support, the team that I grew up with," Saba said at the time. "I wanted to continue. But sometimes there are reasons that are stronger than us that don't allow it."
Some players have reacted by changing allegiances: Ataa Jaber captained Israel's Under-21 side but switched nationality to represent Palestine in June 2023, saying he could no longer separate sport and politics after seeing police evict Palestinian families from their homes in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem; his decision damaged his prospects of a move to Europe and prompted calls at home for his Israeli citizenship to be revoked. Beram Kayal, now working for the Israel Football Association with young talents from Palestinian areas, described the personal and cultural challenges: "To be Arabic in Israel, it's sometimes hard," he says. "Sometimes it is tough. "Opportunities-wise, sometimes we are not on the same level." Kayal added: "When I played with Tomer, he prayed like this," touching his head to indicate a kippah, then: "And I was praying for Allah. He was my team-mate and he is my brother. "In football, on the pitch, you never look at colour, culture or religion. You just want the best people around you to win the game." The IFA has offered Hebrew language lessons to Arabic-speaking coaches after Arabic was downgraded behind Hebrew by a controversial 2018 law promoted by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Kayal works alongside former Israel goalkeeper Boni Ginzburg at the federation.
Ran Ben-Shimon was appointed senior head coach in 2024 and was tasked with converting the youth generation's promise into qualification for Euro 2028, which will be staged in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. Large-scale protests are planned for the Republic of Ireland's forthcoming Nations League matches with Israel; Dublin will host seven games at the tournament, Villa Park in Birmingham will stage four and Hampden Park six, and previous crowd restrictions saw Maccabi Tel Aviv fans banned from a Europa League match at Villa Park in November. Dr Sophia Solomon of Ben-Gurion University's Center for Sports Diplomacy said: "Israelis are very sensitive to anyone showing any kind of sympathy for what happened on 7 October. "It is like denying the Holocaust, that is the proportion of it. A war is a special situation, it wasn't like this before, but to express your agony became more encouraged as we saw the European arena become more anti-Israeli. "One reaction ignited another and there is more obligation to identify yourself with the victims of 7 October."
Israel's immediate, confirmed objective remains qualification for Euro 2028 under Ben-Shimon, a campaign that will place the country's players into high-profile matches across several host nations and into the midst of planned public protest. What that campaign means for squad unity and for the wider hopes raised by the 2023 under-20 team will be tested as Israel pursues qualification for the tournament.
