U.K. minister thanks Israel for soccer victory that boosts England Euro chances
Israel beat Russia 2-1 in Ramat Gan on Saturday; Miliband: Now every Englishman is cheering the Israeli nation.
By The Associated Press Tags: RussiaBritish Foreign Secretary David Miliband, on a visit to Israel expressed his gratitude Sunday to Israel's national soccer team for its victory over Russia in a European Championship qualifying match.
Israel scored a late winner Saturday night to beat Russia 2-1. The victory kept England in realistic contention and severely hurt Russia's hopes of advancing. A win by Russia would have meant almost certain elimination for England.
"I want to say thank you very very much to the Israeli football team," said Miliband during a meeting with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "Now every Englishman is cheering the Israeli nation for their great service to help us."
England now needs only a draw against Croatia on Wednesday to stay alive. Russia can only advance with a loss by England. Israel has already been eliminated from contention.
The British tabloids had expected that the Israeli team, for which Saturday night's match was effectively meaningless because it had already been eliminated in Euro 2008 qualifiers, would not make an effort, thus helping Russia win and qualify for the finals at the expense of the English team.
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will die in shame.Poor,poor you can't win.
"Soccer, ..., is only about knocking the ball around, and watching where it goes. There is almost no strategy or intelligence involved." I disagree with your views. Soccer demands immense stamina, strength, skill and teamwork. On the average, a player runs 10 to 15km in a match (compare that to baseball). There are skill involved in passing and shooting. As soccer is a contact sport, players must be able to hold their balance even in the events of dribbling, being tackled and shoved. All these need athleticism. It requires 11 players playing against 11 at the same time (unlike baseball...), so the team work together to implement a strategy to break the opponent's defence. Also, soccer is the most popular sport in the world (compare to baseball..). Even US soccer clubs are inviting popular European stars to play in US. I respect that baseball is an exciting game for you, but I don't understand what baseball has got to do with being "successful as the USA in every aspect of life"
And here it's because you personally gain something from it. You've been nothing but a nuisance here. You hate Israel on principle. You judge Israel by the highest standards and reject every success and excellence she has and there are many. You can keep your congratulations. (which you didn't give) We don't need them.
"Now every Englishman is cheering the Israeli nation for their great service to help us." I must say that I did indeed find myself rooting for Israel to win. It would seem there truly is a first time for everything.
Soccer, like hockey, is only about knocking the ball around, and watching where it goes. There is almost no strategy or intelligence involved. Usually the games end in a 1 to 1 draw. It is so deathly boring to watch those guys run around for 90 minutes, usually just making errant passes to teamates that end up out of bounds, or with the ball given directly to their opponents. A guy will be right in front of the goal and usually miss the whole thing, and that goal is really BIG! If any country wants to be as successful as the USA in every aspect of life, they must adopt baseball as their national sport. Baseball has real strategy and skills, takes intelligence combined with athleticism. Forget that dreadful soccer business!
and would lie down and let Russia win. They don't know who they're dealing with! Britishers, don't believe your media. They're right off the mark.
The State of Israel is Sunday's flavour of the day in England.If the Israel government had any sense it would capitalize by engaging in an immediate,intense charm offensive amomgst the public in England. Unfortunately in New Labour Britain,bread and circuses are the order of the day and football means more than it should do.