Grant sticks with the tried and tested

Israel goes into its final World Cup qualifying game tomorrow night needing a high scoring victory against the Faroe Islands to maximize its chances, but coach Avraham Grant will stick with the conservative formation that has seen his team remain unbeaten in nine games in Group 4.

"It would be hubris to say that we'll play for a high scoring victory, and hubris is something I want no part of," Grant said in the pre-match media conference yesterday.

Group 4 is the tightest European qualifying group - Switzerland and France, who each have two games remaining, lead the group with 16 points, while Israel is has 15 and Ireland, which faces Cyprus in Nicosia Saturday, is fourth with 13 points and two matches to play. Israel needs a seven-goal win to boost its chances of qualification.

The top team qualifies automatically for Germany 2006, while the second-place team goes to a playoff against another European team.

Grant praised the virtues of his team but also paved the way for the eventuality that its rivals for a qualifying spot would not play out the results required by Israel.

"Tiny Israel has taken an enormous step forward," Grant said. "We have placed ourselves firmly on the European soccer map... We have passed all tests with flying colors throughout the campaign... but let's not forget we are not yet in the same league as France and Ireland."

Although the Faroes have only one point from nine games and have conceded 25 goals against three scored, Grant said the Islanders could be expected to give Israel a hard time. "They won't be coming here to bend over and take it," Grant said of the visitors. "I sometimes think there is a sort of Israeli arrogance, that if bigger teams were to talk about us in the same way, we would accuse them of all sorts of things."

Yossi Benayoun trained yesterday after taking pain killers, and he will be fit for tomorrow's game after picking up an injury in his last game for his club, West Ham. "The pain is limiting my sprint a bit, but I hope to be okay," Benayoun said.

Tal Ben Haim is suffering a recurrence of a stomach muscle injury, but is also expected to be in the starting lineup tomorrow. The Bolton Wanderers' center back said the media had gone overboard in its expectations and that Israel would need a miracle from the other teams in the group to go through. "It isn't easy to score seven goals, even against an amateur side," Ben Haim said. "I think you [the media] are dreaming. First of all, let's win, and then we can pray for the results we need."

The Faroes held a training session at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan yesterday, but the highlight of their day was a visit to Jerusalem, where they toured the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Coach Henrik Larssen, who will be at the helm for the Faroes for the last time tomorrow night, has a fully fit roster. He said yesterday he was hoping for a win as a farewell gift from his players. "It's my last game in charge and it would be nice if we were to win," Larssen said. "Israel has yet to lose, but we will do everything we can to win."

Assistant Israel coach Moshe Sinai scouted the Faroes training session yesterday and said he was highly impressed by what he had seen. "They are taking the game very seriously," Sinai said. "Their attitude reflects the strong character of their players. They are in last place in the group, without a single win, but they give everything they have. I told Grant this is not a team that is here to pass the time."

	FIGHTINGFIT:Israel's star midfielderYossi Benayoun training at Ramat Gan yesterday.