FULL TIME: Israel 0-3 Wales
And that’s that. A comprehensive, and highly impressive, win for the Welsh. They’re top of the group. Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, huh? The dream of a first major finals since 1958 is very much still on!
90 min +1: Taylor whips a cross in from the left. Vokes controls on the penalty spot, but can’t turn swiftly enough. He’s had chances.
90 min: There will be two added minutes. They can’t go by quickly enough for Israel, who are holding on for dear life. Bale very nearly releases Macdonald into the area down that inside-left channel. Dgani intercepts at the last.
89 min: Bale scampers down the inside-left channel. Desirous of his hat-trick, he shoots from the left-hand corner of the D and - not for the first time this evening - sends a lame effort well wide right of the target. Still, two goals, eh.
88 min: Bale, running at full pelt, scoops a delicious ball down the left channel to release Vokes into the area. Vokes takes a first-time shot, lashing the ball into the side netting.
86 min: And now the corner’s wasted.
85 min: Before the corner can be taken, Ramsey limps off to be replaced by Macdonald.
84 min: Bale, tight on the byline to the right of goal, nutmegs Biton, who might now regret coming back on. He pelts a shot towards the bottom right, from a tight angle. Marciano does well to turn it round for a corner.
83 min: Chances at either end. First Bale slides a pass down the left to release Vokes into the box, but the striker lets the ball roll under his feet. Israel launch one long up the other end, and Sahar’s suddenly free down the inside-left channel and into the area! He’s one on one with Hennessey, who stands firm as Sahar looks for the left-hand portion of the net. A magnificent save.
81 min: Ramsey tries to release Gunter into space down the right. And crumples. He rolls around on the floor awhile, grabbing his groin. He’s not happy. He might have pulled something, writes Dr Murray, who in truth has no idea, but limps on for a bit. That might look worse than it actually is.
80 min: Biton, who was sent on to shore things up for Israel, limps off injured. The home side have no changes left to make, so they’ll be hoping to send him on again. If they can’t do some running repairs, Israel will end this game in tatters, with nine men.
79 min: This will be Israel’s first competitive home defeat for two-and-a-half years. Wales have been magnificent.
GOAL! Israel 0-3 Wales (Bale 77)
But it’s over now. Vaughan steals the ball down the left, and slips Ramsey forward into the box. Ramsey holds the ball up a second, before cutting the ball back to Bale on the penalty spot. Bale whips the ball into the top right. Maybe not quite in the top right. The keeper got a hand on that, and might have done better. But that’s two goals for Bale, back to his superlative best. His scream of joy betrays the preposterous frustrations of Madrid.
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76 min: Israel nearly get themselves back into the game. Sahar busies himself down the left, a purposeful and skiful run. His cross, from near the byline, is inches away from finding the head of Hemed, six yards out, but Hennessey comes off his line to claim. That nearly shone a very different light on this game.
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74 min: Bale, from a deep position down the left, creams a diagonal ball forwards to set Ramsey clear on goal. He stretches to shoot on the edge of the box, and the effort’s heading goalwards, but Marciano is out quickly to block. The rebound could fall to Vokes, free on the edge of the box, but his luck’s not in right now.
73 min: Balls flung into the Welsh area from the left, then the right. Taylor deals with one, Collins hoicks away the other. Israel, their leading scorer off injured, lack a cutting edge.
71 min: And it’s nearly a Harry Kane style introduction from Vokes, who is sent clear into the area by a lovely sliderule pass down the right from Allen. His shot is straight at Marciano, who nevertheless has to keep strong to parry the effort out. Wales have had their chances to put this game to bed. They’re not home and hosed yet.
70 min: Zahavi clatters into Bale. It’s his last act of the evening, as he’s hooked in favour of Sahar.
69 min: Vokes comes on for Robson-Kanu. It’s the injury-hit Burnley striker’s first appearance of the Euro 2016 campaign.
68 min: Wales get back on the ball, and remind Israel they’re a man light. Some neat, crisp, possession passing in the middle of the park. Exactly what was required. The home crowd start with the whistling and jeering again, stage one in getting them to simmer down.
66 min: Israel were really rocking back there, but they’ve been allowed to claw back a little confidence. The crowd are doing their best, responding to this slight change in momentum. Wales need to get back on the ball, and remind Israel they’re a man light.
64 min: Davies bundles Hemed over down the right. The free kick is curled towards the near post. Ramsey looks to see the ball out for a goal kick, but allows Refaelov to stick out a leg and divert it towards the bottom right. Hennessey is forced to parry, and the ball’s cleared. This is a bit sloppy from Wales, all of a sudden. They could do with regaining their composure, and more importantly their discipline.
62 min: Taylor clips Refaelov’s heels, a needless foul, 35 yards from goal down the inside-right channel. A chance for Israel to load the box and get back into this game. But the free kick’s tapped to Natcho, who faffs and fannies around, allowing Taylor to atone for his error by racing out from the wall and blocking the attempted delivery into the danger zone at source. What a farce. Utterly pathetic from Israel, who can’t afford to be giving up chances to create bedlam like that.
60 min: Another change for Israel: Ben Chaim, who impressed with his Garrincha-lite skills during the first half, is sacrificed for Biton.
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58 min: Zahavi jinks in from the left and lays off to Refaelov, who looks for Hemed in the Welsh box with a sliderule pass. Collins strides across to batter the ball back upfield with extreme prejudice. Better from Israel, but they’re struggling to make any impact - and to be fair, were finding it difficult with 11 men on the field. Wales have been very impressive tonight.
57 min: The Itztadion Sammy Ofer is a fairly quiet place right now. A few defiant whistles as Wales stroke it around the back, the footballing equivalent of yawning and scratching one’s arse. The visitors couldn’t be more comfortable right now.
55 min: Robson-Kanu, 30 yards from goal, looks for the top left. Not a bad effort at all, albeit a fair few feet over the bar. Wales are rampant.
54 min: Israel have lost the plot. A ball’s slipped out to Bale, on the right wing. There’s nobody within 15 yards of him! Bale jigs into the area, and really should score, but he drags a low shot wide right. That’s poor, because the game was there, on a plate. Though I’ve a funny feeling that won’t be the last chance Israel offer up this evening.
53 min: Injury is added to insult. Bale takes the resulting free kick, and slaps the ball straight in Dgani’s coupon. Jets of water are applied to the Israeli defender’s startled boat.
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RED CARD! Tibi sent off!
52 min: Bale goes on another scamper down the inside-right channel. Tibi, who has been all over the shop tonight, sticks a big arse in Bale’s way. That’s obstruction, and another yellow! It’s all falling apart for Israel.
GOAL! Israel 0-2 Wales (Bale 50)
... whips a ball into the top right corner! So simple! What a magnificent finish! Sensational! Marciano was rooted to the spot, watching the ball fly into the net. As was Natcho, stationed on the post. Wow.
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49 min: Bale drops a shoulder to burst past Tibi, with a view of breaking into the area down the right-hand channel for a shot. And he’s brought down, cynically. Tibi goes in the book. That’s right on the edge of the box, a couple of yards to the right of the D. A very dangerous position. Bale stands over it, and ...
47 min: An early worry for Wales, with Ledley down receiving treatment. Not sure what’s wrong with him, writes Dr Murray, who is a right quack and no mistake. Seizure of the beard, perhaps. And he’s having to go off with some unspecified niggle. Vaughan comes on in his stead.
And we’re off again! Wales get the ball rolling once more. “Wow, what a goal,” begins Simon McMahon, who ain’t wrong. “I’ve never seen that one before. Take a bow, Ivor Allchurch, who I’m hoping was nicknamed ‘The Engine’. Almost as good as Dundee United and Scotland legend Dave Narey’s toe poke against Brazil in 1982.” And for the benefit of anyone who didn’t sit in front of BBC1 during the late 1970s with a snotty nose, waiting for their tea ...
Half-time entertainment: With the successes of 1958 increasingly in mind, how about another look at one of the best World Cup goals ever? Step forward, and belt it, Ivor Allchurch!
There’s enough time before the restart for 45 viewings. And it’ll not get old.
HALF TIME: Israel 0-1 Wales
Wales deserve their lead. And if they keep hold of it, they’ll be topping the group tonight!
GOAL! Israel 0-1 Wales (Ramsey 45 +1)
A very simple one, this. Hennessey larrups a long ball down the inside-right channel. The ball’s allowed to bounce. Bale, on the right-hand edge of the six-yard box, heads inside. Ramsey meets the dropping ball, and cushions a well-judged header into the top right, over a badly positioned Marciano. Charles Reep will be spinning in his grave, only with great excitement. That’s a route-one classic!
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44 min: Refaelov is booked for a cynical tug on Ramsey in the centre circle.
43 min: Damari goes down. No challenge. He must have tweaked something, writes Dr Murray, who doesn’t know. He limps off, to be replaced by Hemed. There goes this group’s leading scorer!
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41 min: More komik kutz, as Wales want the ball put out, one of their men down, fannying around. Yeini stops playing, rather than knocking the ball away. Bale steps in and looks to break off down the left. Yeini takes Bale by the shirt in the Mackay-Bremner style. It’s all a lot of childish nonsense, the pair of them. The ref comes over and reminds them they’ve both left school a long time ago.
39 min: Gunter looks to burst past Ben Harush down the right. As he drops a shoulder, his feet give way from under him. Falling, he takes his opponent out. The sort of action that should be accompanied by trills on an out-of-tune pub piano.
38 min: Just to put the complete kiss of death on this game, Israel’s last 26 matches have featured at least two goals. So, you know, there’s that.
36 min: Ramsey skates down the right but his low cross into the six-yard box is cleared by Tibi’s swinging leg. Crump. Then in the centre circle, Ledley and Allen hesitate, after you, sir, and Damari very nearly scampers clear on goal. Allen saves his own blushes by getting back in to poke the ball away from the striker.
34 min: Wales go straight up the other end through Bale, who very nearly burns past Dgani along the left wing. A telescopic leg saves the day for Israel, and the resulting corner is a waste of everyone’s time and effort. There’s a nice, open feel to this match. Both teams doing their best in attack, positive mindsets all round.
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33 min: Ben Chaim, working the right flank now, dances into space and slides a gorgeous pass down the channel to release Zahavi into the area. He’s got a clear sight at goal, having zipped past a snoozing Taylor. His rising shot is straight at Hennessey, who parries out to the left of his goal for a corner. The set piece comes to naught.
31 min: Collins, attempting to play out from the back, nearly takes Allen’s head off with a ludicrous wallop of a pass. Allen acrobatically chests down and recycles possession. That was quite something, from the ridiculous to the sublime.
30 min: Israel have enjoyed 54% of possession so far. But Wales have had the better chances. They’ll be happy enough with the way this is going right now.
28 min: Israel try to get themselves going again with a few neat triangles in the middle. Natcho attempts a pitching-wedge style pass down the inside-left channel with a view to releasing Damari into the area, but he’s taken out the 3-wood instead. Blooter! Goal kick.
26 min: Ramsey drifts in from the right and scoops a strange cross towards the far post. Difficult to read the flight of that one, and so Taylor, in a bit of space on the other side, doesn’t bother. A red shirt bombing in from the left would have had a chance to convert.
25 min: A bit more noise in the stadium as Zahavi diddles his way past Gunter down the left and into the area. His attempted cross is blocked out for a corner, from which nothing comes, Allen getting the credit for snuffing that danger out with some busy pestering.
24 min: Robson-Kanu takes the ball down the inside-left channel. Wales are getting a lot of joy here. The resulting shot is weak, dragged across goal and out of play in the style also favoured by Gareth Bale this evening. The Welsh keeping the home fans quiet right now, though.
21 min: Wales really should be ahead. Tibi plays a disgraceful square ball across the Israel back line, straight to Bale. Bale zips down the left channel, and upon entering the box should at least be testing Marciano. But no, he hesitates, allowing Ben Haim to stick a leg out to block. Wales don’t even get a corner. A throw, and it’s wasted.
19 min: ... Wales should really score. The corner delivery is easily cleared, but the ball’s soon coming back from the left flank, twice in quick succession. First Robson-Kanu nearly gets his head to a cross. Cleared. Then Bale whips a glorious up-and-downer to the feet of Collins, six yards out. Collins just has to sidefoot home, Marciano desperately trying to scramble across. The keeper’s never going to make it, but Collins lets the ball stick under his boot. Clank. And Israel clear. The flag goes up for offside, but that could well be a sympathy vote. Given Collins wasn’t to know... what a miss! Nope, no offside flag. What a miss!
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18 min: And now a nice period of pressure by Wales, Allen making good towards the area before setting up Ramsey for a shot down the inside-left channel. That’s blocked, but the ball breaks to Bale, who can’t get a shot away from the inside-right position. Then another chance for Ramsey to take a whack from the left, but Tibi slides in for a corner on the left. From which ...
16 min: Israel are capable of some very tidy football. Zahavi cuts in from the left and knocks a ball across to Yeini, who engages in some crisp triangulation with Natcho and Refaelov. They work the ball up and down the right, before Natcho gets a bit impatient and loops an aimless cross into the box. Hennessey comes out to claim.
14 min: Wales pass the ball around the back awhile. It’s clever, patient play, the team waiting for an opening and taking the sting out of the game too. The home support getting a little frustrated. But then Williams gets fed up and blooters a hopeless Hollywood ball down the inside-right channel. Ledley’s never getting it, and possession’s gifted back to the hosts. Plus some new wind in the supporters’ sails. Oh Ashley.
11 min: A miscontrol by Tibi, 35 yards from his own goal. The loose ball falls to Bale, of all people, and he’s scooting with purpose towards the Israeli box down the inside-left flank. Chance for a shot, and it’s taken, but he drags it across the face of goal and out on the right. Not particularly brilliant. Bale appears pained, a look he’ll have been working hard on in Madrid of late.
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9 min: Ben Chaim diddles this way and that, dribbling down the left in the old-fashioned Stanley Matthews style, all tight control and tricksy tricks. He makes mincemeat out of Gunter, then fizzes a high ball through the area, the ball flicked away from Damari by the eyebrows of Collins. Danger there.
7 min: But this is nice from Wales. Gunter, out wide on the right, passes inside to Ramsey, who drops a shoulder to swan past Damari and attempts an outrageous curler with the outside of his boot towards the top left. It’s wide of the target, but not by much, and if that had been tucked into the corner I’m not sure Marciano was getting to it. Ramsey smiles ruefully.
6 min: Israel are beginning to impose themselves on Wales. Yeini snaps into a tackle down the right and strides down the flank. He slips a ball inside for Refaelov, but it’s behind his man and hacked clear from the Welsh area.
4 min: Ben Chaim takes up possession on the Israel left. Gunter shoves him in the back. The ball squirts off down the Welsh right flank. Ramsey attempts to rake the ball home from the best part of 40 yards. It’s well wide right, and Gunter is rightly penalised for the push anyway. More whistles.
2 min: First touch for Bale, who strides down the inside-left channel and slips a pass out wide for Taylor. But the move breaks down in double-quick time, white shirts swarming around Taylor. A scrappy start to this game. Not many passes sticking.
25 sec: Wales get their first touch of the ball. It’s Joe Allen. He’s really getting the bird. Some common-or-garden intimidation there. Or are there a disproportionate number of Liverpool fans in Haifa?
Wales get into a pre-match huddle, and once that’s done, we’re off! Israel set the ball rolling. A fantastic atmosphere in the Itztadion Sammy Ofer. This could be a cracker!
The teams are out! Time for some celebratory nationalist warbling. Some similar themes in the lyrics, with both anthems having a land of my/our fathers thing going on. We are all one. So in the interests of avoiding confusion, Israel are playing in white with blue trim, Wales in dragon red. We’ll be off in a minute. It’s on!
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The hosts and group leaders Israel make two changes from the side which beat Bosnia 3-0 in their last qualifier. Defender Orel Dgani and midfielder Lior Refaelov come in for Eyal Meshumar and Gil Vermouth. Meanwhile the Wales manager Chris Coleman selects three at the back, or five, depending on the way you look at it. James Collins and Ben Davies come in after the 0-0 draw with Belgium in November, with James Chester and David Cotterill dropping out.
You will be watching ...
Israel: Marciano, Dgani, Tal Ben Haim, Tibi, Ben Haroush, Natcho, Yeini, Zahavi, Rafaelov, Tal Ben Chaim, Damari.
Subs: Harush, Dasa, Biton, Gershon, Hemed, Barda, Shechter, Sahar, Twatha, Kayal, Buzaglo, Haimov.
Wales: Hennessey, Collins, Ashley Williams, Davies, Gunter, Allen, Ledley, Ramsey, Taylor, Bale, Robson-Kanu.
Subs: Owain Fon Williams, Edwards, Cotterill, MacDonald, Church, Vokes, Lawrence, Ricketts, John, Vaughan, Henley, Ward.
Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia)
Two countries here. And just two appearances at a major finals between them. Israel made it to the 1970 World Cup; Wales got to Fifa’s big jamboree in 1958. They’ve both been waiting a long, long time to taste glory again. Is their patience finally to be rewarded?
Could be, could be. Israel have started their Euro 2016 campaign perfectly, with wins against Andorra, Cyprus and Bosnia-Herzegovina, nine points from nine. Wales haven’t been too shabby, either, with draws against ante-post favourites Belgium and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the bag, alongside wins over Andorra and Cyprus. The pair currently hold the top two spots in Group B. If only it could be over now, to end a cumulative total of 102 years of hurt.
Having to play Israel might augur well for Wales, though, if you’re superstitious like that. Because it was Israel the Welsh beat to reach those 1958 World Cup finals in their year of wonder. Wales had some team then - John Charles of Juventus, Ivor Allchurch and Cliff Jones of Swansea, Mel Hopkins and Terry Medwin of Spurs, Jack Kelsey and Dave Bowen of Arsenal - but didn’t make it past Czechoslovakia in their qualifying group. No matter! Israel were having trouble finding countries prepared to play them in their Asia and Africa qualification section - Egypt, Sudan and Indonesia all demurred, one way or another - and so they became winners of the zone by default. However, Fifa weren’t having a team qualify without kicking a ball, so Israel were forced to play off against one of the European group runners-up. Wales won the drawing of lots. It was on!
Wales won 2-0 in Ramut Gan, then repeated the result in Cardiff on 5 February 1958. That return fixture may well have saved their coach Jimmy Murphy’s life, for it forced him to take time off from his day job at Manchester United, who were playing a European Cup match in Belgrade on the same day. Murphy was at least able to bask in the warm glow of qualification success for one evening, before the dreadful news came through from Munich. Wales had made it, guaranteeing their ticket to Sweden in the summer.
It hadn’t been all plain sailing against the Israeli amateurs, though. Israel’s keeper, Ya’akov Hodorov, a Tel Aviv truck driver in a Lev Yashin style black shirt, gave the performance of a lifetime, keeping Charles et al out with a series of jaw-dropping saves. On the hour, he was flattened by the elbow of Il Gigante Buono - some Gentle Giant. He was unconscious for three minutes. Allchurch scored with a Puskasesque drag-back and flick on 75 minutes, Jones with a drive from the edge of the box on 80. On the final whistle, a dizzy Hodorov was mobbed by fans, and led off the field, whereupon he collapsed and was taken to the hospital. He was treated for a broken nose, bruised shoulder, concussion and exhaustion, and later claimed he couldn’t remember letting in either of the goals.
Wales’s high-profile export putting himself about there. Will the modern equivalent, Gareth Bale of Real Madrid, play a similarly pivotal role tonight? Soon find out!
Kick off: 8pm in Haifa, 5pm in Cardiff.
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