Goalkeeper Peretz apologizes for Israeli team’s poor showing in defeat to Ireland; says Irish players’ hostility ‘stems from ignorance’

Israel’s goalkeeper Daniel Peretz apologizes “on behalf of all the players” for the national soccer team’s “embarrassing” performance in its 3-0 defeat to Ireland tonight, and vows that they’ll do better in their next two UEFA Nations League games, against Kosovo on Thursday and Ireland again next Sunday.

“It’s not that we didn’t want to play better or did not prepare,” he tells Channel 5 Sports. Rather, “we wanted to win too much.”

“We came to this match with a lot of emotions and this harmed us. We lost some of our concentration.”

“It’s easy to get depressed,” he says, “but we have two matches ahead,” including the return fixture against Ireland. “It won’t be like this, I promise you.”

Peretz says that at half time, with Israel already 3-0 down, the players recognized that they “couldn’t fix the first half” but resolved “not to lose the second.”

Asked what it was like to watch the Irish players bow their heads during the national anthem and eschew handshakes, with the Irish coach turning his back to the field, Peretz says “it all stems from ignorance.” He indicates that some of the Irish players did want to understand the situation Israel is in, but overall, “they expressed a view without understanding the situation. That’s on them; they are grown-ups.”

For the Israeli team, “we need to focus on the soccer — that was what we were most lacking today.” Peretz says. “We need to look hard at ourselves in the mirror.”