Under-21 Soccer: Heartbreak for Israel's youngsters

Two stunners from Balotelli give Italy's Under-21s a 3-1 playoff win.

By ALLON SINAI
omri canada 88 (photo credit: )
omri canada 88
(photo credit: )
So near, but yet so far away. A stunning brace by Mario Balotelli helped Italy to a well-deserved 3-1 victory at Bloomfield Stadium on Wednesday night and ended Israel's hopes of reaching a second straight European Under-21 Championships. The Italians, and especially Balotelli, were a class apart from their Israeli counterparts, dominating the encounter from the first whistle until the very last. After recording a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Ancona on Saturday, Israel had hoped it could claim a famous victory at home and stun Italy in the playoffs just as it did France two years ago. At no stage of the match, however, was there any doubt of which was the better team and Israel could have no complaints. "We returned from Italy with a good result and I'm disappointed with tonight's final score line," coach Moti Ivanir said. "I salute Balotelli on his first goal, but the second goal was our fault. I'm very proud of my players who gave their all, but we can't afford to concede such goals at this level." It took Balotelli just four minutes to show why he's considered to be one of the future stars of world soccer. His free kick from 30 meters out was as good a shot as Bloomfield has seen for a long time and gave Israel goalkeeper Ohad Levita absolutely no chance. The Inter Milan striker's second goal in the 25th minute was almost as good, picking up the ball 20 meters from goal before blasting the ball beyond a helpless Levita. Toto Tamuz gave the hosts some hope in the 54th minute, scoring the rebound from his missed penalty. But Ignazio Abate ended Israel's resistance 20 minutes later and sealed Italy's place in next summer's championships. Italy hit the ground running and pushed forward right from the kickoff in search of the crucial away goal. After just two minutes Luca Cigarini released a powerful free kick from 30 meters out which found Levita well placed. Less than 30 seconds later, Davide Lanzafame should have done much better from five meters out, but blasted his shot over the goal to the relief of the fans in the jam-packed Bloomfield. The relief would be short lived, however, after a sublime goal by Balotelli a minute later. The 18-year-old struck an unstoppable free kick from 30 meters out, a killer blow to Israel's hopes, especially so early on in the match. It took the hosts five minutes to recover from the initial shock and push for an equalizer, but the Italians superiority was never under any doubt and Israel was only still in the tie at the break thanks to some good fortune. Ghanaian-born striker Balotelli was then given far too much time on the edge of the box and his shot from 20 meters out was far too hot for Levita to handle. The hosts now needed three goals if they were to book their place at the European Championships, but despite their best efforts never really troubled Italian 'keeper Andrea Consigli during the first 45 minutes of the encounter. Ivanir introduced strikers Yuval Avidor and Tal Ben-Haim at the start of the second half, but it was the Italians who registered the first chance after the interval, with Lanzafame's header only being denied by the upright. In the 54th minute, however, Ivanir's substitution paid off after Avidor was brought down in the box, handing Israel a lifeline. Tamuz's penalty kick was saved, but the Betar Jerusalem striker was first to the rebound and gave the hosts some hope. The goal encouraged Ivanir's men to continue fighting and all the team went forward in search for the second goal. The well organized Italians never lost their composure, however, and wrapped up the tie in the 75th minute. Abate, who terrorized the Israel defense all night long, took advantage of the fact that all of Israel's players were in the Italian half of the pitch, and ran untouched from the center of the field to score the goal he deserved and clinch the tie.