Two Israeli-Arabs bring Israel closer to World Cup dream

Abas Suan: I thank god for granting me the opportunity to show everyone that in Israel we are living together... We are not living here in a daily war

The Israel National Football Team is on the up: Two 1-1 draws in last week games against the Republic of Ireland and France maintained Israel's undefeated record, after six matches in their 2006 World Cup qualifying group four. On Wednesday, Walid Badir, the Israeli No. 10, scored his tenth goal for Israel. It was the first goal that France had let in all tournament. Four days earlier, a late goal of Abas Suan had earned Israel another draw against Ireland in front of a sell-out crowd of 44,000 at National Stadium in Ramat Gan. It had looked bad for Israel when Clinton Morrison banged in the opening goal from a nearly impossible angle in the third minute, but the hosts continued to fight and were saved by Suan's 25-meter blast in injury time.

Haaretz reported that a short while after his spectacular goal, while fighting back his tears, Suan said, "before you congratulate me, I would you like to wish all people in Israel Hag Sameah (happy holiday). This goal is devoted for everyone, so we can all have a happier Purim... I thank God for granting me the opportunity to show everyone that in Israel we are living together, we must stop talking about Jews and Arabs separately".  In an interview to Ynet, the Captain of Bnei Sakhnin's team stated, "All people must realize we are not living here in Israel in a daily war. Through the football we can make the world understand that they have wrong opinion about Israel." 

Further details about both games can be found on these links (1 / 2 / 3 / 4)