Game of the weekend? Not in Israel

So forget England and Austria — and certainly Scotland — this is the big game of the weekend. Are they excited in Israel?

Mmm ... more bemused really. Israel are out of the qualifying process and can't really understand all the fuss. There were only seven Israeli journalists at coach Dror Kashtan's press conference yesterday.

Oh, that's rather disappointing. So will there be nobody at the game then?

Don't worry, there will be. The Israelis love football and the Ramat Gan Stadium should be full to its 40,000 capacity. There may even be a few English shirts on show.

Why is that?

Well, there is a significant expat community in Tel Aviv and a good number of them are known to have bought tickets. Also, many Israeli football fans follow the Premiership and have a soft spot for England.

Ah, so we can expect lots of help?

I wouldn't go that far. The coach and his players could not have been more dismissive of England's predicament yesterday. Their view is that England have brought it on themselves. And who can blame them?

Indeed. So do Israel have a chance of getting a result tonight?

They do, but it's slim. In normal circumstances, Kashtan's team would be fancied. They have lost only one competitive game at home in the last five years and have conceded just one goal in Tel Aviv in this whole qualifying process.

So what's the problem?

When you factor in that Israel have nothing to play for, are missing two of their best players — Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun and defender Shimon Gershon — and their coach seems to be in love with Guus Hiddink, then you can see why England fans shouldn't be getting too excited.