Northern Ireland v Israel

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

On behalf of the Irish Football Association it gives me great pleasure to welcome the officials, players and supporters of Israel to the National Football Stadium in our capital city of Belfast for this International Challenge Match.

Both countries have commenced their campaigns in the UEFA Nations League, with Northern Ireland somehow losing to Bosnia & Herzegovina by two goals to one at home in League B Group 3 on Saturday despite dominating the game, while Israel travelled to Albania in League C the night before and lost 1-0. It was not the ideal start for us, or for Israel, but I am confident we will bounce back quickly. The next series of games will take place in mid- October and both of Northern Ireland’s fixtures are away from home, first against Austria and then Bosnia & Herzegovina over the same weekend. There have been nine internationals to date between Northern Ireland and Israel, the first one being on 10 September 1968. It was the first of five friendly fixtures and four FIFA World Cup qualifiers played between the countries over the ensuing 50 years.

The stand-out one for Northern Ireland supporters is the first occasion Israel came to Belfast in November 1981 when Gerry Armstrong scored a 27th minute winner as the country qualified for Mundial ‘82 in front of 40,000 people. This evening’s match affords both managers the opportunity to further their plans to qualify for Euro 2020 whether through the Nations League or directly from the Euro qualifying groups, the draw for which will take place in Dublin on 2 December. The support for our team continues to be magnificent and we all look forward to more of the same tonight. I hope that you enjoy another exciting game and have a safe journey home. David J Martin President Irish Football Association

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