At Israel’s first FIFA World Cup match in over 50 years, over 4,000 Jewish Argentines turned out to support them, occasionally singing songs in Spanish.
The Israeli squad lost to Colombia by a razor-thin margin in the last seconds, and the audience’s joyous mood was dampened when a Palestinian flag appeared in the crowd.
Israel suffered a 2-1 defeat on Sunday in the opening game of the U-20 World Cup, which features the best young soccer players in the world. after an Israel-dominated first half, Colombian fans in a Colombian fan section waved a Palestinian flag when their team scored the game’s first goal.
Police eventually intervened and evicted the Palestinian flag holders. Nearby Israel supporters in the stands started shouting at the flag bearer, stating, “This is not politics; this is soccer.”
Israel last competed in the World Cup in 1970, defeating Sweden and scoring one goal. Dor Turgeman converted a penalty kick for Israel in Sunday’s 56th minute of the game.
In response, Colombia scored on a penalty kick and added another goal right before the game ended.
The Israel Football Association did appreciate the “over 4,000 fans” who came out to cheer on the Israeli team.
The team’s subsequent matches are against Senegal on Wednesday and Japan on Saturday; the two teams with the best group-stage finishes will be played.
Israel’s participation had drawn criticism from the former host nation Indonesia, which claimed that it had agreed to host the competition before being informed that Israel would qualify.
In retaliation, FIFA, the international soccer governing body that oversees the World Cup and its associated competitions, revoked Indonesia’s hosting rights in March and relocated the event to Argentina.
This nation is home to nearly 200,000 Jews.
Israeli midfielder El Yam Kancepolsky told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency last week, “We came here to win the trophy.”
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