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Over the last couple of years, Israeli football has become a very attractive market for European clubs. More and more players attract the interest of top clubs in Europe’s professional leagues. With Israel hosting the U17 European Championship last year, doing a good job in the U21 matches and a fantastic U19 squad, the future for the Israeli national teams looks even brighter.
This tactical analysis, in form of a scout report, will take a look at three key players from Israel, with a specific focus on the respective roles they play in the tactics of their teams.
Standing at 170 cm, Manor Solomon is not a very physically dominant player. However, with Manor’s style of play, he does not need much height or strength as he relies on his pace and a low centre of gravity to beat his opponents. He is best used as a wide playmaker, with these types of players getting regularly involved in possession with frequent reception in the halfspace.
A moderate level of chance creation can come from wide areas with a high number of chances also created in central areas. This type of attacker does not perform a high number of crosses or dribbles into the middle of the pitch, although they can produce a moderate amount of chance creation from central areas.
As stated previously, Manor Solomon is a very pacy player over both short and long distances. The player in the short distances can quick, short bursts of pace. On the ball, Manor’s pace is no different as he was very quick with the ball at his feet, combine that with his superb and confident dribbling ability, Manor Solomon is a big problem for the opposition’s defenders.
Defensively, Solomon does not seem to work as hard as he could to win the ball back, as he is very lethargic to press his opponent and very reluctant to put in a tackle. He does not seem to have much desire in defensive situations to press and tackle opponents and sometimes leaves his left-back to deal with two players at once.
Offensively, he makes bursts of effort where he would fade in and out of the game. In counterattacks, he utilizes his pace and gives full effort to be an option for his attack. In transitional plays, however, he only really comes to life if he is playing in the central area of the field or has the ball at his feet.
Manor Solomon is a very confident and comfortable player on the ball which makes him an excellent dribbler. Solomon uses his side foot well to pass or to control the ball, as most of his passes come from the side of his foot. He utilises this in his dribbling effectively too, as he would push it from his right foot onto his left before pushing forward to take it past the defenders, which works on most occasions. The player has great control on both feet, with few bad first touches in his play. His confidence on the ball shows up in tight spaces as he does not shy away from trying to take on one or more opponents.
Although he fades in and out of the matches, when involved, he proves to be an intelligent player that makes the right decisions, especially in the centre of the pitch. Although in the centre of the pitch, he is able to make quick, intelligent decisions, on the wing he sometimes seems hesitant and reluctant to make a decision.
Liel Abada is a 21-year-old winger. Abada is listed at 168 cm and he is predominantly right-footed, but he is comfortable using his left foot regularly. In the Celtic system, he is mostly used as a right-winger in 4-2-3-1 formation. His best role is playing as a classic winger.
Classic Wingers regularly create chances in possession from wide areas rather than in the middle of the pitch. They are also inclined to perform a high number of crosses that are near the opposition’s byline. Players within this category are mostly involved in wide areas and do not shoot from outside the penalty area on a regular basis.
He is extremely fast and can attack the central areas by making runs from wide positions. That way, he draws the full-back wide and opens a passing lane for a teammate to make a killer pass. It is hard to mark him because of his well-timed runs at such high speed.
When he cuts inside onto his left foot, he is always focused on a goal and looks to attempt a shot. The problem with that is that most of his shots end up getting blocked because he doesn’t get rid of the opponents and goes into the crowd where there is less space for shots to pass through. Not only that, but it seems that defenders are aware of this tendency and engage fully in blocking him because he’ll rarely decide on doing something different. Abada moves intelligently inside the penalty area, and he knows how to get into good spots to score goals.
Abada has a good first touch and solid reception skills which help him often to turn at the opponent quickly and drive with the ball towards the goal. It’s in this way that he creates crossing situations for himself on the flank or shooting opportunities when receiving in central areas.
His pace allows him to drive to the byline and create cutback opportunities for himself. Abada has a variety of crosses and often will chip the ball towards the far post when reaching the touchline, but he is also capable of finding his teammates with cutback passes. It seems that he has better cross accuracy when executing the cross from a static position rather than while running at speed.
He has good vision and weights his passes well, but just like with shooting situations in the previous section, he needs to make better passing decisions which will lead to better chances and also to fewer errors with his passes.
Even though Abada has weak body strength and doesn’t win many defensive duels, he can play with high intensity and put instant pressure on the opponents preventing them from having too much time on the ball. It is still a work in progress for him, but he surely can fit in high-pressing systems.
Oscar Gloukh is an 18-year-old attacking midfielder already playing for Red Bull Salzburg’s first team. He led the Israeli Under-19 national team to the final in the UEFA Under-19 Championship and was one of the best players throughout the whole tournament.
The Israeli player is strong with both his feet and is considered ambidextrous. He is an advanced playmaker. Advanced playmakers register a high number of passes into the final third in matches they play as well as directly creating chances in possession. Players within this role tend not to perform a high number of defensive actions including recoveries in their own final third in favour of a more creative role on the ball.
The 18-year-old stands at 170 cm making him not successful in aerial duels. Gloukh struggles a bit against physical players but can use his agility and dribbling skills to overcome them. Besides that, he makes good use of his pace and acceleration to succeed even when under pressure. He also shows the ability to quickly change direction using quick footwork.
Gloukh is a very technical player showing great ball control and dribbling qualities. He can beat opponents in 1v1 situations and is very composed. Since he is ambidextrous, he is quite unpredictable and a constant threat in the attack.
His finishing ability is also consistent, allowing him to capitalize when presented with a good opportunity. The Israeli player is very intelligent both with and without the ball. He is always communicating with his teammates and is capable of creating space for them.
Gloukh also makes good runs in behind and overall has a very strong sense of positioning. He is always assessing his surroundings and uses his vision to play brilliant passes for runs. He is a playmaker and never panics with the ball on his feet. Gloukh’s passing skills are very good, both short and long-range, which combined with his great vision allow him to link up with his teammates very nicely.
He also commits defensively when needed. All in all, Gloukh has made quite the impression after leading the Israeli squad to the first UEFA final ever across all their teams. Oscar Gloukh has the potential to become a very good attacking midfielder in the future, playing for a top European club. He already exhibits great tactical intelligence and is able to combine this trait with his strengths on the ball to succeed. He needs to improve the way he uses his physique, even though his great decision-making allows him to quickly adapt and overcome his opponents.
Israeli football has a bright future. The upcoming generation is filled with great footballers on and off the ball. Manor Solomon, Liel Abada and Oscar Gloukh are just three interesting players out of a new generation. They are role models for the U17 and U19 players who wait to make their move to European top clubs too.
However, due to strict regulations, it remains to be seen whether Israeli players will be a big part of European top football in future. Currently, clubs in Israel are allowed to only have six foreign players in their squad, which is why they try to make sure to hold their talents in order to have the best sporting team possible under these regulations.
20-year old analyst from Germany. I am currently studying football management as I aspire to work in elite football.
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