France ended up with only one point
again as David Trezeguet's sending-off in the second half indirectly triggered
their 1-1 draw with Israel in an action-packed World Cup qualifier at Tel Aviv's
Ramat Gan Arena.
France were aiming to catch up on the points lost at home after three goalless
draws against Israel, Ireland and Switzerland, and opened the scoring after 50
minutes through Trezeguet
But the Juventus striker turned from hero to villain just five minutes later
when he was sent off for a foul on Tal Ben Haim, handing the initiative to
Israel.
The hosts were already brimming with confidence after scoring a last-minute
goal against Ireland at the weekend to snatch a 1-1 draw, and as France were
clinging on for maximum points, Israel claimed another late equaliser thanks to
a header from Walid Badir.
It was another disappointing evening for Les Bleus as, just like against
Switzerland at the Stade de France on Saturday, they dominated possession in the
first half and made enough good chances to score but failed to find the back of
the net.
It all started in the ninth minute with Florent Malouda firing a powerful shot
narrowly wide of the left post.
Benoit Pedretti then had a go eight minutes later but the Marseille midfielder
slipped and failed to adjust his strike.
Trezeguet linked-up well with Sylvain Wiltord in the 30th minute but his shot
slid past the left post, and seven minutes later Bayern Munich's Willy Sagnol
stole the ball off an Israel defender before freeing Wiltord, whose clinical
strike was saved by an in-form Aouate Dudu.
Malouda again tried his luck moments before the break, but five minutes after
the restart, Trezeguet made no mistake with his head from Wiltord's perfect
right-wing cross.
The game then turned on its head when Trezeguet reacted to a tackle by
Ben Haim with an apparent headbutt, and German referee Markus Merk had no
hesitation in showing a yellow card to the Israeli and a red to Trezeguet.
Down to 10 men, France tried to hold on but the first scare came 10 minutes
later when Yossi Benayoun crossed the ball towards Badir, whose shot slid just
wide of Fabien Barthez's left post.
Israel almost equalised in the 76th minute when Barthez came out of his area
but got back in time to make a perfect save from Pini Balili's strike.
Omri Afek then connected with a corner but his header flew over the crossbar,
yet Israel managed to level in the 83rd minute with Badir heading past Barthez
from a good left-wing cross by Adoram Keisi.
The result fires Israel to the top of the group alongside their opponents on
10 points, with both Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland trailing by just a
point and with a game in hand.
Teams
Israel Aouate, Saban, Ben Haim, Gershon, Keisi, Tal (Afek 66),
Badir, Benayoun, Katan, Nimni, Balili.
Subs Not Used: Cohen, Harazi, Revivo, Shivhon, Zandberg, Strul.
Booked: Badir, Ben Haim, Gershon.
Goals: Badir 83.
France Barthez, Sagnol, Boumsong, Givet, Gallas, Vieira,
Pedretti, Diarra, Malouda, Wiltord (Dhorasoo 90), Trezeguet.
Subs Not Used: Coupet, Zebina, Giuly, Henry, Abidal, Marlet.
Sent Off: Trezeguet (55).
Booked: Sagnol.
Goals: Trezeguet 50.
Att: 44,000
Ref: Markus Merk (Germany).
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