Israel believe they can win in Dublin

World Cup: After a three-day stop-off in England for acclimatisation, Avraham Grant will arrive in Dublin this Thursday for a key World Cup qualifier against Ireland that the Israeli manager and some of his leading players are adamant they can win.

Ahead of the trip Grant was clearly drawing some inspiration from the fact that the travelling party will stay at the Burlington Hotel on Dublin's southside, the venue for last year's marathon fixtures meeting at which the positions adopted by the representatives of a couple of the competing nations, including Ireland, left the Israeli delegation frustrated and annoyed.

"Ireland and France fought to play us first," said Grant before leaving for England in reference to that day's events. "They thought we were a weak team, they didn't count us. Now they have learned they were wrong.

"The Irish haven't lost in Dublin for years," he continued, "but we won't be giving in. Against France in the first game of the campaign in Paris (a goalless draw) nobody gave us a chance, but now we are in a dream."

"We are equal to all the big teams in Europe," added the coach whose team has yet to be beaten in a Group Four game but who nevertheless need to beat Ireland after dropping points to the Swiss, French and Irish at home.

"Our opponents no longer feel they have an advantage over us," he said, "and with four rounds to go we want to complete the mission."

On a more conciliatory note he continued, "Ireland is a model for me but I don't want us to be considered underdogs. Two months ago in the match in Israel, Ireland was the favourite but we stood as equals against them. We intend to do that again this Saturday.

"The major difference is they will be playing at home, where they haven't lost a match for a long time and they will enjoy the support of their fans but at the same time that could put them under pressure. In any case, some of our players are used to playing in front of such crowds and I don't think it will cause us any problems,"

Grant will be without two important players for the match with both Tan Ben Haim of Bolton and Maccabi Haifa's Walid Badier out through suspension while there is also concern over the fitness of Turkish-based striker Pini Balili who picked up a thigh strain in Kayserispor's final game of the season over the weekend and who has since had an MRI scan to assess the damage.

It is expected to be another day or two before a decision is taken on the striker's prospects of playing this weekend but Balili remained upbeat about his side's chances in Dublin, observing: "I believe that we can win in Ireland. In the Champions Cup final we saw everything is possible. We are inspired by Liverpool's comeback because nobody believed it is possible for them to win but they did it.

"In the current campaign," he said, "we proved everything is possible. It will be a failure not to reach the World Cup. We need to concentrate on the game in Ireland and we believe that we can come back with the win."