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Israel's World Cup hopes shattered

September 10, 2013 17:54

ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro

1 min read

Israel's World Cup dream suffered a fatal blow as they were beaten 3-1 by Fabio Capello's Russia in St Petersburg on Tuesday afternoon.

Having drawn 1-1 at home to Azerbaijan on Saturday, Israel needed to win to keep alive their Group F playoff hopes, but they had no answer to the power and technical ability of the Russians.

The match came to life in the second half when experienced defender Vasily Berezutsky produced an excellent run and finish following a neat in a one-two with Roman Shirokov after 49 minutes.

Israel's fate was sealed three minutes later as Kokorin smashed the ball past Dudu Awat from just outside the box.