Yesterday’s action in the World Cup featured two matches pitting the nations of the Iberian Peninsula (sorry Andorra and Gibraltar, but you don’t count) against two component parts of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. The latter entity had a habit of being on the losing side of major international conflicts, and yesterday proved no different on the football pitch.

The day started with Spain easily defeating a solid Austrian squad, 3-0. The Austrians fought hard and displayed technical skill, but they were simply no match for the deeper and more talented Spaniards. The Spanish victory pained the Zionist’s Guide to the World Cup (ZGWC) for a couple reasons. First, the government that the team implicitly represents has been hypercritical of Israel for many years, even worse since October 7th. Their easy victory over the Austrians could be a harbinger of a serious title run. Second, the Spanish team has a generational talent in the form of........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)