Israel is not in the World Cup this year, which gives Israeli fans a rare and strangely liberating opportunity: they can watch without heartbreak arriving in the 87th minute.

No calculators. No goal-difference anxiety. No “mathematically still alive” delusions. No heroic loss that everyone insists was actually encouraging.

But that does not mean Israelis will watch as neutrals.

Neutrality has never been one of the region’s strongest instincts. Israelis can turn a parking dispute into a seminar on justice and a hummus recommendation into a matter of national identity. So, of course, when the World Cup begins, many will still need a team.

The question is not only who deserves their borrowed loyalty.

It is also how they should cheer.

The Easy Answer: Argentina

The obvious answer is Argentina, because half of Israel seems to have loved Argentina since before they loved football.

For many Israeli fans, Argentina is not just a team. It is childhood, blue-and-white stripes, Maradona mythology, Messi poetry, and the belief that beauty can still appear in a hard world. Argentina is always a defensible Israeli choice. They play with emotion, drama, family dysfunction, and occasional genius.

In other words, they are practically Middle Eastern.

According to FIFA’s current match schedule, Argentina opens against Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City and later faces Jordan on June 27 in Dallas. For Israeli fans looking for drama, poetry, and emotional whiplash, Argentina remains a safe and slightly irrational choice — which is to say, a very familiar one.

Then there are the traditional European powers: France, Spain, England, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Germany.

Israelis will find reasons to root for and against all of them. Some will choose based on club loyalties. Some will choose based on politics. Some will choose based on which country was kindest to them on vacation. Some will root against England simply because English fans seem to believe suffering is a national credential.

But this year, maybe Israelis should resist the easiest choices.

Maybe they should begin with the newcomers.

Four Newcomers Worth Watching

Cape Verde. Curaçao. Jordan. Uzbekistan.

Four countries stepping onto the World Cup stage for the first time. Four sets of players hearing their anthems at a tournament they once watched from far away. That schedule gives Israeli fans a useful World Cup roadmap: four underdogs, four first appearances, four invitations to widen the heart.

Their first matches arrive quickly. Curaçao opens against Germany on June 14 in Houston. Cape Verde plays Spain on June 15 in Atlanta. Jordan faces Austria on June 16 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Uzbekistan meets Colombia on June 17 in Mexico City.

That schedule gives Israeli fans a useful World Cup roadmap: four underdogs, four first appearances, four chances in the first week to root for possibility.

There is something deeply resonant in that story for a small country like Israel.

Israelis know what it means to be small on a large stage. They know what it means to carry a flag others argue about more than they understand. They know the ache of wanting to be seen not as a symbol, not as a headline, and not as a problem to be solved, but as a people with faces,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)