Ben Haim proud of Israel performance

Tal Ben Haim was in bouyant mood following Israel's 2-1 win over Russia in Group E. The result secured Croatia's place at UEFA EURO 2008™ and also took took qualification out of Russia's hands.

'Delighted'
The 25-year-old central defender said: "I am delighted with the result and our overall performance. We proved to the rest of the world how professional we are. The Russians underestimated us before the match and made some cocky comments which acted in our favour."

Favour
The win also put England's qualification hopes back in their own hands and Ben Haim, who plays in the English Premier League for Chelsea FC, added: "The result is obviously something that has made a lot of my team-mates back at Chelsea very happy and proud. But at the same time, I am very happy with the fact we managed to perform so well and get a well deserved victory in front of our home fans whom we let down by failing to qualify from this campaign."

Optimistic future
Ben Haim, who made his international debut for Israel at the age of 18 against Germany back in 2002, felt better times were to come for Israel in the wake of several youngsters making their first steps at senior level during the qualifying campaign, saying: "Some of the younger players also showed today that they have a lot to offer and that our national team has a bright future."