Ben Haim wants the last laugh
Tal Ben Haim has shared some dressing-room banter with Chelsea team-mates John Terry and Ashley Cole ahead of tomorrow's clash at Wembley and he could be forgiven for detecting a nervous quality in the England duo's laughter.
Happy for Israel to assume the underdog role, Ben Haim left the impression that the likes of Terry and Cole, along with Joe Cole and the injured Frank Lampard, are not so comfortable with the tag of favourites.
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Wembley banter: Ben Haim has been baiting his Chelsea colleagues
"Of course we have a few jokes about the game, but all in a good mood," said Ben Haim.
Baiting his club colleagues that Israel can cause a major upset, Ben Haim said of Terry and Cole's response: "They started to laugh, and they know that it is a very hard game.
"They need the points, so they can make jokes before the game — but in the match, there will be no favours."
Not that defender Ben Haim is underestimating the task in hand, but neither is he ruling out Israel's chances of putting a large dent in England's hopes of making Euro 2008.
He said: "England have a lot of injuries, but we will still face a fantastic team, so it is going to be very hard for us.
"But in one game, you never know. I think England are confident, but we have our target as well.
"We have some players who play for big teams in Europe.
"Hopefully, our mentality will be good, the spirit will be good and we will play like a team."
