“I didn’t think I’d ever be able play them on anything other than PlayStation,” said Israel’s Munas Dabbur, whose dream of facing the stars of Spain and Italy will come true when the European qualifying competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ gets under way.
In an exclusive interview with FIFA.com, Dabbur spoke of his determination to keep his place in the national team and to lift his game in the weeks to come to ensure he will be facing the Italians when Israel’s Group G campaign begins on 5 September. “I can’t wait for the opening match. I’ve been thinking a lot about that game and coming up against a goalkeeper like Gianluigi Buffon and Italy’s famous defenders. I’ll be at my very best against them. Names like that can only motivate you and I’ll be trying to find the back of the net.”
European travels
Dabbur began his career with Maccabi Nazareth, where he made his league debut as a mere 17-year-old. In 2011 he made the move to Maccabi Tel Aviv, winning the Israeli championship in his second season with the club. A year and a half later came another switch, this time to Europe and Swiss club Grasshopper Club Zurich, where he quickly settled in despite being on his own.
“I know how tough life can be when you go abroad and have to adapt to the level of football in Europe, especially in the middle of the season,” he explained. “I realised that all that mattered was scoring goals. I managed to get eight in my first nine matches, and it didn’t take long for my team-mates, the supporters and the people of the city to adopt me.”  
In a season in which the Zurich side finished second behind Basel, the Israeli racked up nine goals and four assists in 15 matches, 14 of which he started.
The goals kept coming the following season, the Israeli striker top-scoring for his side with 13 in 36 league games, all but four of them starts. The league’s fifth-highest marksmen, he also served up an impressive eight assists.
I can’t wait for the opening match. I’ve been thinking a lot about that game and coming up against a goalkeeper like Gianluigi Buffon and Italy’s famous defenders.
Israel forward Munas Dabbur looks forward to Russia 2018 qualifiers
Reflecting on his role, he said: “When you’re a professional, you have to keep on progressing, and even when I’ve not been leading the attack, I’ve been able to improve my game, thanks to the coach with his instructions and my team-mates with their help.”
Maintaining his high standards this season, Dabbur topped the Swiss scoring charts with 19 goals and also chalked up the league’s third-highest number of assists with 13. It was statistics such as those that persuaded Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg to sign him up on a five-year contract before the season was out.
“I wanted to end the season with Grasshoppers and help the team qualify for the Europa League,” he explained. “In the end, I left with the club safely qualified for the competition. I’ll be trying to perform at the same level for Salzburg, and I can’t wait to play in the Champions League qualifying matches at the start of the season. It would be great to face the top European clubs in the group phase, especially Arsenal, as I’ve been a fan of theirs since I was a boy.”
National duty calls
After showcasing his talent with Israel’s U-21s by scoring eight goals in seven qualifying matches for UEFA EURO U-21 2013, Dabbur earned a deserved call-up to the senior side and made his full international debut in a 4-2 defeat of Honduras in June 2014. His fine performances with Grasshoppers earned him a place in the Israel set-up for the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers, in which he made three consecutive appearances, scoring in the 4-0 win over Andorra and then appearing in the 0-0 draw with Wales in Cardiff and the 2-1 defeat to Cyprus, which put paid to Israel’s play-off hopes.
“It was a rewarding and exciting experience,” said the forward. “It’s not every day that you score in a qualifier and come up against stars like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey. Unfortunately, our adventure came to an end, but I hope we can have more success in the qualifiers for the World Cup.”
Israel will contest ten matches in their group, with Dabbur very likely to feature in the team, given his showings with Grasshoppers: “We know it’s a very tight section, and the games against Spain and Italy will be like big finals. It might be the only chance we have to face these two teams and their world-famous players. Everyone dreams of playing against them, and I thought PlayStation would be my only chance to do that. I just can’t wait.”