Israel soccer captain Eli Dasa used an opportunity to speak at a news conference to show the shoe of a young boy who he says was kidnapped by Hamas militants during their Oct. 7 terror attack.
Dasa showed the shoe in an act of solidarity with Israelis who are being held captive in Gaza.
“It is hard to speak at the moment, but I don’t think that any of you can guess what is the story behind this shoe,” Dasa said.
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Dasa was with his Israeli teammates in Felcsut, Hungary, ahead of a Euro 2024 qualifying match against Switzerland on Wednesday. They are set to face Romania on Saturday as well.
“That’s all what’s left from his house,” Dasa continued, showing the Adidas shoe from the small community of Be’eri kibbutz in Israel. “This left shoe. We wait for him here.”
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At that point, Dasa stood up and left the news conference.
The shoe belonged to 8-year-old Nave Shoham, who was kidnapped along with his relatives, according to the Israeli team’s press officer, Eitan Dotan. Three members of Shoham’s family were killed during the attack.
“Bring them home!” was seen on a banner in English and Hebrew within Pancho Arena where Israel held their practice on Tuesday.
The matches against Switzerland and Romania were supposed to be played in Tel Aviv. However, UEFA suspended all games in Israel due to obvious security concerns.
“We represent our country, not only the national team,” head coach Alon Hazan said while discussing the emotions the team felt heading into the match against Switzerland.
Israel is looking to qualify for the Euro 2024 continental championship, which would be its first appearance since 1994 when they joined UEFA.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
