Will Tennenbaum be able to receive a summons for the team in September?

Daniel Tenenbaum’s impressive performances in the goal of Maccabi Tel Aviv, which began last season when he finished a full season with only eight goals, make everyone expect a moment when he will be able to be called up to the Israel national team. The Brazilian-Jewish goalkeeper, who is considered Israeli in every way and even completed military service, will close in five months in five full years in Israel, but when will he be able to play for the national team? This is of course the big question.

According to FIFA rules, players who were born in another country and moved to the country they want to represent, must complete five full years of residence in the country they want to play but in terms of counting days, it is not made from the moment the player moved but from civil year to civil year. (A civil year defined by FIFA as at least 183 days). This means that Tennenbaum’s days from the end of August 2016 (signed on 31.8.2016) to 31.12.2016, are not relevant for FIFA’s calculation, as this is only 120 days and not the required quota.

In fact, this means that on paper before January 2022, the goalkeeper will not be able to receive a summons for the Israeli team in terms of FIFA laws. Such a situation of course if touched makes the current World Cup qualifying campaign irrelevant for him. However, if the association builds on Tennenbaum in their close look, they will certainly be able to apply for an early registration, as last January he completed four full years and is now in the midst of completing the fifth year.

In such a situation, if the application for registration for the games is made in September and FIFA approves (it has no reason to oppose according to precedents from different countries), it will certainly be able to become relevant for the team as early as next September. Unfortunately for Willy Rotensteiner due to his wonderful fitness these days, for the first three games of the campaign he will not be able to time, but if they operate in the association in time, it is very possible that the goalkeeper could be available for the game series from September to November 2021.