Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz drew widespread British media attention over the weekend after helping Southampton, a club from England’s second-tier Championship, defeat Arsenal 2-1 in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The result was treated in Britain as a major upset. Arsenal is one of England’s biggest clubs and a Premier League contender, while Southampton’s victory sent it to the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, England’s national stadium.
Peretz, who is on loan at Southampton from Bayern Munich, stood at the center of the coverage for two reasons: his performance in the win and a widely read interview published before the match.
The strongest UK coverage came from The Guardian, which published an in-depth interview with Peretz ahead of the game. In it, the Israeli international spoke about Southampton’s confidence before facing Arsenal, concern for family members in Tel Aviv living under the threat of air raid sirens, and football’s role as a source of focus during wartime.
“We have a lot of respect for Arsenal, but we are not afraid,” Peretz told The Guardian. “If someone does not believing 100%, then he should not come to the game.”
He also described the strain of following events in Israel while continuing his career abroad, saying football had become “a really good therapy” and a way to make Israelis proud.
The interview gave British readers a broader picture of Peretz beyond the match itself. He spoke about admiring Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, training alongside England captain Harry Kane, and making his Champions League debut, while also indicating that his long-term future would likely depend on how Southampton’s season ends. Reports noted that Southampton holds a reported buy option on the goalkeeper.
Pertz’s composure helps Southhampton beat Arsenal
After the match, British reports highlighted Peretz’s composure and several important saves as Southampton absorbed late Arsenal pressure to reach the final four of England’s oldest and most prestigious knockout soccer competition. His display was presented as one of the important factors in Southampton’s win and in the club’s growing belief during its strong recent run.
A secondary media angle centered on Peretz’s marriage to Israeli singer Noa Kirel, one of Israel’s best-known pop stars and a Eurovision star. British tabloid coverage leaned heavily into that aspect of the story, with The Sun revisiting Peretz’s account of first noticing Kirel while watching the Eurovision Song Contest and later marrying her in November 2025.
Several reports repeated an Israeli media comparison of the couple to David and Victoria Beckham, the former England soccer star and the pop singer-turned-fashion figure once known globally as “Posh Spice.” In that framing, Peretz and Kirel were described as “Israel’s Posh and Becks,” a British shorthand that would immediately be recognized as referring to a high-profile celebrity sports couple.
That celebrity angle added another layer to a weekend in which Peretz emerged as one of the more talked-about figures in British football coverage. The attention reflected both the scale of Southampton’s result and Peretz’s growing profile at the club, where he has increasingly been portrayed as an important figure in the push for promotion to the Premier League and in the team’s FA Cup run.
For Peretz, the weekend marked a rare moment in which an Israeli soccer player stood at the center of a major British sports story, driven by a standout cup upset, a strong personal interview, and public fascination with a marriage that has made the couple one of Israel’s most recognizable celebrity pairings.
Source:
www.jpost.com
