Israel's under-18 boys' national handball team steps onto the court in Belgrade on Wednesday for a match its federation has waited years to schedule: a first-ever appearance at a European Championship, opening against Croatia at 13:00 local time.
The occasion is the M18 EHF EURO 2026, hosted by Serbia and running through August 9 with 24 nations split into groups. Israel landed in Group C alongside Croatia, the Czech Republic and Portugal, with the top 14 finishers overall advancing to next year's World Championship.
Getting here was itself the achievement. Israel booked its spot by finishing runner-up in a qualifying tournament in Klaipėda, Lithuania, opening with a commanding 41-23 win over Estonia before a 34-27 loss to the Czech Republic. The group came down to a decider against the hosts, which Israel won 33-32 to lock up second place and the ticket to Serbia.
Captain Yonatan Flach, who plays his club handball at Hapoel Rishon LeZion, carried much of that qualifying run. He was named player of the match twice and finished as the tournament's leading scorer with 36 goals, an average in double figures across the three games.
Coach Dor Rosso struck a measured tone ahead of the opener rather than the bravado of a team simply happy to have arrived. "We arrive humbly to show what we've worked for," he said, according to Sport5. "Our team is composed of good people and fine athletes."
The squad Rosso has built for Belgrade runs 18 players deep, the product of what the federation has described as two years of preparation aimed squarely at reaching this stage - a target the group met when it secured qualification last summer.
After Croatia, Israel closes its group phase against the Czech Republic and Portugal, both kicking off at 13:00 local time, before the standings determine which of the tournament's knockout or placement rounds the team plays into.
The appearance lands alongside a broader run of momentum for Israeli handball at underage level, with the country's reserve squad separately qualifying this year for global-level competition - giving the federation two youth national teams on the road at once, a rare position for a program of Israel's size.
