Tonight in Reykjavík, Hapoel Be'er Sheva will try to do something the club has never managed: reach the group phase of the Champions League. Kickoff against Víkingur Reykjavík is set for 22:00 Israel time (19:00 UTC), the first leg of a second qualifying round tie that will decide whether Israel's champions move a step closer to Europe's top table or are diverted, as so often before, toward the Europa League instead.
Be'er Sheva travel as reigning champions of Israel, having beaten Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-2 in May to clinch the 2025-26 Ligat Ha'al title under manager Ran Kojok. The club rewarded him afterwards with a new two-year contract, with reported bonuses tied to how far the team goes in Europe this summer.
That title put them in the Champions Path of this year's qualifiers, and it is not the first time Be'er Sheva have come close without completing the job. Their high-water mark remains 2016-17, when Barak Bakhar's side eliminated Sheriff Tiraspol and then Olympiacos before losing the play-off round 5-4 on aggregate to Celtic - a 2-0 win at home wiped out by a 5-2 defeat at Celtic Park that kept them out of the Champions League proper. No campaign since, including this one, has got them further.
Standing in the way now are Víkingur Reykjavík, Iceland's champions, who arrive unbeaten in 23 matches across all competitions - 19 wins and four draws - since a 4-2 defeat to Stjarnan Garðabær last August. They are not easybeats either: they eliminated Hungary's ETO Győr 3-2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round to reach this stage.
Be'er Sheva's build-up has been bumpy. They opened the season by losing the Israeli Super Cup 3-1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv on July 16, with Sayed Abu Farchi scoring twice and Dor Peretz adding a third; Be'er Sheva's only reply came from a backheeled finish by midfielder Kings Kangwa.
Kangwa's own future adds to the uncertainty. The Zambian international was voted the Israeli league's Footballer of the Year for 2025-26 after scoring 12 goals, and Greek club AEK Athens have reportedly offered around €4 million for a player who joined from Red Star Belgrade only two years ago. Nothing is signed yet, and Be'er Sheva will need him sharp in Reykjavík regardless of how the transfer saga ends.
There is also, by now, a familiar complication that has nothing to do with form. UEFA's ban on staging matches inside Israel, imposed in October 2023 and reconfirmed as recently as this February, remains in force, so the return leg on July 28 will again be played away from Turner Stadium and Israeli soil, as with every European tie Israeli clubs have played since.
A defeat would not end Be'er Sheva's European season outright - as with previous Champions Path losers, elimination sends the team into the Europa League play-off round - but that has always been the consolation, not the point, on nights like this.
For a club whose supporters have waited a decade to turn near-misses in Europe into something more, kickoff in Reykjavík is where that particular dream either survives a little longer or is deferred again.
