Red Star Belgrade Faces Tough Challenge Against Hapoel Be'er Sheva in Champions League Qualifiers

Hapoel Be'er Sheva secured a 2-0 victory over Vikingur in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round on July 29, 2026, completing a 3-2 aggregate win. This success sets up a challenging upcoming tie against Red Star Belgrade. Serbian media, including Meridian, emphasize the historical difficulty Serbian clubs have faced against Israeli teams in European competitions, noting that no Serbian team has overcome an Israeli opponent in recent years during two-legged European ties.

The article highlights five recent encounters between Serbian and Israeli clubs in European qualifiers, all won by the Israeli sides. These include Partizan Belgrade's painful 5-2 home loss to Maccabi Petah Tikva in 2005/2006 despite an initial 2-0 away win, Hapoel Tel Aviv's 3-0 aggregate victory over Vojvodina in 2007/2008, Maccabi Tel Aviv's 4-2 aggregate win against Radnički in 2018/2019, Maccabi Haifa's 5-4 aggregate triumph over Red Star Belgrade in 2022/2023, and Maccabi Tel Aviv's 4-1 aggregate success against Bačka Topola in 2023/2024.

Meridian describes this record as "the most frustrating statistic ever" for Serbian football and notes that Israeli teams have demonstrated tactical discipline and the ability to capitalize on even minor mistakes. Red Star now has the opportunity to break this two-decade-long trend against Hapoel Be'er Sheva, aiming to overturn the pattern of Israeli dominance in these matchups.

The upcoming Champions League qualifier between Red Star Belgrade and Hapoel Be'er Sheva is thus seen as a significant and potentially historic encounter for both clubs and their respective football traditions.