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 result sets up a challenging tie against Red Star Belgrade, who are taking the Israeli champions very seriously ahead of their upcoming clash. Serbian media outlet Meridian highlighted the historical difficulty Serbian teams have faced against Israeli clubs in European qualifiers, noting that no Serbian team has overcome an Israeli opponent in recent years.

Meridian reviewed the last five two-legged encounters between Serbian and Israeli teams in European competitions, all won by the Israeli sides. These include Partizan Belgrade's painful 5-2 home loss to Maccabi Petah Tikva in 2005/2006 despite winning the first leg 2-0, Hapoel Tel Aviv's 3-0 aggregate win over Vojvodina in 2007/2008, Maccabi Tel Aviv's 4-2 aggregate victory against Radnički in 2018/2019, Maccabi Haifa's memorable 5-4 aggregate win over Red Star Belgrade in 2022/2023, and Maccabi Tel Aviv's 4-1 aggregate success against Bačka Topola in 2023/2024.

The article emphasized that Israeli teams have demonstrated strong tactical discipline and the ability to capitalize on even minor mistakes, making them formidable opponents. Red Star now has the opportunity to break this two-decade-long pattern and overcome one of the most frustrating trends in Serbian football history in European competitions. The upcoming matches will be closely watched as Red Star aims to finally defeat an Israeli club on the continental stage.