Israel Men’s Volleyball Team Beats Sweden to Stay Perfect in European League

Israel’s men’s volleyball team kept its perfect record alive on Saturday night, defeating Sweden 3-1 in the European League tournament in North Macedonia. The set scores were 25-16, 25-20, 22-25 and 25-11. The win gave Israel four victories in four matches and strengthened its position in the standings in the race to qualify for the European Championship, to which the top four teams in the group advance.

The result followed a tense 3-2 win over Norway last weekend, a match in which Israel dropped a point. After the Sweden match, Israel now turns to the next tournament weekend in Kosovo, where it will face the host nation and North Macedonia.

Coach Itamar Stein praised the team’s response after the Norway game. “I’m very pleased,” he said, noting that the loss of two sets to Norway clearly affected Israel’s third set against Sweden, but that the fourth-set response was “amazing.” He added, “I have no words to describe this group. I am proud of them and love them.”

Stein said it was a “very successful weekend” and that his team finished with “four wins out of four games.” He also said Sweden was a high-quality opponent that had beaten Greece only a week earlier. Looking ahead, Stein said Israel’s goal is to recover well, train properly during the week and arrive in Kosovo with “one clear goal, to get six points,” while stressing that European Championship qualification is not fully in Israel’s control.