Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel, and Maccabi Tel Aviv Advance in European Football Qualifiers

On July 30, 2026, three major Israeli football clubs, Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Maccabi Tel Aviv, secured advancement to the next rounds of European competitions. Beitar Jerusalem progressed after a tense penalty shootout against AEK Larnaca in Cyprus. Despite winning the first leg 1-0, Beitar faced a challenging away match, falling behind twice before Oded Azili scored a remarkable long-range goal to equalize. The match ended 3-3 after extra time, leading to penalties where Beitar prevailed thanks to goalkeeper Miguel Silva's two saves. Their next opponent will be Austria Vienna.

Maccabi Tel Aviv comfortably advanced in the Europa League qualifiers with a dominant 6-0 aggregate win over Sheriff Tiraspol from Moldova. After a 5-0 first-leg victory, Maccabi controlled the second leg in Batumi, Georgia, where an own goal by Samba Kone sealed the win. This victory guarantees Maccabi a place in the third qualifying round and at least the playoff round of the Conference League, keeping their hopes alive for European group stage football this winter.

Hapoel Tel Aviv also moved forward in the Conference League qualifiers by defeating Bulgarian champions Ludogorets. After a 2-0 first-leg win, Hapoel took an early lead in the second leg through Emmanuel Boateng, assisted by Omri Altman. Although Ludogorets briefly equalized, Boateng scored again to secure a 4-2 aggregate victory. Additionally, Oscar Gloch scored a hat-trick for Ajax in their 4-1 win over Serbian side Vojvodina, advancing in the Conference League qualifiers as well.

These results mark a successful European campaign start for Israeli clubs, with all three teams advancing to the next stages of their respective competitions.