Israel's Maccabi Haifa soccer club on Tuesday advanced to the Champions League group stage for the first time in over a decade, beating Serbia's Red Star Belgrade 5-4 on aggregate in the Balkan country.
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Following a thrilling 3-2 win at Sammy Ofer Stadium in the northern Israel city of Haifa last week, Maccabi's win came in dramatic style on a 90th-minute own-goal from the Serbian side, clinching the 2-2 tie.
It will be Maccabi Haifa's third-ever appearance in the group stage, and the first for an Israeli team since Maccabi Tel Aviv's run in 2015. Haifa found itself in a hole early after a goal in the 27th minute and another score 15 minutes later, going down 2-0.
Cause our sky full of stars ✨⚽️#ucl pic.twitter.com/agxitl7kd7
— Maccabi Haifa FC (@mhfootballclub) August 23, 2022
But seconds after an Israeli penalty shot was blocked, Maccabi defender Daniel Sundgren sent a strike from almost 100 feet out to make the score 2-1 heading into halftime. As a scoreless second half came to a close and the teams headed to a tie on aggregate – the combined number of goals scored over two or more games – a corner kick by Maccabi's Omer Atzili was awkwardly deflected by a Serbian player, sending it into his own net to give Israel the lead and the win.
"You've brought great pride to all Israelis," Israel's Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a congratulatory message to the team. "We'll be crossing our fingers for you in the Champions League."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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