Israel's Under-21 soccer team pulled off a highly improbable win over the Czech Republic, bringing the Israelis a ticket to the European Championship quarterfinals.
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Israel kicked off the match Wednesday at the bottom of its group, which also included group leaders England and defending champions Germany. Israel had to beat the Czechs and hope that Germany would suffer defeat at the hands of England, who had already qualified.
After tying with Germany and losing to England, the team needed a win and a German loss to continue in the tournament.
Omri Gandelman netted in the 82nd minute that helped Israel grind out a 1-0 victory. England's 2-0 win over Germany 2-0 saw the Israelis leapfrog into second place and qualify for the quarter-finals.
When Israel qualified last autumn, few expected Israel's young players to perform as well as they have. The victory follows Israel's surprising success in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, in which it came in third.
Although soccer is the most popular sport in Israel, the country has only made one World Cup appearance – in 1970. The recent success, which included defeating Brazil, has captured the hearts of fans for the youth team's perseverance and heart.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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