The Israeli national handball team delivered a massive 31-28 victory over Slovenia in Celje on Saturday, sending shockwaves far beyond the Balkans. Spain’s Mundo Deportivo highlighted the historic match under the headline: "A sensation by Israel against one of Europe's top teams."
A historic upset that shocked European handball
The official website of the European Handball Federation described the result as "the biggest surprise so far in the Euro 2028 qualifiers."
Media in neighboring Montenegro were equally astounded, writing: "Surprises in handball are common, but what happened tonight is a sensation. Not just any sensation - the sensation of the decade. Israel stunned Slovenia in Celje and won 31-28."
Facing a European powerhouse
Slovenia remains a power in international handball, having secured the bronze medal at the 2017 World Championship and reached the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics. Having won all six of their previous encounters against Israel, Slovenia entered as clear favorites, making Israel's away victory all the more remarkable.
The result breathes fresh life into Israel’s qualification campaign following an opening 27-26 loss to Czechia, while snapping Slovenia's six-game winning streak in Euro qualifiers.
Shockwaves and reactions across local media
Slovenian media struggled to process the defeat. Outlets across the country reacted in disbelief, with the Delo website framing the match under the headline: "A black day for Slovenian handball."
Sports news outlet Ekipa offered a scathing assessment: "The players of the Slovenian handball national team, following their fine victory over Bosnia, suffered a rather ugly defeat against Israel. They were pale and uninspired, with no clear guiding line in their game. In the end, they only managed to narrow the gap. If Uros Zorman’s players were pale in the first half, after the break they returned to the court with no pulse. Like zombies. The Israelis smelled blood and built a promising lead. It simply wasn't Slovenia's day; you could see that from a mile away."
Siol.net captured the raw reaction of head coach Uros Zorman, who pulled no punches in assessing his squad's breakdown: "I simply don't have the right answer for our performance. In the first half alone, we made 10 turnovers and missed six certain opportunities. At the start of the second half, the Israelis went on a 5-0 run, and once we fell into such a deficit, we no longer knew how to recover."