North Macedonia beat Israel 3:0 at the CEV European Championship on 2026-09-16. The hosts moved into fifth place on 3 points, while the visitors dropped further to sixth on 2. It was a clean victory, and by then the pattern of this tournament was becoming clear.
For us it was a missed call. We had backed Israel at 71% confidence, but the match went the other way. North Macedonia, who had lost their previous four games including a 0:3 defeat to Israel back in June, found something different today. The visitors simply could not find their rhythm.
The recent form told its own story. North Macedonia had fallen to Portugal 0:3 and Poland 0:3 in their last two outings before a 3:0 win over Ukraine. Israel, meanwhile, had taken points from Bulgaria 3:1 and Portugal 3:2 but lost heavily to Poland. Against each other, the hosts had the edge. They always do at home.
Both sides sit near the bottom of the table after five matches. North Macedonia with 3 points, Israel with 2. The gap is small, but the momentum has shifted. One win changes everything in a tournament like this. The runners are chasing, not the leaders.
What matters now is where this puts them going forward. Five matches played, four defeats for both, but the hosts have picked up an extra point. In a competition where every set counts, that difference could prove decisive. The table goes out of the window in these games, but the feeling on the court stays with you.
