Israel’s team celebrates after Dor Turgeman (third from left) scored the opening goal at the 2023 U-21 European Championship preliminary round match against Germany. Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa via Reuters Connect

Israel’s Under-21 soccer team qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2023 European Championship with a shocking 1-0 win against the Czech Republic on Wednesday, continuing a remarkable wave of recent football success for the Jewish state on the world stage.

Israeli soccer player Omri Gandelman scored his team’s only goal in the 82nd minute with a close-range shot to the bottom right corner at the Ramaz Shengelia Stadium in Kutaisi, Georgia to secure victory in the Group C matchup.

In previous matches, Israel lost to England 2-0 on Sunday and tied with Germany 1-1 days earlier. Israel needed a win and for Germany to lose its next match in order to continue in the tournament — which is what happened on Wednesday. As Israel celebrated its victory, England beat Germany 2-0.

Beyond Israel, the countries that have qualified for the European Championship quarterfinals are Spain, Switzerland, England, Portugal, France, Ukraine, and host country Georgia.

Israel will go head-to-head against Georgia in the quarterfinals on Saturday and, if victorious, then advance to the semifinals next week. The final is set to take place next weekend at the Batumi Arena in Georgia.

The team’s win on Wednesday follows the historic success of the Under-20 Israeli soccer team, which won bronze at the World Cup in Argentina earlier this month after defeating South Korea 3-1. The Under-20 team lost to Uruguay 1-0 in the semifinals of the competition but made history when it defeated powerhouse Brazil 3-2 in a quarterfinals match that went into overtime.

The U-20 tournament was originally supposed to be held in Indonesia, but the country was stripped by FIFA of its spot as both host and participant in response to protests in the Muslim-majority nation against hosting the Israeli team.