Israel's World Cup Dream Ends with Loss to Latvia
Israel’s World Cup qualifying campaign ended with a thud on Sunday night, a 85-70 loss to Latvia in Riga sealing an August window that yielded two defeats and an official elimination from contention.
It wasn’t just the result. It was the way it slipped away.
Big lead, brutal swing
For a few minutes in the second quarter, Israel looked alive again. Lior Carrera and Netanel Artzi had set the tone early, Eitan Burg came in with energy, and when Guy Palatin and Burg drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second frame, Latvia needed a timeout.
Israel led 40-29. The bench was on its feet. The body language screamed belief.
Then the game turned.
Latvia came out of that stoppage and hit back with a 12-1 run to close the half. The double-digit cushion evaporated. A 41-41 scoreline at the break told the story: Israel had let a golden position slip, and the hosts could smell blood.
Coach Ariel Beit Halachmi didn’t sugarcoat it.
“We started the game well, but toward the end of the second quarter we lost the momentum,” he said. “In the second half, we got into foul trouble, and that changed the momentum of the game. They shot a high percentage from 3-point range and took advantage of the mistakes we made.”
The pressure finally told after halftime.
Artzi opened the third quarter with five straight points, a brief spark that nudged Israel ahead again. Latvia simply answered with more depth, more accuracy and more composure. An 8-2 burst flipped the lead to 49-48, and from there Arturs Strautins took over.
Strautins repeatedly found gaps, piling on points as Latvia stretched the margin to 58-52. Beit Halachmi stopped the game with another timeout, but the hosts never loosened their grip. Strautins stayed hot, and by the end of the third quarter Latvia was in full control at 67-58.
Any hope of a late rally disappeared in the opening minutes of the fourth. Latvia buried three triples in quick succession, the lead ballooning to 76-62 with seven minutes still on the clock. Israel’s offense stalled, the shots dried up, and the comeback that had briefly flickered against Poland two days earlier never materialized.
Yam Madar led Israel with 15 points, Artzi added 11, while Itay Segev and Roman Sorkin each finished with 9. It was nowhere near enough to match Latvia’s rhythm from deep and their ability to punish every defensive lapse.
“We don’t have that luxury”
Beit Halachmi pointed straight at a structural problem that has haunted Israel throughout this qualifying cycle: instability in the roster.
“I think we don’t have the luxury of showing up for international windows without our leading players,” he said. “We were missing quite a few players, and that had an impact. Different players have been available for each window, and it’s difficult to implement a style of play.”
He didn’t stop there.
“Israeli basketball doesn’t have the option of throwing away games; we need everyone with us. Other national teams have been playing with the same roster for a long period of time, but unfortunately, that’s not the case for us.”
There was also a word of appreciation for the hosts.
“This is also the place to thank the Latvian Basketball Association, which has been hosting us here for some time and helping us with everything possible.”
Sorkin, one of the few consistent bright spots over the window, turned the spotlight on the players.
“I can say that from the players’ side, which I’m part of, we have to look better. We can’t look like this. We need to play better,” he said. “I’m speaking about myself right now and not criticizing anyone else. I have no excuses; the only thing I know is that we have to play better and show up differently for games.”
Poland set the tone for a harsh window
By the time Israel tipped off against Latvia, the damage from Friday’s 106-86 loss to Poland was already done.
Poland came out swinging in that opener. Mateusz Ponitka, Jordan Loyd and Aleksander Balcerowski dictated the early tempo, and Israel trailed by eight after the first quarter. The gap widened in the second as Loyd found his rhythm, and Beit Halachmi’s side went into halftime down 55-42.
Israel’s core of Sorkin, Madar and Tamir Blatt tried to drag the team back into it after the break, but Poland’s depth answered every push. Andrzej Pluta and Jarosław Zyskowski shot with confidence and accuracy, stretching the lead again in the third quarter.
Israel finally produced a strong last period, at one point threatening to cut the deficit to a manageable margin, yet the hole was simply too deep. Poland closed out a commanding 20-point win that set the tone for a punishing weekend.
Two games in Riga, two heavy losses, and a campaign that never quite settled.
Where does Israel go from here?
The numbers from this window tell a blunt story: 106 points conceded to Poland, 85 to Latvia, and only 70 scored in a must-win game that Israel once led by 11.
Behind those figures lies a bigger issue. Constantly changing lineups. A system that never had time to breathe. A national team that, as its own coach admits, cannot afford to treat any window as disposable.
The World Cup is gone. The questions about how Israel builds continuity, identity and accountability from here are only just beginning.
