Hapoel Beer Sheva’s European campaign gets underway tonight (Tuesday at 22:00 Israel time) with a match at Víkingur Reykjavík. The southern reds will be participating in UEFA Champions League second round qualifying for the first time since the 2018-19 season and will attempt to advance to the league stage for the first time in franchise history. The last time Beer Sheva was part of the league stage in any continental competition was back in the 2022/23 season when they played in the Conference League group stages.

Ran Kozuk knows that he has a big challenge ahead in order to advance to Europe’s top league and spoke ahead of the match against Vikingur about specifically what he and his team will need to do in order to record a positive result in Iceland.

“We arrived here two days ago on Sunday and we’re getting used to the weather conditions, which are very different from what we’re used to. We trained on an artificial pitch, which is another thing we need to adapt to. These aren’t easy conditions, but we have to adjust quickly. We know we’ll need to make those adjustments during the match. We’re expecting a game against a team that’s used to these conditions and is also very good. We have no choice but to adapt.”

On bouncing back after the Israeli Super Cup defeat, Kozuch said, “I think this is a completely different competition. We’re very disappointed with that loss. We looked at ourselves and identified everything we needed to improve. This game is somewhat different from the one against Maccabi Tel Aviv, but it’s still a match in difficult conditions against an excellent, very intense and dynamic team. We’ll have to make the necessary adjustments in order to win.”

Veteran defender Ofir Davidzada added, “We’re coming into this match as prepared as we possibly can be, especially after the previous game. We were disappointed both for our supporters and with our own performance. Now we have a very important match, the best possible opportunity to put things right considering the importance and magnitude of the occasion. We’re arriving fully prepared and with the highest level of energy.”

On adapting to the conditions, Davidzada said, “We already had a training session on the artificial pitch yesterday. There are no excuses. Everyone understands that this is part of the conditions and we knew it in advance. We’re ready and we know how important this match is. After winning the league, competing in the Champions League is the most exciting thing there is, and everyone understands that. There are no excuses, we have to give 100 percent from the first minute and win.”

For the Icelandic side, it represents a chance to make history by becoming the first Icelandic club to reach the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. However, their head coach Solvi Ottesen is under no illusion about the challenge ahead.

“These European matches are always exciting. We’re facing a serious opponent, the champions of Israel. They’re a very good team, as you’d expect and we’ve analyzed their matches from last season as well as the Israeli Super Cup against Maccabi Tel Aviv. They’re a team with a lot of energy and plenty of quality players. They press with great intensity and want to control the game.”

“We’re at home and we have to take advantage of that. We’ve been strong at home in Europe over the last few years,” he continued. “We’re approaching this game with confidence and we need to be brave on the ball. There are gaps in their high press, and if we can play through it, they’ll be very exposed at the back.”