Norway’s late equalizer frustrates Israel in tourney opener

Israel’s hope to open the most prestigious international soccer tournament it has hosted with victory were frustrated Wednesday, after Norway overcame two deficits and a red card to force a 2-2 draw in the opening match of the European Under-21 Championship in Netanya.

Both teams could count themselves unlucky not to have won, but in the end a tie was probably a fair result.

In Group A’s other game, Wednesday night, Italy defeated England by 1-0, with a second-half goal from a free kick by Lorenzo Insigne, after England had a goal controversially disallowed. On Thursday, in Group B, Spain faces Russia, and Holland plays Germany.

Thousands of fans were in attendance for the start of the tournament — which got under way as planned despite the best efforts of several pro-Palestinian groups to have the other European teams boycott the competition.

For most of the first half Norway controlled the pace of the game, as the players in red held onto the ball and advanced to the area outside Israel’s box time and again. But it was the visitors who fell behind.

The blue-and-white squad failed to threaten Norway’s goal during the first 15 minutes of the game, but after a failed corner attempt, the referee ruled that Omri Ben Harush was tripped in the box, and Nir Biton scored the first goal of the game from the penalty spot. A replay showed that the call was, at best, questionable.

Biton‘s goal caused delight among the thousands of Israel supporters in attendance, but their joy was short-lived. 

Less than 10 minutes later, after 25 minutes of dominance on the pitch, Norway’s Marcus Pederson scored a well-deserved equalizer with a precise strike from just outside the box.

In the 30th minute a Norwegian kick from over 20 meters out grazed the crossbar. Norway’s next chance came two minutes later, as a strike was deflected by Israel’s defense onto the post and out.

In the 38th minute the referee reached into his pocket and booked Norway’s Anders Konradssen with the first yellow card of the match, after a violent tackle.

Five minutes before half time, Guy Luzon, the Israeli coach, made an early substitution, replacing Marwan Kabha with Ofir Krieff in an attempt to deal with Norway’s constant pressure.

On the verge of halftime, Norway’s Vegar Hedenstad tackled Israel’s Mohammad Kalibat in an ugly foul to stop a fast break, and was sent off. Still, even down a man, two minutes later Norway came close to scoring its second goal as Yann-Erik deLanlay missed from up close.

Less than a minute into the second half, the pressure was back on the blue-and-white. Eyal Golasa was shown the yellow, and, shortly after, yet another Norwegian strike hit the goalpost.

In the 58th minute, Israeli goalkeeper Boris Kleyman made a spectacular save to prevent the Norwegians from scoring their second.

Eleven minutes later, Israel’s star striker Munas Dabbur narrowly missed netting a second Israeli goal, as the blue-and-white consolidated their one-player advantage to hold on to the ball and attack the Norwegian box.

Then, in the 63rd minute, Alon Turgeman did make it 2-1 to the home side with a goal from inside the box.

Shortly after the second goal, Biton, slightly limping from a strained muscle, was replaced by Israel Zaguri.

Three minutes before the end of regulation time, Zaguri was close to placing the ball in Norway’s net for a third time, but his strike from three meters was blocked by the defense.

The Norwegian side redoubled its efforts as the game entered four minutes of extra time, and was ultimately rewarded by Harmeet Singh’s 91st minute goal, which sealed the final score — a 2-2 draw.

Israel is set to face powerhouses Italy and England in its next two matches, as it hopes to secure one of the top two spots in Group A and advance to the semi-finals of the eight-nation tournament.

Raphael Gellar contributed to this article