A player from the Ukrainian “Kryvbas” has been called up to the Israel youth football team

Bar Lin will join the Israel U-21 national team

Bar Lin’s call-up to the Israel U-21 national team is not just a short news item from the club’s feed. For the Israeli audience, it resonates more broadly: the 21-year-old footballer from Ukraine’s ‘Kryvbas’ is heading to the national team at a time when both Ukraine and Israel continue to live under war conditions. Ukraine is in its fourth year of repelling the Russian invasion, while Israel, in March 2026, remains under attacks from Iran and in a state of severe escalation on the Lebanese front. Against this backdrop, the story of an Israeli player in a Ukrainian club is perceived not as a private football episode, but as a living connection between two countries that are currently far from ordinary sports routines.

‘Kryvbas’ officially announced that Bar Lin received another call-up to the Israel U-21 national team.

At the March training camp, the team is preparing for two matches: on March 26, 2026, against Hungary U-21 in a friendly match and on March 31 against Bosnia and Herzegovina U-21 in the Euro U-21 qualification. The Ukrainian club also noted that in the current season, Lin has played 18 matches in all competitions and scored 4 goals, while for the Israel U-21 national team, he already has 6 games and 1 goal.

How Bar Lin reached Ukraine

Lin’s career did not start with a high-profile overseas transfer. He joined the ‘Maccabi’ Tel Aviv system from Rishon LeZion at the age of 11, went through the club academy, and in June 2023 signed a new three-year contract. At that time, the official ‘Maccabi’ website reminded that Bar had already debuted for the first team in March 2022 in the quarterfinals of the Israel Cup against ‘Maccabi’ Jaffa, and in the season for the U-19 youth team, he scored 8 goals in 32 matches.

But the transition from youth status to adult football was not so smooth.

Lin spent the next two seasons on loan at ‘Hapoel’ Haifa, where, according to ‘Maccabi’, he played 45 matches in all competitions. On June 30, 2025, the Tel Aviv club officially announced that it was sending him to Ukraine’s ‘Kryvbas’ on a season-long loan for the 2025/26 campaign. The same announcement noted that by that time he already had 3 matches for Israel U-21 and 12 games for the junior national teams.

Why Ukraine and not another loan in Israel is no longer a secret. Israeli media reported back in June 2025 that ‘Kryvbas’, coached by Patrick van Leeuwen and Ori David, showed interest in Lin. This detail is important for the story: both knew the player well from the ‘Maccabi’ system, and later Ori David openly spoke in the Israeli press about the Ukrainian club’s lineup, where Lin plays.

Bar Lin himself later explained this step even more candidly. In an interview with Sport5, he said he wanted to go where he knew: the coach believes in him, will give him minutes and trust. He also admitted that after being a youth star at ‘Maccabi’, the transition to adult football was slower than expected, and he needed time to adapt to the level of adult teams.

This is essentially the main answer to how he ended up in Ukraine: not by chance and not ‘for the sake of it’, but as part of a conscious attempt to restart his career in a more intense league with a coach who understands him well.

Why this call-up is important for Israel U-21

The March call-up is important not only for the player himself but also for the tournament position of the national team. UEFA currently has Israel in Group G of the Euro-2027 qualification along with Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, and Slovenia. According to the latest UEFA update, Norway is first with three wins in three matches, Israel is second, trailing by three points but having played two more matches. The Netherlands and Bosnia are just one point behind Israel and have a game in hand. In other words, the group is very tight, and a mistake in one or two matches can drastically change the standings.

Therefore, the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 31 is not just another date on the calendar. The official UEFA page for the match confirms that it is indeed a qualification round match, not a friendly; it will take place in Budaörs, Hungary. For Israel, this is a direct battle with the closest competitor for the top positions, which means that for the coaching staff, players who come from the club in game rhythm, with minutes and confidence, are especially important.

Here, the additional significance of Lin’s call-up emerges.

He is not just present in the extended squad. According to ‘Kryvbas’, he already has 6 matches and 1 goal for U-21, and the current club season has given him stable practice and 4 goals in all competitions. For the Israel U-21 national team, which is walking a fine line between fighting for direct qualification and the risk of falling back, such players are especially valuable now.

Why this story is more important than an ordinary sports note

In another season, such news could be left in the format of a dry line: a player from a Ukrainian club is called up to the Israel U-21 national team. But now this plot reads differently. An Israeli footballer plays in a club from a country living under Russian attacks and simultaneously receives a call-up to the national team of a state that itself lives under missile attacks and military escalation. Sport does not cancel war, but sometimes it very accurately shows which connections continue to work even when the entire region and context seem to demand the opposite.

That is why NANovosti — Israel News | Nikk.Agency sees in Bar Lin’s story not just a local call-up to the youth team.

This is a story about a footballer who did not get stuck between the academy and adult football but found a new route for himself through the Ukrainian championship. And at the same time, it is a story about how the sports line between Israel and Ukraine continues even in wartime — stubbornly, without unnecessary pathos, but quite noticeably.