In dramatic fashion, Israel and Greece advanced to the third and final round of the World Cup qualifiers. Israel held on to their three-goal advantage from the first leg and progressed despite losing 28–30. Greece, who also had a three-goal lead, secured an impressive 29–26 away win against Belgium.
Israel delivered a shock upset in the first leg, taking a three-goal advantage back home against Georgia. In the second leg, it turned into a real battle between the two nations.
Georgia came out firing from the start and took an early 5–1 lead, with Israel suffering multiple two-minute suspensions. However, the home side quickly got back into the game with a 4–0 run.
After that, it was a back-and-forth affair, with neither side gaining any major advantage. In the middle of the second half, the game was still tied before Georgia began to show real desperation.
Giorgi Tskhovrebadze took on a lot of offensive responsibility and led his team back into the lead. With five minutes left, Georgia made it 28–24, putting them ahead on aggregate.
This set up a dramatic finish. Israel scored a couple of goals to retake the lead, but Georgia equalized on aggregate with a goal with one minute remaining. This left Israel with one final chance, and with fifteen seconds left, Yoav Lumbroso stepped up and secured the win for his team.
Meanwhile, Greece also advanced after a 34–31 away win against Belgium, securing a six-goal victory on aggregate.