ASHKELON, ISRAEL — The Israel U-19 Men’s National Team will make their World Championship debut against fellow newcomer Hong Kong at Coquitlam Town Centre Park near Vancouver on July 8th.
July marks the blue-and-white’s first appearance in the quadrennial FIL World U-19 Lacrosse Championship, which is being hosted by Canada this summer from July 7-16th. The Israelis also drew two other teams competing in their first-ever U-19 Championship — Mexico and Taiwan — along with 7th-ranked Germany in the “Red” group.
The group winner will advance to the World Championship Quarterfinals against what is widely expected to be 4th-ranked England or 5th-ranked Australia.
The Germans are the only team with prior experience on the U-19 world stage and are considered the favorites to advance.
Israel U-19 Men’s Training Schedule
Sun, Apr 10 at 1:30 PM – “Blue/White” Game (Brooks Stadium – Kings Point, NY)
Fri, Jun 3 at 2:00 PM – Israel vs Birthright/USA Stars (Park Ofer – Ramla, Israel)
Sun, Jun 19 at 7:30 PM – Israel vs Birthright/USA Stars (Shapira Field – Netanya, Israel)
Sat, Jul 2 at TBD – Israel vs TBD (Ridgewood, NJ)
Sun, Jul 3 at TBD – Israel vs BBL (Newark Academy – Livingston, NJ)
Mon, Jul 4 at TBD – Israel vs TBD (Tenafly, NJ)
Israel U-19 Men’s World Championship Schedule
Fri, Jul 8 at 10:00 AM – Israel vs Hong Kong (Town Centre Park – Vancouver, Canada)
Sun, Jul 10 at 10:00 AM – Israel vs Taiwan (Town Centre Park – Vancouver, Canada)
Mon, Jul 11 at 12:30 PM – Israel vs #7 Germany (Town Centre Park – Vancouver, Canada)
Tue, Jul 12 at 10:00 AM – Israel vs Mexico (Town Centre Park – Vancouver, Canada)
Playoffs and consolation rounds begin on Wednesday, July 13th
The second place team from the “Red” group has the opportunity to compete for a top-five ranking through the consolation rounds.
Israel has an aggressive training schedule, with exhibitions planned in both Israel and North America, however, the complete team won’t be together until their training camp in New Jersey in early July.
The schedule for Israel’s U-19 Developmental Team, which will compete in an International Lacrosse Showcase in Philadelphia from May 27-30, is expected to be released in April.