Noa Selimhodzic

Selimhodzic was born in Israel to parents who had come from Bosnia as war refugees, and her family settled in Netanya.[5][4] She entered the football academy at Wingate at age 12, where former youth national-team coach Iris Antman later described her as a mature, highly competitive young player with strong vision and scoring ability.[5]

Selimhodzic came to the attention of European clubs while still a teenager, representing Hapoel Emek Hefer in the domestic league and earning a place in the Israel women's national team by age 17.[3] At age 15 she attended training with Chelsea and completed a week of trials at Atlético Madrid, signaling early that her development would have an international dimension.[3]

By July 2021, reports indicated that AC Milan had identified her as a target, with a move contingent on medical checks and a formal signature.[3] Milan had finished second in Italy's Serie A the previous season and was consequently set to compete in the Women's Champions League, making the potential transfer a significant step for a player still in her teens.[3]

Selimhodzic signed a three-year contract with AC Milan in October 2021.[4] She trained regularly with the senior squad but playing opportunities at that level were limited, and she featured mainly for Milan's under-19 side.[5] Her impact in youth football was evident: in one under-19 fixture she scored all four goals in a 4–0 win over Verona.[5]

In a 2022 interview she described her daily routine in Milan—her apartment was a five-minute walk from the training ground, regular sessions lasted one hour and 45 minutes, and she completed an additional 40-minute gym session twice a week, training every day except the day after a match.[6] She also reflected on Israeli women's football during that period, noting that public awareness had grown but that the resources and facilities needed to reach European standards were still lacking.[6]

Reflecting on the Milan period in a November 2025 interview, Selimhodzic acknowledged that leaving the club to seek more playing time might have been the wrong decision, and that she could have waited for her opportunity there.[4]

After her first season at Milan, Selimhodzic moved to Turbine Potsdam, then in Germany's top division, to seek regular senior minutes.[4] A former Milan teammate, Irina Kuznetsov, had already joined Potsdam, and learning about the club's conditions and environment from Kuznetsov helped draw her there.[5]

Her three seasons at Potsdam encompassed relegation, promotion back to the Bundesliga and another relegation.[2] During the promotion campaign—documented in a May 2024 Calcalist profile when she was 20—she was central to a side that won 10 of its final 12 matches.[5] In the decisive final match, Potsdam entered play in first place, one point ahead of the second-placed club and two ahead of third; trailing Ingolstadt 1–0 at halftime, the team scored twice to clinch the win and promotion.[5] After the comeback, Selimhodzic recounted the match while wrapped in an Israeli flag and wearing her medal.[5] Selimhodzic, Kuznetsov and Maria Almasri were all expected to continue at the club for the following Bundesliga season.[5]

The subsequent season proved far more difficult. Selimhodzic played less, the team struggled, and Potsdam was relegated again.[4] She described those final months as a hard period and attributed a shortage of offers at the level she wanted partly to that relegation campaign.[4] In her last league season at Potsdam she made 13 appearances and scored no goals.[2]

In July 2025, Selimhodzic, then 22, signed for M.S. Kiryat Gat following three seasons at Turbine Potsdam.[2] The club initially signed her for its Women's Champions League qualifying campaign, and Selimhodzic said she chose Kiryat Gat because of the prospect of regular playing time and the attraction of that European opportunity.[4][2]

She framed the move home as a deliberate and temporary step backwards: "There is no substitute for playing minutes," she said, describing her aim to rebuild confidence and contribute goals and assists.[4] She was clear that a return abroad the following summer remained her goal, characterizing the move as a means of moving forward rather than a permanent end to her European career.[4]

Selimhodzic has been part of the Israel women's national team since her teens, and in July 2025 she was described as its captain.[3][2] Israel secured promotion from UEFA Women's Nations League C to League B with a 3–1 win over Estonia on May 30, 2025.[1]

Her continued involvement with the senior squad was documented on October 9, 2026, when she started for Israel in a 7–3 defeat to Switzerland and was substituted at halftime.[7]

Her club career has also placed her among a cohort of Israeli women gaining experience abroad. In May 2024, Selimhodzic, Irina Kuznetsov and Maria Almasri were three Israeli teammates who helped Potsdam return to the Bundesliga, while Karin Sendel identified Selimhodzic and Talia Sommer as "the next generation of this team."[1][5]

JNS used two spellings in its June 2025 feature: "Noa Selimhodzic" for the player Sendel called part of the national team's next generation, and "Noa Slimhojits" in its list of scorers against Estonia. Because the article does not explicitly establish that these are the same person, the goal cannot be attributed to Selimhodzic with certainty from that source alone.[1]