Yarden Shua

Shua was born on June 16, 1999.[1] His youth career took him through Gadna Tel Aviv, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv before he returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[4] He subsequently moved to Bnei Yehuda on loan and then joined the club permanently.[4]

At age 17, he made his first senior appearance for Bnei Yehuda in an October match against Ashdod.[4] His first senior goal came about two years later against Maccabi Netanya.[4]

During the opening quarter of the 2018–19 Israeli Premier League season, Shua scored five goals and supplied three assists for Bnei Yehuda.[5] Another account of his breakthrough recorded five league goals and two assists at its time of publication, giving him a direct contribution to seven of the club’s 14 goals.[4] By his January 2019 transfer to Maccabi Haifa, he had scored nine goals in half a season.[2]

Haifa paid €1.3 million for 60 percent of his player rights.[2] On the final day of the 2018–19 league season, Shua helped secure a 2–1 victory over Maccabi Netanya and qualification for European competition.[6] He assisted Neta Lavi’s opening goal and then scored the decisive goal with a 16-meter free kick in the 91st minute.[6]

In October 2020, Beitar Jerusalem announced Shua’s signing from Haifa on a three-year contract with an option for another year.[7] The reported €1.4 million fee covered 100 percent of his player rights, with €200,000 payable to Bnei Yehuda and €1.2 million to Haifa.[7] Shua said he was happy to join Beitar and had wanted the transfer for some time.[7] His first goal for the club came in December 2020, when he headed in Oran Bitton’s cross in the 17th minute against Hapoel Beersheba; Beitar lost 2–1.[8]

The 2022–23 season marked a major advance in his Beitar career: he led the Israeli Premier League with 16 assists and helped the club win the State Cup.[2] In the following season, he became captain and recorded 12 goals and nine assists in 36 appearances across all competitions.[2] A separate season-summary table lists 12 goals and eight assists for 2023–24, although it does not specify the competition covered by those totals.[9]

In November 2024, Israel coach Ran Ben Shimon selected Shua for the national team for the first time, bringing him into the squad for its final Nations League matches.[10] Ben Shimon described him as “in good shape and worthy of the National Team.”[10] Shua made his debut against Belgium in Budapest on November 17, entering as a second-half substitute.[11] In the 86th minute, a misplaced pass by Belgium’s Matte Smets led to a blocked attempt by Dia Saba; Shua collected the loose ball and scored the only goal.[11] The winner came 13 minutes after he entered the match, and he described the experience by saying, “It’s crazy, as if I’m in a dream.”[2] The victory was Israel’s first in Nations League Group A2, but the team still finished bottom and was relegated from the top tier.[11]

In February 2025, Beitar agreed with Shua on a two-year contract extension through summer 2028.[12] His existing agreement had run through the end of 2025–26.[12] The reported terms raised his annual salary from €240,000 to €350,000 and increased his release clause from €1.25 million to approximately €1.5 million.[12] His season-summary figures for 2024–25 were eight goals and 11 assists, without a specified competition scope.[9]

Shua scored another international winner in June 2025, heading in Roy Revivo’s cross in the 47th minute of Israel’s 1–0 friendly victory over Slovakia.[13] He was turning 26 that week and described scoring for Israel as a different feeling from scoring for his club.[13]

In December 2025, Shua scored the first hat-trick of his career during Beitar’s 5–0 victory over Ironi Tiberias.[14] Sport5’s match log records the goals in the 9th, 13th and 21st minutes; the first came from a loose ball, the second from a corner, and the third from a Johnbosco Kalu header.[9][14] “I’m very happy that I scored the first hat-trick of my career,” he said afterward.[14] The result left Beitar on 26 points after 11 rounds, three behind leader Hapoel Beersheba.[14]

By February 2026, Shua had scored 12 league goals and supplied three assists.[15] In an 8–2 victory over Maccabi Netanya, he scored twice and assisted another goal, with all three contributions coming in the first half.[15] Ahead of a late-April title-race match, his tally stood at 13 goals and five assists.[16] Beitar remained in contention until the final stretch but finished second, three points behind Hapoel Beersheba.[3] His 2025–26 season-summary totals were 15 goals and eight assists, again without a specified competition scope.[9]

Shua’s contribution to Beitar combined goalscoring with chance creation: his league-leading 16 assists accompanied the club’s 2022–23 State Cup victory, while his later role included the captaincy.[2] During the 2025–26 title challenge, he and Omer Atzili provided creativity and leadership central to the club’s resurgence.[3] At international level, his documented goals against Belgium and Slovakia were both match-winners in 1–0 victories.[2][13]

Accounts of Shua’s early development described disciplinary and behavioral difficulties, while also describing Bnei Yehuda’s staff as choosing to persist with him.[4] A retrospective N12 account reported that his Maccabi Haifa spell included disputes with coach Marco Balbul and disciplinary incidents, including exclusion from the squad after he breached COVID-19 isolation rules.[2]