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Israel national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Israel women's national football team.

Israel
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Template:Hebrew (The Blue and Whites)
AssociationIsrael Football Association (IFA)
Confederation
List
  • UEFA (Europe) (1991–present)
    OFC (Oceania) (1974–91)
    AFC (Asia) (1954–74)
Head coachAlon Hazan (caretaker)
CaptainItay Shechter
Most capsYossi Benayoun (102)[1]
Top scorerMordechai Spiegler (33)[2]
Home stadiumSammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa
Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem
FIFA codeISR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current93 Increase 5 (7 June 2018)
Highest15 (November 2008)
Lowest99 (January 2018)
First international
 Egypt 7–1 Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine
(Cairo, Egypt; 16 March 1934)
Biggest win
Mandatory Palestine:
Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine 5–1 Lebanon
(Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine; 27 April 1940)
Israel:
Israel Israel 9–0 Chinese Taipei 
(Wellington, New Zealand; 23 March 1988)
Biggest defeat
Mandatory Palestine:
 Egypt 7–1 Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine
(Cairo, Egypt; 16 March 1934)
Israel:
 Germany 7–1 Israel Israel
(Kaiserslautern, Germany; 12 February 2002)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first in 1970)
Best resultGroup stage, 1970
Asian Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1956)
Best resultChampions, 1964

The Israel national football team (Template:Lang-he, Nivḥeret Yisra'el BeKhaduregel) is the national football team of Israel, governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA).

Israel's national team is the direct successor of the Mandatory Palestine/Eretz Israel national team, and was managed by the Eretz Israel Football Association. Israel was in Asian Football Confederation but because of safety reasons they joined the Oceania Football Confederation before settling in Europe as a member of the Union of European Football Associations in 1994. Their first match was vs USA football national team.

The Israeli side qualified for their only FIFA World Cup to date in 1970. Israel also hosted and won the AFC Asian Cup in 1964, and was finalist in 1956 and in 1960.

History

Main articles: History of the Israel national football team and Mandatory Palestine national football team

Football has a long tradition in Israel. The game was originally introduced during the time of the Ottoman Empire. The Palestinian Football Association was formed in August 1928, and joined FIFA in June 1929, but at the time the association was made up of Arab clubs, Jewish clubs, and clubs representing British policemen and soldiers serving in the region during the British Mandate rule that spanned the period between World War One and the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The British Mandate of Palestine national team made its debut against Egypt in 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification, losing 1–7 in Cairo. The team played five international matches, including a friendly match against Lebanon, until the British Mandate for Palestine was dissolved.

The Israel national team's first match as an independent nation was on 26 September 1948, against the USA Olympic Team. The game was won by the USA 1–3, and in the 20th minute of the game Shmuel Ben-Dror scored the first goal after the creation of the State of Israel.

Asian Football Confederation membership

Main article: Politics and sports § Association football
Nahum Stelmach kicking; 1959

Israel competed in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) between 1954 and 1974. Due to the Arab–Israeli conflict, several Muslim states refused to compete against Israel. The political situation culminated in Israel winning the 1958 World Cup qualifying stage for Asia and Africa without playing a single game, forcing FIFA to schedule a playoff between Israel and Wales to ensure the team did not qualify without playing at least one game (which Wales won).

Israel winning the 1964 AFC Asian Cup

Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. In 1968, Israel went to their first Olympic Games and lost to Bulgaria in the quarterfinals.

In 1969, Israel qualified for its first and only FIFA World Cup, via Asia/Oceania, and earned two points after draws with Sweden and finalist Italy, and a loss to Uruguay.

In 1976, Israel went to its second Olympic Games and lost in the quarterfinals again, this time against Brazil. In 1972 and 1977, it attempted World Cup qualification as part of Asia, which both times ended in failure.

Years in exile

Ronny Rosenthal against New Zealand in the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification

In 1974, Israel was excluded from AFC competitions, as a result of a proposal by Kuwait which was adopted by a vote of 17 to 13 with 6 abstentions.[3] The vote coincided with the 1974 Asian Games, where the football competition was marred by the refusal of both North Korea[4] and Kuwait to play second-round matches against Israel.

During the 1980s, it played the majority of its matches against European teams, and competed in the European stage of qualification for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. For the next two tournaments, it entered Oceania's qualification stage. In 1989, Israel made it to the CONMEBOL–OFC play-offs for the 1990 World Cup to play against Colombia, which qualified from the South American group, but lost (1–0, 0–0).

European Football Confederation membership

In 1991, Israeli clubs began participating in European club competitions, and Israel returned to the European leg of World Cup qualifying in 1992. In 1994, Israel received full UEFA membership, 20 years after it had left Asia. Within Europe, Israel has been a relatively minor nation, though with some successes, notably winning 3–2 in Paris against France in 1993, and 5–0 against Austria in 1999. That year, Israel made it to the playoffs of UEFA Euro 2000, but was beaten by Denmark.

Avram Grant has been the youngest national coach of Israel
Yossi Benayoun is Israel's most capped player with 102 caps

Israel came close to advancing to the playoff stage in their 2006 World Cup qualifying group, finishing third, behind France, and tied on points with Switzerland, which also remained unbeaten in 10 matches after 4 wins and 6 draws. The Swiss had a better goal difference, though, and advanced to the qualification play-off. Coach Avram Grant announced his resignation on 26 October 2005. After the end of his contract, he was succeeded by Dror Kashtan.

In UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, Israel came very close to qualifying to final tournament, but finished fourth in Group E, behind group winners Croatia, 1 point behind Russia who also with Croatia qualified direct, as well as equal on 23 points (one less than Russia) from 12 games with England; who failed to advance as did Israel. The 4–3 home loss to Croatia was the first loss after 13 consecutive official games and 9 home games without a loss.

In 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, Israel again came in fourth, behind Switzerland, Greece, and Latvia. For the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, Kashtan was replaced as coach by Frenchman Luis Fernández, but to no avail, as Israel finished a distant third behind Greece and Croatia.

The continued presence of the Israeli Football Association in UEFA was a precedent cited by Australia to justify its transfer from the Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian Football Confederation.[5]

Ranking history

Source: [6]

All-time head-to-head record

As of 24 March 2018.

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

  1. ^ Includes matches against  West Germany.
  2. ^ Includes matches against  Soviet Union.
  3. ^ Includes matches against  Yugoslavia and  Serbia and Montenegro.

Stadium

An all-seated roofless stadium with a football pitch.
Sammy Ofer Stadium of Haifa. Israel's newest stadium

In the past, the Israel national football team's home stadium was the national stadium in Ramat Gan. The stadium seats 41,583 and was the first stadium in Israel to meet world-class standards.

Ever since 2014, Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa (30,784 seats) and Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem (34,000 seats) are being used as the home stadiums of the Israel national football team. Both are considered to be world-class standard stadiums. The Israel Football Association has used Teddy stadium while hosting the 2013 Euro U21 championship in Israel. Both stadiums also host matches of the Israel national football team, and of Israeli clubs for the UEFA Champions League.

Kit suppliers

Israel's kits were supplied by Diadora from 1988 to 1995 and Puma from 1996 to 2008. Adidas took over in September 2008 and have remained Israel's kit suppliers since.

Honours

1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (1): 1964.
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (2): 1956, 1960.
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal (1): 1974.

Competition history

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Israel at the FIFA World Cup
This section is transcluded from Israel at the FIFA World Cup. (edit | history)


Olympic record

See also: Israel at the 1968 Summer Olympics and Israel at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Olympics Record
Year Round Position GP W D L GS GA
Finland 1952 Did Not Qualify
Australia 1956
Italy 1960
Japan 1964
Mexico 1968 Quarter-finals – 4 2 0 2 9 7
West Germany 1972 Did Not Qualify
Canada 1976 Quarter-finals – 4 0 3 1 4 7
Soviet Union 1980 Withdrew
United States 1984 Did Not Qualify
South Korea 1988
Total Quarter-finals 2/10 8 2 3 3 13 14

Since the 1992 Summer Olympics, the football competition is played as an Under-23 competition

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

AFC Asian Cup

Main article: Israel at the AFC Asian Cup
AFC Asian Cup record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Hong Kong 1956 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 6 5
South Korea 1960 Runners-up 2nd 3 2 0 1 6 4
Israel 1964 Champions 1st 3 3 0 0 5 1
Iran 1968 Third Place 3rd 4 2 0 2 11 5
Thailand 1972 Withdrew
Total Champions 4/15 13 9 0 4 28 15

Israel did not compete in a regional competition between the years 1968 and 1994, although in 1972 they were scheduled to compete in the AFC Asian Cup.

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
**Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Asian Games

Asian Games Record
Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
India 1951 Did not Competed
Philippines 1954
Japan 1958 Quarterfinals 3 2 0 1 6 3
Indonesia 1962 Did not Competed
Thailand 1966
Thailand 1970
Iran 1974 Runners-up 7 6 0 1 24 4
Thailand 1978 Did not Competed
India 1982
Total 2/13 10 8 0 2 30 7

UEFA European Championship record

Template:Israel UEFA European Championship record

1996 UEFA European Championship - Qualifier - Group 1

1996 marked Israel's first UEFA European Championship qualification attempt, out of ten such tournaments. Israel had last competed in a regional tournament at the 1968 Asian Cup.[7] Israel was expelled from the AFC in the early 1970s and eventually became a member of UEFA.[8]

Standings
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Romania France Slovakia Poland Israel Azerbaijan
1  Romania 10 6 3 1 18 9 +9 21 Qualify for final tournament — 1–3 3–2 2–1 2–1 3–0
2  France 10 5 5 0 22 2 +20 20 0–0 — 4–0 1–1 2–0 10–0
3  Slovakia 10 4 2 4 14 18 −4 14 0–2 0–0 — 4–1 1–0 4–1
4  Poland 10 3 4 3 14 12 +2 13 0–0 0–0 5–0 — 4–3 1–0
5  Israel 10 3 3 4 13 13 0 12 1–1 0–0 2–2 2–1 — 2–0
6  Azerbaijan 10 0 1 9 2 29 −27 1 1–4 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–2 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Matches
Israel 2 – 1 Poland
R. Harazi 44', 59' Report Kosecki 80'
Attendance: 3,500
Israel 2 – 2 Slovakia
R. Harazi 23'
Banin 32' (pen.)		 Report Rusnák 5'
Moravčík 14'
Attendance: 7,500
Azerbaijan 0 – 2 Israel
Report R. Harazi 30'
Rosenthal 51'
Attendance: 2,863
Israel 1 – 1 Romania
Rosenthal 83' Report Lǎcǎtuş 70'
Attendance: 38,000
Israel 0 – 0 France
Report
Attendance: 39,000
Poland 4 – 3 Israel
Nowak 1'
Juskowiak 50'
Kowalczyk 55'
Kosecki 62'		 Report Rosenthal 33'
Revivo 38'
Zohar 70'
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)
Romania 2 – 1 Israel
Lăcătuş 16'
Munteanu 56'		 Report Berkovic 50'
Attendance: 18,575
Slovakia 1 – 0 Israel
Jančula 54' Report
Attendance: 7,810
Israel 2 – 0 Azerbaijan
R. Harazi 31', 90' Report
Attendance: 7,000
France 2 – 0 Israel
Djorkaeff 69'
Lizarazu 89'		 Report
Attendance: 20,822
2000 UEFA European Championship - Qualifier - Group 6

Israel competed in qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2000. This marked Israel's second UEFA European Championship qualification attempt, out of eleven such tournaments.

Standings
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Spain Israel Austria Cyprus San Marino
1  Spain 8 7 0 1 42 5 +37 21 Qualify for final tournament — 3–0 9–0 8–0 9–0
2  Israel 8 4 1 3 25 9 +16 13[a] Advance to play-offs 1–2 — 5–0 3–0 8–0
3  Austria 8 4 1 3 19 20 −1 13[a] 1–3 1–1 — 3–1 7–0
4  Cyprus 8 4 0 4 12 21 −9 12 3–2 3–2 0–3 — 4–0
5  San Marino 8 0 0 8 1 44 −43 0 0–6 0–5 1–4 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: Israel 4, Austria 1.
Matches
Austria 1–1 Israel
Reinmayr 7' Report Nimni 68' (pen.)
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Anders Frisk (SWE)
San Marino 0–5 Israel
Report Revivo 16'
Nimni 18'
Mizrahi 32'
M.Valentini 58' (o.g.)
Grayeb 82'
Attendance: 872
Referee: Asim Khudiev (AZE)
Israel 1–2 Spain
Hazan 64' Report Hierro 65'
Etxeberria 78'
Attendance: 37,000
Referee: David Elleray (ENG)
Israel 3–0 Cyprus
Banin 11'
Mizrahi 48', 53'		 Report
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Marcel Lică (ROU)
Israel 5–0 Austria
Berkovich 26', 47'
Revivo 46'
Mizrahi 53'
Grayeb 75'		 Report
Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (SVK)
Cyprus 3–2 Israel
Engomitis 27'
Špoljarić 53', 86' (pen.)		 Report Badir 31'
Benayoun 82'
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Graham Barber (ENG)
Israel 8–0 San Marino
Benayoun 25', 46', 70'
Mizrahi 38'
Revivo 40', 68'
Sivilia 84'
Abuksis 89'		 Report
Attendance: 25,078
Referee: Ilhami Kaplan (TUR)
Spain 3–0 Israel
Morientes 30'
Martín 37'
Raúl 51'		 Report
Attendance: 16,100
Referee: Hellmut Krug (GER)
Second placed teams

The best runner-up of the entire group phase qualified automatically for the final tournament. To determine the best runner-up, a comparison was made between all of them. Only matches played against teams that finished first, third and fourth were regarded. Matches played against fifth and sixth placed teams were discarded, because some groups had more teams than others.

After the best runner-up was found, all the others (eight of them) entered a random playoff to determine four more teams to qualify.

Standings
Pos Grp Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 7  Portugal 6 4 1 1 11 3 +8 13 Qualify for final tournament
2 3  Turkey 6 4 1 1 12 5 +7 13 Advance to play-offs
3 9  Scotland 6 3 1 2 9 6 +3 10
4 1  Denmark 6 3 1 2 10 8 +2 10
5 4  Ukraine 6 2 4 0 6 4 +2 10
6 8  Republic of Ireland 6 3 1 2 6 4 +2 10
7 6  Israel 6 2 1 3 12 9 +3 7
8 5  England 6 1 4 1 5 4 +1 7
9 2  Slovenia 6 2 1 3 6 12 −6 7
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: Counting only matches against teams ranked first to fourth in the group, 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Drawing of lots.
Matches
Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Israel  0–8  Denmark 0–5 0–3
Israel 0 – 5 Denmark
Report Tomasson 2', 34'
Tøfting 67'
Jørgensen 68'
Steen Nielsen 73'
Attendance: 42,000
Denmark 3 – 0 Israel
Sand 4'
Steen Nielsen 14'
Tomasson 64'		 Report
Attendance: 41,186

Denmark won 8–0 on aggregate.

2004 UEFA European Championship - Qualifier - Group 1
Standings
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification France Slovenia Israel Cyprus Malta
1  France 8 8 0 0 29 2 +27 24 Qualify for final tournament — 5–0 3–0 5–0 6–0
2  Slovenia 8 4 2 2 15 12 +3 14 Advance to play-offs 0–2 — 3–1 4–1 3–0
3  Israel 8 2 3 3 9 11 −2 9 1–2 0–0 — 2–0 2–2
4  Cyprus 8 2 2 4 9 18 −9 8 1–2 2–2 1–1 — 2–1
5  Malta 8 0 1 7 5 24 −19 1 0–4 1–3 0–2 1–2 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

|}

Games
Malta 0–2 Israel
Balili 56'
Revivo 76'
Attendance: 5,200
Referee: Sergei Shebek (UKR)
Cyprus 1–1 Israel
Rauffmann 61' Afek 2'
Attendance: 9,000
Israel 1–2 France
Afek 2' Trezeguet 23'
Zidane 45'
Attendance: 2,455
Referee: Graham Barber (ENG)
Israel 2–0 Cyprus
Badir 88'
Holtzman 90'
Attendance: 300
Referee: Michal Benes (CZE)
Israel 0–0 Slovenia
Attendance: 1,800
Referee: Massimo Busacca (SUI)
Slovenia 3–1 Israel
Šiljak 35'
Knavs 37'
Čeh 78'		 Revivo 69'
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Herbert Fandel (GER)
Israel 2–2 Malta
Revivo 16'
Balili 79'		 Mifsud 51' (pen.)
Carabott 52'
Attendance: 1,300
Referee: Eric Blareau (BEL)
France 3–0 Israel
Henry 9'
Trezeguet 24'
Boumsong 42'
Attendance: 57,009
Goalscorers
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
2008 UEFA European Championship - Qualifier - Group E

Israel competed in qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2008. This marked Israel's fourth UEFA European Championship qualification attempt, out of thirteen such tournaments.

Standings
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Croatia Russia England Israel North Macedonia Estonia Andorra
1  Croatia 12 9 2 1 28 8 +20 29 Qualify for final tournament — 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 7–0
2  Russia 12 7 3 2 18 7 +11 24 0–0 — 2–1 1–1 3–0 2–0 4–0
3  England 12 7 2 3 24 7 +17 23[a] 2–3 3–0 — 3–0 0–0 3–0 5–0
4  Israel 12 7 2 3 20 12 +8 23[a] 3–4 2–1 0–0 — 1–0 4–0 4–1
5  Macedonia 12 4 2 6 12 12 0 14 2–0 0–2 0–1 1–2 — 1–1 3–0
6  Estonia 12 2 1 9 5 21 −16 7 0–1 0–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 — 2–1
7  Andorra 12 0 0 12 2 42 −40 0 0–6 0–1 0–3 0–2 0–3 0–2 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: England 4, Israel 1.
Matches
Estonia 0–1 Israel
Report[permanent dead link‍] Colautti 8'
Attendance: 7,800
Israel 4–1 Andorra
Benayoun 9'
Ben-Shushan 11'
Gershon 43' (pen.)
Tamuz 69'		 Report[permanent dead link‍] Fernandez 84'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Sinisa Zrnic (Bosnia)
Russia 1–1 Israel
Arshavin 5' Report[permanent dead link‍] Ben-Shushan 84'
Attendance: 22,000
Israel 3–4 Croatia
Colautti 8', 89'
Benayoun 68'		 Report[permanent dead link‍] Srna 35' (pen.)
Eduardo 39', 54', 72'
Attendance: 38,000
Israel 0–0 England
Report[permanent dead link‍]
Attendance: 45,000
Israel 4–0 Estonia
Tal 19'
Colautti 29'
Sahar 77', 80'		 Report[permanent dead link‍]
Attendance: 23,658
North Macedonia 1–2 Israel
Stojkov 13' Report Yitzhaki 11'
Colautti 44'
Attendance: 15,000
Andorra 0–2 Israel
Report[permanent dead link‍] Tamuz 37'
Colautti 53'
Attendance: 618
Referee: Ian Stokes (Ireland)
England 3–0 Israel
Wright-Phillips 20'
Owen 49'
Richards 66'		 Report[permanent dead link‍]
Attendance: 85,372
Croatia 1–0 Israel
Eduardo 52' Report[permanent dead link‍]
Attendance: 32,000
Israel 2–1 Russia
Barda 10'
Golan 90+2'		 Report[permanent dead link‍] Bilyaletdinov 61'
Attendance: 27,563
Israel 1–0 North Macedonia
Barda 35' Report[permanent dead link‍]
Attendance: 2,736
Goalscorers
2 goals
1 goal
2012 UEFA European Championship - Qualifier - Group F

Israel competed in qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2012. This marked Israel's fifth UEFA European Championship qualification attempt, out of fourteen such tournaments.

Standings
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Greece 10 7 3 0 14 5 +9 24 Qualify for final tournament
2  Croatia 10 7 1 2 18 7 +11 22 Advance to play-offs
3  Israel 10 5 1 4 13 11 +2 16
4  Latvia 10 3 2 5 9 12 −3 11
5  Georgia 10 2 4 4 7 9 −2 10
6  Malta 10 0 1 9 4 21 −17 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Matches

Group F fixtures were to be finalized at a meeting between the participants in Athens, Greece on 7 March 2010.[11] After that meeting proved inconclusive, the fixture list was determined by a random draw at the XXXIV Ordinary UEFA Congress in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 25 March.[12]

Israel 3–1 Malta
Benayoun 7', 64' (pen.), 75' Report Pace 38'
Attendance: 17,365[13]
Georgia 0–0 Israel
Report
Attendance: 45,000[14]
Israel 1–2 Croatia
Shechter 81' Report Kranjčar 36' (pen.), 41'
Attendance: 33,421[15]
Greece 2–1 Israel
Salpingidis 22'
Karagounis 63' (pen.)		 Report Spyropoulos 59' (o.g.)
Attendance: 16,935[16]
Israel 2–1 Latvia
Barda 16'
Kayal 81'		 Report Gorkšs 62'
Attendance: 10,801[17]
Israel 1–0 Georgia
Ben Haim II 59' Report
Attendance: 13,716[18]
Latvia 1–2 Israel
Cauņa 62' (pen.) Report Benayoun 19'
Ben Haim I 43' (pen.)
Attendance: 6,147[19]
Israel 0–1 Greece
Report Ninis 60'
Attendance: 13,100[20]
Croatia 3–1 Israel
Modrić 47'
Eduardo 55', 57'		 Report Hemed 44'
Attendance: 13,688[21]
Malta 0–2 Israel
Report Refaelov 11'
Gershon 90+3'
Attendance: 2,614[22]
Goalscorers
4 goals
1 goal

Note: During the tournament, Nikos Spyropoulos of Germany also scored on his own goal during a match against Israel.

Attendance
Team Highest Lowest Total Average
 Israel 33,421 10,801 88,403 17,681
Discipline
Position Player Country Yellow card Red card Suspended for match(es) Reason
Defender Tal Ben Haim I  Israel 2 1 vs Greece (12 October 2010)
vs Malta (11 October 2011)		 Booked in 2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches
Sent off in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match
Forward Itay Shechter  Israel 2 0 vs Latvia (26 March 2011) Booked in 2 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches
2016 UEFA European Championship - Qualifier - Group B

Israel competed in qualifiers for the UEFA Euro 2016. This marked Israel's sixth UEFA European Championship qualification attempt, out of fifteenth such tournaments.[23]

Standings
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 10 7 2 1 24 5 +19 23 Qualify for final tournament
2  Wales 10 6 3 1 11 4 +7 21
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 5 2 3 17 12 +5 17 Advance to play-offs
4  Israel 10 4 1 5 16 14 +2 13
5  Cyprus 10 4 0 6 16 17 −1 12
6  Andorra 10 0 0 10 4 36 −32 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Matches
Cyprus 1–2 Israel
Makrides 67' Report Damari 38'
Ben Haim II 45'
Attendance: 19,164[24]
Andorra 1–4 Israel
Lima 15' (pen.) Report Damari 3', 41', 82'
Hemed 90+6' (pen.)
Attendance: 2,032[25]
Israel 3–0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vermouth 36'
Damari 45'
Zahavi 70'		 Report
Attendance: 28,300[26]
Israel 0–3 Wales
Report Ramsey 45+1'
Bale 50', 77'
Attendance: 30,200[28]
Israel 0–1 Belgium
Report Fellaini 9'
Attendance: 29,750[30]
Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–1 Israel
Višća 42', 75'
Džeko 45+2' (pen.)		 Report Ben Haim II 41'
Attendance: 12,100[31]
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)
Israel 4–0 Andorra
Zahavi 3'
Bitton 22'
Hemed 26' (pen.)
Dabour 38'		 Report
Attendance: 22,650[32]
Wales 0–0 Israel
Report
Attendance: 32,653[33]
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
Israel 1–2 Cyprus
Bitton 76' Report Dossa Júnior 58'
Demetriou 80'
Attendance: 25,300[34]
Belgium 3–1 Israel
Mertens 64'
De Bruyne 78'
Hazard 84'		 Report Hemed 88'
Attendance: 39,773[35]
Discipline
Team Player Offence(s) Suspended for match(es)
 Israel Eitan Tibi Yellow card Yellow-red card vs Wales (28 March 2015) vs Belgium (31 March 2015)
Lior Refaelov Yellow card vs Cyprus (10 October 2014)
Yellow card vs Wales (28 March 2015)
Yellow card vs Belgium (31 March 2015)		 vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (12 June 2015)
Sheran Yeini Yellow card vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (16 November 2014)
Yellow card vs Belgium (31 March 2015)
Yellow card vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (12 June 2015)		 vs Andorra (3 September 2015)
Nir Bitton Yellow card vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (16 November 2014)
Yellow card vs Wales (6 September 2015)
Yellow card vs Cyprus (10 October 2015)		 vs Belgium (13 October 2015)
2020 UEFA European Championship

Israel was one of the countries to submit UEFA Euro 2020 bids. The deadline for expressions of interest was 12 September 2013.[36] On 20 September, UEFA confirmed expressions of interest from 32 football associations to act as host cities.[37][38]

Israel’s bid was for Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem who’s capacity would be expanded from 34,000 to 53,000[39]

On 10 September 2014, UEFA published the evaluation reports of the 19 bids.[40][41] Before the voting on 19 September 2014, UEFA judged that Israel did not fulfill the bid requirements, so they did not participate at all in the selection phases.[42]

2018 FIFA World Cup

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G table

UEFA Euro 2016

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group B

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Belgium Wales Bosnia and Herzegovina Israel Cyprus Andorra
1  Belgium 10 7 2 1 24 5 +19 23 Qualify for final tournament — 0–0 3–1 3–1 5–0 6–0
2  Wales 10 6 3 1 11 4 +7 21 1–0 — 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–0
3  Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 5 2 3 17 12 +5 17 Advance to play-offs 1–1 2–0 — 3–1 1–2 3–0
4  Israel 10 4 1 5 16 14 +2 13 0–1 0–3 3–0 — 1–2 4–0
5  Cyprus 10 4 0 6 16 17 −1 12 0–1 0–1 2–3 1–2 — 5–0
6  Andorra 10 0 0 10 4 36 −32 0 1–4 1–2 0–3 1–4 1–3 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2017

2 September 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Israel  0–1  North Macedonia Haifa, Israel
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Sammy Ofer Stadium
Attendance: 11,350
Referee: Aleksei Eskov (Russia)
5 September 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Italy  1–0  Israel Reggio Emilia, Italy
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Mapei Stadium
Attendance: 15,507
Referee: Benoît Bastien (France)
6 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Liechtenstein  0–1  Israel Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Referee: Arnold Hunter (Northern Ireland)
9 October 2017 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification Israel  0–1  Spain Jerusalem, Israel
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Teddy Stadium
Referee: Craig Thomson (Scotland)

2018

24 March 2018 Friendly Israel  1–2  Romania Netanya, Israel
20:00 UTC+02:00
Report
Stadium: Netanya Stadium
Attendance: 7,925
Referee: Masias Dimitrios (Cyprus)
7 September 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Albania  v  Israel Elbasan, Albania
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)		 Stadium: Elbasan Arena
11 September 2018 Friendly Northern Ireland  v  Israel Belfast, Northern Ireland
Stadium: Windsor Park
11 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Israel  v  Scotland Haifa, Israel
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Stadium: Sammy Ofer Stadium
14 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Israel  v  Albania Beersheba, Israel
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)		 Stadium: Turner Stadium
20 November 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Scotland  v  Israel Glasgow, Scotland
20:45
(19:45 UTC±0)		 Stadium: Hampden Park


Current squad

The following players have been called up for the friendly match against Argentina on 9 June 2018.
Caps and goals updated as of 24 March 2018 after the match against Romania.
Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Ariel Harush (1988-05-25) 25 May 1988 (age 36) 11 0 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta
18 1GK Danny Amos (1987-02-02) 2 February 1987 (age 37) 0 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya
22 1GK Mahmmoud Kanadil (1988-08-11) 11 August 1988 (age 36) 0 0 Israel Bnei Sakhnin
21 2DF Eitan Tibi (1987-11-16) 16 November 1987 (age 37) 35 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
13 2DF Taleb Tawatha (1992-06-21) 21 June 1992 (age 32) 9 0 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
2DF Eli Dasa (1992-12-03) 3 December 1992 (age 32) 9 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
2 2DF Ben Bitton (1991-01-03) 3 January 1991 (age 33) 4 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
20 2DF Loai Taha (1989-11-26) 26 November 1989 (age 35) 1 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
2DF Oren Biton (1994-06-16) 16 June 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
2DF Ayid Habshi (1995-05-10) 10 May 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Israel Bnei Yehuda
2DF Nisso Kapiloto (1989-10-01) 1 October 1989 (age 35) 0 0 Israel Hapoel Haifa
6 3MF Bibras Natkho (1988-02-18) 18 February 1988 (age 36) 50 1 Russia CSKA Moscow
7 3MF Beram Kayal (1988-05-02) 2 May 1988 (age 36) 33 1 England Brighton & Hove Albion
8 3MF Almog Cohen (1988-09-01) 1 September 1988 (age 36) 24 0 Germany FC Ingolstadt 04
11 3MF Dan Einbinder (1989-02-16) 16 February 1989 (age 35) 7 1 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
3MF Dor Peretz (1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 (age 29) 2 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
3MF Omer Atzili (1993-07-27) 27 July 1993 (age 31) 2 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
16 3MF Hanan Maman (1989-08-28) 28 August 1989 (age 35) 1 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
9 3MF Eran Levy (1985-08-04) 4 August 1985 (age 39) 1 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya
4FW Ben Sahar (1989-08-10) 10 August 1989 (age 35) 41 7 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
10 4FW Tomer Hemed (1987-05-02) 2 May 1987 (age 37) 32 16 England Brighton & Hove Albion
4FW Moanes Dabour (1992-05-14) 14 May 1992 (age 32) 7 1 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
19 4FW Alon Turgeman (1991-06-09) 9 June 1991 (age 33) 1 0 Austria Austria Wien
17 4FW Dia Saba (1992-11-18) 18 November 1992 (age 32) 1 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Israeli squad on the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Ofir Marciano (1989-10-07) 7 October 1989 (age 35) 11 0 Scotland Hibernian v.  Romania, 24 March 2018 INJ
GK Boris Klaiman (1990-10-26) 26 October 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
GK Omri Glazer (1996-03-11) 11 March 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Liechtenstein, 6 October 2017
DF Tal Kachila (1992-06-26) 26 June 1992 (age 32) 0 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Romania, 24 March 2018
DF Maor Kandil (1993-11-27) 27 November 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Israel Bnei Yehuda v.  Romania, 24 March 2018
DF Tal Ben Haim (Captain) (1982-03-31) 31 March 1982 (age 42) 96 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
DF Dor Elo (1993-09-26) 26 September 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
DF Hatem Abd Elhamed (1991-03-18) 18 March 1991 (age 33) 0 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
DF Ofir Davidzada (1991-05-05) 5 May 1991 (age 33) 11 0 Belgium Gent v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
DF Omri Ben Harush (1990-03-04) 4 March 1990 (age 34) 15 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
DF Shir Tzedek (1989-08-22) 22 August 1989 (age 35) 14 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva V.  Italy, 5 September 2017
DF Omer Danino (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 (age 29) 0 0 Israel Maccabi Petah Tikva V.  Italy, 5 September 2017
MF Dor Micha (1992-03-02) 2 March 1992 (age 32) 1 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Romania, 24 March 2018
MF Maor Melikson (1984-10-30) 30 October 1984 (age 40) 25 3 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Romania, 24 March 2018 INJ
MF David Keltjens (1995-06-11) 11 June 1995 (age 29) 6 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
MF Marwan Kabha (1991-02-23) 23 February 1991 (age 33) 4 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
MF Idan Vered (1989-05-25) 25 May 1989 (age 35) 2 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
MF Gidi Kanyuk (1993-02-11) 11 February 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Uzbekistan Pakhtakor Tashkent v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
MF Nir Bitton (1991-10-30) 30 October 1991 (age 33) 21 2 Scotland Celtic v.  Spain, 9 October 2017 INJ
MF Lior Refaelov (1986-04-26) 26 April 1986 (age 38) 40 6 Belgium Club Brugge v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
MF Yossi Benayoun (1980-05-05) 5 May 1980 (age 44) 102 24 Israel Maccabi Petah Tikva v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
MF Michael Ohana (1995-10-04) 4 October 1995 (age 29) 1 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Italy, 5 September 2017
MF Eran Zahavi (1987-07-25) 25 July 1987 (age 37) 39 6 China Guangzhou R&F v.  North Macedonia, 2 September 2017 RET
FW Tal Ben Haim II (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 (age 35) 29 5 Czech Republic Sparta Prague v.  Romania, 24 March 2018
FW Eliran Atar (1987-02-17) 17 February 1987 (age 37) 6 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
FW Itay Shechter (1987-02-22) 22 February 1987 (age 37) 27 5 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Spain, 9 October 2017
FW Manor Solomon (1999-07-24) 24 July 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Israel Maccabi Petah Tikva v.  Italy, 5 September 2017
  • INJ Withdrew due to an injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • SUS Suspended.
  • RET Retired from international football.

Player history

Main articles: List of Israel international footballers and Israel national football team records

Most capped players

As of 9 October 2017, the ten players with the most caps[1] for Israel are:

Rank. Name Career Caps Goals
1 Yossi Benayoun 1998–present 102 24
2 Tal Ben Haim 2002–present 96 2
3 Arik Benado 1995–2007 94 0
4 Alon Harazi 1992–2006 89 2
5 Amir Schelach 1992–2001 85 0
6 Mordechai Spiegler 1963–1977 83 33
Nir Klinger 1987–1997 83 2
8 Avi Nimni 1992–2005 80 17
9 Tal Banin 1990–2003 78 12
Itzhak Shum 1969–1981 78 10
Eyal Berkovic 1992–2004 78 9
Dudu Aouate 1999–2013 78 0

Bold denotes still active players.

Top goalscorers

Mordechai Spiegler (middle) is Israel's top scorer with 33 goals

As of 9 October 2017, the ten players with the most goals[2] for Israel are:

Rank. Player Career Goals Caps Average
1 Mordechai Spiegler 1963–1977 33 83 0.39
2 Yehoshua Feigenbaum 1966–1977 24 50 0.48
Yossi Benayoun 1998–present 24 102 0.24
4 Ronen Harazi 1992–1999 23 53 0.43
5 Nahum Stelmach 1956–1968 22 61 0.36
6 Gidi Damti 1971–1981 21 69 0.30
7 Giora Spiegel 1965–1980 18 44 0.40
Yehoshua Glazer 1949–1961 18 35 0.51
9 Eli Ohana 1984–1997 17 51 0.33
Avi Nimni 1992–2005 17 80 0.21

Bold denotes still active players.

Managers

WDL Record since 1948

Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Israel 1948 2017 476 177 112 187 037.18

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Israel v Wales match was originally to kick off at 20:45 (22:45 UTC+3), but was moved to 18:00 (20:00 UTC+3) as matches cannot kick off later than 22:00 local time according to UEFA's guidelines.[27]
  2. ^ The Israel v Belgium match was originally to be played on 9 September 2014, 20:45 (21:45 UTC+3), but was postponed due to the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Israel Football Association".
  2. ^ a b "The Israel Football Association".
  3. ^ "Aust-Asian bid fails". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 September 1974. p. 11. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  4. ^ Rahman, Mansoor (14 September 1974). "'Visibles' win without any kick..." New Straits Times. p. 22. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  5. ^ Williams, Richard (19 May 2015). "Why Does Israel's Football Team Play In Europe?". Sky News. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ^ FIFA.com. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Israel - Men's - FIFA.com". FIFA.com.
  7. ^ "Malaysia, Singapore stay in Asian Cup central zone". The Straits Times. 16 August 1970.
  8. ^ "About the IFA". The Israel Football Association. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  9. ^ Due to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, UEFA ordered that no matches in its competitions could be held in Israel until further notice. UEFA was scheduled to reconsider its ban on 14 September.
    "UEFA to reconsider ban on soccer games played in Israel". Haaretz. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 6 September 2006.
  10. ^ On 15 September, UEFA lifted its ban on matches in Israel, returning to its previous policy of restricting Israel home matches to the Tel Aviv area. Israel's national stadium in Ramat Gan is within the allowed area.
    "UEFA lifts Israel match ban". UEFA. 15 September 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2006.[permanent dead link‍]
  11. ^ "I Wales testira Hrvatsku".
  12. ^ "Fixtures draw completes qualifying schedule". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  13. ^ "Israel vs. Malta - 2 September 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  14. ^ "Georgia vs. Israel - 7 September 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  15. ^ "Israel vs. Croatia - 9 October 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  16. ^ "Greece vs. Israel - 12 October 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  17. ^ "Israel vs. Latvia - 26 March 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  18. ^ "Israel vs. Georgia - 29 March 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  19. ^ "Latvia vs. Israel - 4 June 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  20. ^ "Israel vs. Greece - 2 September 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  21. ^ "Croatia vs. Israel - 6 September 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  22. ^ "Malta vs. Israel - 11 October 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  23. ^ uefa.com. "UEFA EURO 2016 - History - Standings – UEFA.com". UEFA.com.
  24. ^ "Cyprus vs. Israel - 10 October 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  25. ^ "Andorra vs. Israel - 13 October 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  26. ^ "Israel vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina - 16 November 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  27. ^ "Israel v Wales correction of kick-off time" (PDF). Israel Football Association. 11 December 2014.
  28. ^ "Israel vs. Wales - 28 March 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  29. ^ "Israel v Belgium qualifier postponed". UEFA.com. 27 August 2014.
  30. ^ "Israel vs. Belgium - 31 March 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  31. ^ "Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Israel - 12 June 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  32. ^ "Israel vs. Andorra - 3 September 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  33. ^ "Wales vs. Israel - 6 September 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  34. ^ "Israel vs. Cyprus - 10 October 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  35. ^ "Belgium vs. Israel - 13 October 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  36. ^ "2020 bids on Dubrovnik agenda". UEFA.org. 5 September 2013.
  37. ^ Conway, Richard. "FA says Istanbul is 'front runner' for Euro 2020 semi-finals and final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  38. ^ "Thirty-two FAs considering EURO 2020 bids". UEFA.org. 20 September 2013.
  39. ^ "Teddy filed as a candidate for Euro 2020" (in Hebrew). sites.one.co.il. 11 September 2013.
  40. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 bid evaluation report published". UEFA.com. 10 September 2014.
  41. ^ "UEFA Euro 2020 evaluation report" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  42. ^ "London to host UEFA EURO 2020 final". UEFA.org. 19 September 2014.
  43. ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places
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