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Israel national football team

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Israel
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Template:Hebrew (The Blue and Whites)
AssociationIsrael Football Association (IFA)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe) (1994–present)
AFC (Asia) (1954–74)
Head coachAndi Herzog
CaptainBibras Natkho
Most capsYossi Benayoun (102)[1]
Top scorerMordechai Spiegler (34)[2]
Home stadiumTeddy Stadium (Jerusalem)
Sammy Ofer Stadium (Haifa)
Turner Stadium (Be'er Sheva)
FIFA codeISR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 76 Increase 5 (28 November 2024)[3]
Highest15 (November 2008)
Lowest99 (January 2018)
First international
Mandatory Palestine (Eretz Israel):
 Egypt 7–1 Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine
(Cairo, Egypt; 16 March 1934)
Israel:
United States USA Olympic Team 3–1 Israel Israel
(New York City, United States; 26 September 1948)
Biggest win
Israel Israel 9–0 Chinese Taipei 
(Wellington, New Zealand; 23 March 1988)
Biggest defeat
Mandatory Palestine (Eretz Israel):
 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
European Championship
Appearances0
Asian Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1956)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions, 1964

The Israel national football team (Template:Lang-he, Nivḥeret Yisra'el BeChaduregel) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA).

Israel's national team is the direct successor of the Mandatory Palestine national football team, which played five internationals in 1934–1940, and was managed by the Eretz Israel Football Association. Israel has competed in FIFA World Cup qualifiers in three different confederations, competing in the Asian Football Confederation before settling in Europe as a member of the Union of European Football Associations in 1994.

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

History

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. During those five games, the national team fielded only Jewish players. Three anthems were played before each match: the British "God Save the King", the Jewish (and future Israeli) "Hatikvah" and the opposing team's anthem.[5]

In 1948 the team became, officially, the national team of Israel. 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

Nahum Stelmach kicking; 1959

Israel competed in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) between 1954 and 1974. Due to the Arab League boycott of Israel, 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.[6] The vote coincided with the 1974 Asian Games, where the football competition was marred by the refusal of both North Korea[7] 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

Yossi Benayoun is Israel's most capped player with 102 caps

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

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.[8]

Ranking history

Source: [9]

All-time head-to-head record

As of 7 June 2019.

  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.
  4. ^ As  South Vietnam.

Home stadium

An all-seated roofless stadium with a football pitch.
Sammy Ofer Stadium of Haifa. Israel's second largest stadium
Teddy Stadium of Jerusalem. Israel's largest stadium
File:Turner Stadium.jpg
Turner Stadium of Be'er Sheva. 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 (30,780 seats), ever since 2015 Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem (31,733 seats), and ever since 2018 Turner Stadium in Be'er Sheva (16,126 seats), are being used as the official home stadiums of the Israel national football team. All three 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. All three stadiums also host matches of Israeli clubs for the UEFA Champions League.

For friendly matches, ever since 2013 the Netanya Stadium in Netanya (13,610 seats), is being used as the home stadium of the Israel national football team.

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier Origin Period
Italy 1992–1995
Germany 2008–2018
File:Puma AG.svg
Germany 1985-1989, 1996–2008, 2018–present

Honours

Titles

1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (1): 1964.
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (2): 1956, 1960.
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 3rd place: 1968.
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver medal (1): 1974.

Competitive record

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 1 Title 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.

FIFA World Cup

Year Round Position GP W D* L GF GA
as  Mandatory Palestine / Eretz Israel
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter
Italy 1934 Did not qualify
France 1938
as  Israel
Brazil 1950 Did not qualify
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970 Group stage 12th 3 0 2 1 1 3
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998
South KoreaJapan 2002
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018
Qatar 2022
United States Canada Mexico 2026
Total 1/23 - 3 0 2 1 1 3
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G

Asian Games

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

Summer Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games 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.

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Group Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA RK P/R
2018–19 C 1 Group Stage 2nd 4 2 0 2 6 5 30 Same position
2020–21 C To be determined
Best/Total C Group Stage 1/1 4 2 0 2 6 5 30

UEFA European Championship

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.[10] Israel was expelled from the AFC in the early 1970s and eventually became a member of UEFA.[11]

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'

Israel 2 – 2 Slovakia
R. Harazi 23'
Banin 32' (pen.)
Report Rusnák 5'
Moravčík 14'

Azerbaijan 0 – 2 Israel
Report R. Harazi 30'
Rosenthal 51'

Israel 1 – 1 Romania
Rosenthal 83' Report Lǎcǎtuş 70'

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

Israel 2 – 0 Azerbaijan
R. Harazi 31', 90' Report

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

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'

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'

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 Colautti 8'
Attendance: 7,800

Israel 4–1 Andorra
Benayoun 9'
Ben-Shushan 11'
Gershon 43' (pen.)
Tamuz 69'
Report Fernandez 84'

Russia 1–1 Israel
Arshavin 5' Report Ben-Shushan 84'
Attendance: 22,000

Israel 3–4 Croatia
Colautti 8', 89'
Benayoun 68'
Report Srna 35' (pen.)
Eduardo 39', 54', 72'

Israel 0–0 England
Report

Israel 4–0 Estonia
Tal 19'
Colautti 29'
Sahar 77', 80'
Report
Attendance: 23,658

North Macedonia 1–2 Israel
Stojkov 13' Report Yitzhaki 11'
Colautti 44'
Attendance: 15,000

Andorra 0–2 Israel
Report Tamuz 37'
Colautti 53'

England 3–0 Israel
Wright-Phillips 20'
Owen 49'
Richards 66'
Report
Attendance: 85,372

Croatia 1–0 Israel
Eduardo 52' Report
Attendance: 32,000

Israel 2–1 Russia
Barda 10'
Golan 90+2'
Report Bilyaletdinov 61'
Attendance: 27,563

Israel 1–0 North Macedonia
Barda 35' Report

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.[14] 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.[15]


Israel 3–1 Malta
Benayoun 7', 64' (pen.), 75' Report Pace 38'

Georgia 0–0 Israel
Report

Israel 1–2 Croatia
Shechter 81' Report Kranjčar 36' (pen.), 41'

Greece 2–1 Israel
Salpingidis 22'
Karagounis 63' (pen.)
Report Spyropoulos 59' (o.g.)

Israel 2–1 Latvia
Barda 16'
Kayal 81'
Report Gorkšs 62'

Israel 1–0 Georgia
Ben Haim II 59' Report

Latvia 1–2 Israel
Cauņa 62' (pen.) Report Benayoun 19'
Ben Haim I 43' (pen.)

Israel 0–1 Greece
Report Ninis 60'

Croatia 3–1 Israel
Modrić 47'
Eduardo 55', 57'
Report Hemed 44'

Malta 0–2 Israel
Report Refaelov 11'
Gershon 90+3'

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.[26]

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[27]

Andorra 1–4 Israel
Lima 15' (pen.) Report Damari 3', 41', 82'
Hemed 90+6' (pen.)

Israel 3–0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vermouth 36'
Damari 45'
Zahavi 70'
Report

Israel 0–3 Wales
Report Ramsey 45+1'
Bale 50', 77'
Attendance: 30,200[31]

Israel 0–1 Belgium
Report Fellaini 9'

Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–1 Israel
Višća 42', 75'
Džeko 45+2' (pen.)
Report Ben Haim II 41'
Attendance: 12,100[34]
Referee: Ruddy Buquet (France)

Israel 4–0 Andorra
Zahavi 3'
Bitton 22'
Hemed 26' (pen.)
Dabour 38'
Report
Attendance: 22,650[35]

Wales 0–0 Israel
Report
Attendance: 32,653[36]
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)

Israel 1–2 Cyprus
Bitton 76' Report Dossa Júnior 58'
Demetriou 80'
Attendance: 25,300[37]

Belgium 3–1 Israel
Mertens 64'
De Bruyne 78'
Hazard 84'
Report Hemed 88'

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 - Qualifier - Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Poland Austria North Macedonia Slovenia Israel Latvia
1  Poland 10 8 1 1 18 5 +13 25 Qualify for final tournament 0–0 2–0 3–2 4–0 2–0
2  Austria 10 6 1 3 19 9 +10 19 0–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 6–0
3  North Macedonia 10 4 2 4 12 13 −1 14[a] Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–1 1–4 2–1 1–0 3–1
4  Slovenia 10 4 2 4 16 11 +5 14[a] 2–0 0–1 1–1 3–2 1–0
5  Israel 10 3 2 5 16 18 −2 11 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 1–2 4–2 1–1 1–1 3–1
6  Latvia 10 1 0 9 3 28 −25 3 0–3 1–0 0–2 0–5 0–3
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head points: North Macedonia 4, Slovenia 1.
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.[39] On 20 September, UEFA confirmed expressions of interest from 32 football associations to act as host cities.[40][41]

Israel’s bid was for Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem who’s capacity would be expanded from 34,000 to 53,000[42]

On 10 September 2014, UEFA published the evaluation reports of the 19 bids.[43][44] 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.[45]

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss

2018

7 September 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Albania  1–0  Israel Elbasan, Albania
20:45
(20:45 UTC+2)
Xhaka 55' Report Stadium: Elbasan Arena
Attendance: 4,126
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
11 September 2018 Friendly Northern Ireland  3–0  Israel Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 BST
Report Stadium: Windsor Park
Attendance: 12,913
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands)
11 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Israel  2–1  Scotland Haifa, Israel
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)
Stadium: Sammy Ofer Stadium
Attendance: 10,290
Referee: Daniel Stefanski (Poland)
14 October 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Israel  2–0  Albania Be'er Sheva, Israel
20:45
(21:45 UTC+3)
Report Stadium: Turner Stadium
Attendance: 14,900
Referee: Paolo Mazzoleni (Italy)
15 November 2018 Friendly Israel  7–0  Guatemala Netanya, Israel
11:15
(20:15 UTC+2)
Report Stadium: Netanya Stadium
Attendance: 5,900
Referee: Jérôme Brisard (France)
20 November 2018 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Scotland  3–2  Israel Glasgow, Scotland
20:45
(19:45 UTC±0)
Report
Stadium: Hampden Park
Attendance: 21,281
Referee: Tobias Welz (Germany)

2019

21 March 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Israel  1–1  Slovenia Haifa, Israel
21:45
(19:45 UTC±0)
Report
Stadium: Sammy Ofer Stadium
Attendance: 12,430
Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)
24 March 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Israel  4–2  Austria Haifa, Israel
19:00
(17:00 UTC±0)
Report
Stadium: Sammy Ofer Stadium
Attendance: 16,180
Referee: Yevhen Aranovskyi (Ukraine)
7 June 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Latvia  0–3  Israel Riga, Latvia
21:45
(18:45 UTC±0)
Report
Stadium: Daugava Stadium
Attendance: 5,508
Referee: Sergey Ivanov (Russia)
10 June 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Poland  4–0  Israel Warsaw, Poland
21:45
(18:45 UTC±0)
Report Stadium: Stadion Narodowy
Attendance: 57,229
Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)


Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for Euro 2020 qualifying games against North Macedonia on 5 September and against Slovenia on 9 September 2019.
Caps and goals updated as of 10 June 2019 after the match against Poland.
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) 19 0 Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam
18 1GK Ofir Marciano (1989-10-07) 7 October 1989 (age 35) 12 0 Scotland Hibernian
23 1GK Yoav Gerafi (1993-08-29) 29 August 1993 (age 31) 0 0 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv

20 2DF Omri Ben Harush (1990-03-04) 4 March 1990 (age 34) 24 0 Belgium Lokeren
2 2DF Eli Dasa (1992-12-03) 3 December 1992 (age 32) 20 0 Free Agent
19 2DF Orel Dgani (1989-01-08) 8 January 1989 (age 35) 10 0 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
17 2DF Loai Taha (1989-11-26) 26 November 1989 (age 35) 8 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
2DF Ben Bitton (1991-01-03) 3 January 1991 (age 33) 5 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
5 2DF Hatem Abd Elhamed (1991-03-18) 18 March 1991 (age 33) 2 0 Scotland Celtic
2DF Raz Shlomo (1999-08-13) 13 August 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv

6 3MF Bibras Natkho (Captain) (1988-02-18) 18 February 1988 (age 36) 61 1 Serbia Partizan
7 3MF Eran Zahavi (1987-07-25) 25 July 1987 (age 37) 47 16 China Guangzhou R&F
21 3MF Beram Kayal (1988-05-02) 2 May 1988 (age 36) 43 2 England Charlton Athletic
8 3MF Almog Cohen (1988-09-01) 1 September 1988 (age 36) 27 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya
14 3MF Dor Peretz (1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 (age 29) 13 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
13 3MF Dan Glazer (1996-09-20) 20 September 1996 (age 28) 3 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
16 3MF Yonatan Cohen (1996-06-29) 29 June 1996 (age 28) 3 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
3MF Gadi Kinda (1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 (age 30) 0 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem

10 4FW Tomer Hemed (1987-05-02) 2 May 1987 (age 37) 38 17 England Charlton Athletic
9 4FW Moanes Dabour (1992-05-14) 14 May 1992 (age 32) 16 4 Spain Sevilla
4FW Dia Saba (1992-11-18) 18 November 1992 (age 32) 8 3 China Guangzhou R&F
11 4FW Manor Solomon (1999-07-24) 24 July 1999 (age 25) 5 0 Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk
4FW Shon Weissman (1996-02-14) 14 February 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Austria Wolfsberger

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 Guy Haimov (1986-03-09) 9 March 1986 (age 38) 3 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Scotland, 20 November 2018
GK Danny Amos (1987-02-02) 2 February 1987 (age 37) 0 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya v.  Scotland, 20 November 2018
GK Mahmmoud Kanadil (1988-08-11) 11 August 1988 (age 36) 0 0 Israel Bnei Sakhnin v.  Albania, 14 October 2018

DF Sheran Yeini (1986-12-08) 8 December 1986 (age 37) 28 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Poland, 10 June 2019 INJ
DF Taleb Tawatha (1992-06-21) 21 June 1992 (age 32) 16 1 Free Agent v.  Poland, 10 June 2019
DF Ayid Habshi (1995-05-10) 10 May 1995 (age 29) 4 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Poland, 10 June 2019
DF Rami Gershon (1988-08-12) 12 August 1988 (age 36) 26 2 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Austria, 24 March 2019
DF Shir Tzedek (1989-08-22) 22 August 1989 (age 35) 16 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Scotland, 20 November 2018
DF Eitan Tibi (1987-11-16) 16 November 1987 (age 37) 38 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Albania, 14 October 2018
DF Nisso Kapiloto (1989-10-01) 1 October 1989 (age 35) 2 0 Israel Hapoel Haifa v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018
DF Samuel Scheimann (1987-11-03) 3 November 1987 (age 37) 2 0 Netherlands VVV-Venlo v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018

MF Nir Bitton (1991-10-30) 30 October 1991 (age 33) 23 2 Scotland Celtic v.  North Macedonia, 5 September 2019 INJ
MF Dor Micha (1992-03-02) 2 March 1992 (age 32) 4 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Austria, 24 March 2019
MF Eyal Golasa (1991-10-07) 7 October 1991 (age 33) 11 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Guatemala, 15 November 2018 INJ
MF Dan Einbinder (1989-02-16) 16 February 1989 (age 35) 8 1 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Albania, 14 October 2018
MF Maxim Plakuschenko (1996-01-04) 4 January 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018

FW Ben Sahar (1989-08-10) 10 August 1989 (age 35) 44 8 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Poland, 10 June 2019
FW Eylon Almog (1999-01-08) 8 January 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Poland, 10 June 2019
FW Itay Shechter (1987-02-22) 22 February 1987 (age 37) 24 5 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Latvia, 7 June 2019 INJ
FW Alon Turgeman (1991-06-09) 9 June 1991 (age 33) 2 0 Austria Austria Wien v.  Latvia, 7 June 2019 INJ
FW Eliran Atar (1987-02-17) 17 February 1987 (age 37) 7 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Albania, 14 October 2018
FW Mohammed Awaed (1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 (age 27) 0 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Albania, 14 October 2018
  • INJ Withdrew due to an injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • SUS Suspended.
  • RET Retired from international football.

Records

Most capped players

As of 10 June 2019, the ten players with the most caps[1] for Israel are:

Rank. Name Career Caps Goals
1 Yossi Benayoun 1998–2017 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 10 June 2019, 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 1998–2017 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
Tomer Hemed 2011–present 17 37 0.46

Bold denotes still active players.

Managers

WDL Record since 1948

Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Israel 1948 2018 481 179 112 190 037.21

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.[30]
  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.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Israel Football Association".
  2. ^ a b "The Israel Football Association".
  3. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  4. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  5. ^ Mubarak, Hassanin. "Palestine – International Results – Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Aust-Asian bid fails". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 September 1974. p. 11. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  7. ^ Rahman, Mansoor (14 September 1974). "'Visibles' win without any kick..." New Straits Times. p. 22. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  8. ^ Williams, Richard (19 May 2015). "Why Does Israel's Football Team Play In Europe?". Sky News. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  9. ^ FIFA.com. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Israel - Men's - FIFA.com". FIFA.com.
  10. ^ "Malaysia, Singapore stay in Asian Cup central zone". The Straits Times. 16 August 1970.
  11. ^ "About the IFA". The Israel Football Association. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "I Wales testira Hrvatsku".
  15. ^ "Fixtures draw completes qualifying schedule". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  16. ^ "Israel vs. Malta - 2 September 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  17. ^ "Georgia vs. Israel - 7 September 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  18. ^ "Israel vs. Croatia - 9 October 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  19. ^ "Greece vs. Israel - 12 October 2010 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  20. ^ "Israel vs. Latvia - 26 March 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  21. ^ "Israel vs. Georgia - 29 March 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  22. ^ "Latvia vs. Israel - 4 June 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  23. ^ "Israel vs. Greece - 2 September 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  24. ^ "Croatia vs. Israel - 6 September 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  25. ^ "Malta vs. Israel - 11 October 2011 - Soccerway". www.soccerway.com.
  26. ^ uefa.com. "UEFA EURO 2016 - History - Standings – UEFA.com". UEFA.com.
  27. ^ "Cyprus vs. Israel - 10 October 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  28. ^ "Andorra vs. Israel - 13 October 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  29. ^ "Israel vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina - 16 November 2014 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  30. ^ "Israel v Wales correction of kick-off time" (PDF). Israel Football Association. 11 December 2014.
  31. ^ "Israel vs. Wales - 28 March 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  32. ^ "Israel v Belgium qualifier postponed". UEFA.com. 27 August 2014.
  33. ^ "Israel vs. Belgium - 31 March 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  34. ^ "Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Israel - 12 June 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  35. ^ "Israel vs. Andorra - 3 September 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  36. ^ "Wales vs. Israel - 6 September 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com.
  37. ^ "Israel vs. Cyprus - 10 October 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  38. ^ "Belgium vs. Israel - 13 October 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  39. ^ "2020 bids on Dubrovnik agenda". UEFA.org. 5 September 2013.
  40. ^ Conway, Richard. "FA says Istanbul is 'front runner' for Euro 2020 semi-finals and final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  41. ^ "Thirty-two FAs considering EURO 2020 bids". UEFA.org. 20 September 2013.
  42. ^ "Teddy filed as a candidate for Euro 2020" (in Hebrew). sites.one.co.il. 11 September 2013.
  43. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 bid evaluation report published". UEFA.com. 10 September 2014.
  44. ^ "UEFA Euro 2020 evaluation report" (PDF). UEFA.com.
  45. ^ "London to host UEFA EURO 2020 final". UEFA.org. 19 September 2014.
  46. ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places