Israel national football team

Israel
Nickname(s) הכחולים-לבנים‬ (The Blue and Whites)
Association Israel Football Association (IFA)
Confederation UEFA (Europe) (1991–present)
AFC (Asia) (1954–74)
Head coach Andi Herzog
Captain Bibras Natkho
Most caps Yossi Benayoun (102)[1]
Top scorer Mordechai Spiegler (33)[2]
Home stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa
Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem
FIFA code ISR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 93 Increase 5 (7 June 2018)
Highest 15 (November 2008)
Lowest 99 (January 2018)
Elo ranking
Current 75 Increase 1 (29 July 2018)
Highest 15 (August 2008)
Lowest 80 (February 1968)
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
Appearances 1 (first in 1970)
Best result Group stage, 1970
Asian Cup
Appearances 4 (first in 1956)
Best result Champions, 1964

The Israel national football team (Hebrew: נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל‎, Nivḥeret Yisra'el BeChaduregel) 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 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 also hosted and won the AFC Asian Cup in 1964, and was finalist in 1956 and in 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.

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.[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

Since July 2018, Puma is Israel's kit supplier, having previously supplied the kits from 1996 to 2008. Israel's kits were supplied by Diadora from 1988 to 1995 and Adidas from 2008 to 2018

Honours

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

Competition history

FIFA World Cup

YearRoundPositionGPWD*LGFGA
as  Mandatory Palestine
Uruguay 1930Did not enter
Italy 1934Did not qualify
France 1938
as  Israel
Brazil 1950Did not qualify
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962
England 1966
Mexico 1970Group stage12th302113
West Germany 1974Did not qualify
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998
South Korea Japan 2002
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014
Russia 2018
Total1/21-302113
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks

Olympic record

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–420297
West Germany 1972 Did not qualify
Canada 1976 Quarter-finals–403147
Soviet Union 1980 Withdrew
United States 1984 Did not qualify
South Korea 1988
TotalQuarter-finals2/1082331314

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

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 1951Did not qualify
Philippines 1954
Japan 1958Quarterfinals320163
Indonesia 1962Did not qualify
Thailand 1966
Thailand 1970
Iran 1974Runners-up7601244
Thailand 1978Did not qualify
India 1982
Total2/1310802307

UEFA European Championship record

UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D * L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1960–1992 Did Not Enter
England 1996 Did Not Qualify 10 3 3 4 13 13
Belgium Netherlands 2000 8 4 1 3 25 9
Portugal 2004 8 2 3 3 9 11
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 7 2 3 20 12
Poland Ukraine 2012 10 5 1 4 13 11
France 2016 10 4 1 5 16 14
Total 0/15 48 21 10 17 80 56
*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.
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
Referee: Frans van den Wijngaert (Belgium)
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
Referee: Antonio Martín Navarrete (Spain)
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
Referee: Marnix Sandra (Belgium)
Israel 2 – 0 Azerbaijan
R. Harazi  31', 90' Report
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Claude Détruche (Switzerland)
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 Advance to play-offs 1–2 — 5–0 3–0 8–0
3  Austria 8 4 1 3 19 20 −1 13 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
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: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Drawing of lots.
Matches
Team 1 Agg. 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
Referee: Cosimo-Giancarlo Bolognino (ITA)
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 Republic of 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 2–3 3–0 — 3–0 0–0 3–0 5–0
4  Israel 12 7 2 3 20 12 +8 23 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
Matches
Estonia 0–1 Israel
Report Colautti  8'
Attendance: 7,800
Referee: Johan Verbist (Belgium)
Israel 4–1 Andorra
Benayoun  9'
Ben-Shushan  11'
Gershon  43' (pen.)
Tamuz  69'		 Report Fernandez  84'
Attendance: 0
Referee: Sinisa Zrnic (Bosnia)
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'
Attendance: 38,000
Israel 0–0 England
Report
Attendance: 45,000
Israel 4–0 Estonia
Tal  19'
Colautti  29'
Sahar  77', 80'		 Report
Attendance: 23,658
Macedonia 1–2 Israel
Stojkov  13' Report Yitzhaki  11'
Colautti  44'
Attendance: 15,000
Andorra 0–2 Israel
Report Tamuz  37'
Colautti  53'
Attendance: 618
Referee: Ian Stokes (Ireland)
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 Macedonia
Barda  35' Report
Attendance: 2,736
Referee: Tomasz Mikulski (Poland)
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
 Israel33,42110,80188,40317,681
Discipline
Position Player Country Yellow card Red card Suspended for match(es) Reason
DefenderTal Ben Haim I Israel21vs 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
ForwardItay Shechter Israel20vs 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)
 IsraelEitan TibiYellow cardYellow cardRed card vs Wales (28 March 2015)vs Belgium (31 March 2015)
Lior RefaelovYellow 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 YeiniYellow 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 BittonYellow 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

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group G table|show_matches=yes|showteam=ISR}}

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

2018


Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the UEFA Nations League matches against Scotland on 11 October and against Albania on 14 October 2018.
Caps and goals updated as of 11 October 2018 after the match against Scotland.
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 13 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
18 1GK Guy Haimov (1986-03-09) 9 March 1986 3 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa
23 1GK Danny Amos (1987-02-02) 2 February 1987 0 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya
21 2DF Eitan Tibi (1987-11-16) 16 November 1987 38 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
12 2DF Sheran Yeini (1986-12-08) 8 December 1986 22 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
20 2DF Omri Ben Harush (1990-03-04) 4 March 1990 17 0 Belgium Lokeren
2DF Shir Tzedek (1989-08-22) 22 August 1989 15 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
13 2DF Taleb Tawatha (1992-06-21) 21 June 1992 13 0 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
2 2DF Eli Dasa (1992-12-03) 3 December 1992 13 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
22 2DF Ben Bitton (1991-01-03) 3 January 1991 5 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
4 2DF Ayid Habshi (1995-05-10) 10 May 1995 2 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa
6 3MF Bibras Natkho (Captain) (1988-02-18) 18 February 1988 54 1 Greece Olympiacos
7 3MF Beram Kayal (1988-05-02) 2 May 1988 36 1 England Brighton & Hove Albion
11 3MF Dan Einbinder (1989-02-16) 16 February 1989 8 1 Israel Beitar Jerusalem
8 3MF Dor Peretz (1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 6 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
15 3MF Dor Micha (1992-03-02) 2 March 1992 3 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
20 3MF Dan Glazer (1996-09-20) 20 September 1996 1 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
10 4FW Tomer Hemed (1987-05-02) 2 May 1987 35 17 England Queens Park Rangers
4FW Itay Shechter (1987-02-22) 22 February 1987 24 5 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
9 4FW Moanes Dabour (1992-05-14) 14 May 1992 11 1 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
4FW Eliran Atar (1987-02-17) 17 February 1987 7 1 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
19 4FW Dia Saba (1992-11-18) 18 November 1992 3 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
4FW Mohammed Awaed (1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 0 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa

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 Mahmmoud Kanadil (1988-08-11) 11 August 1988 0 0 Israel Bnei Sakhnin v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018
GK Ofir Marciano (1989-10-07) 7 October 1989 11 0 Scotland Hibernian v.  Romania, 24 March 2018 INJ
DF Samuel Scheimann (1987-11-03) 3 November 1987 2 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018
DF Nisso Kapiloto (1989-10-01) 1 October 1989 2 0 Israel Hapoel Haifa v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018
DF Loai Taha (1989-11-26) 26 November 1989 1 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Albania, 7 September 2018 INJ
DF Oren Biton (1994-06-16) 16 June 1994 0 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Argentina, 9 June 2018
DF Tal Kachila (1992-06-26) 26 June 1992 0 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Romania, 24 March 2018
DF Maor Kandil (1993-11-27) 27 November 1993 0 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Romania, 24 March 2018
MF Eran Zahavi (1987-07-25) 25 July 1987 40 6 China Guangzhou R&F v.  Scotland, 11 October 2018 INJ
MF Maxim Plakuschenko (1996-01-04) 4 January 1996 0 0 Israel Hapoel Haifa v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018
MF Omer Atzili (1993-07-27) 27 July 1993 2 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Argentina, 9 June 2018
MF Hanan Maman (1989-08-28) 28 August 1989 1 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Argentina, 9 June 2018
MF Eran Levy (1985-08-04) 4 August 1985 1 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Argentina, 9 June 2018
MF Almog Cohen (1988-09-01) 1 September 1988 24 0 Germany FC Ingolstadt 04 v.  Argentina, 9 June 2018 INJ
MF Maor Melikson (1984-10-30) 30 October 1984 25 3 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Romania, 24 March 2018
FW Ben Sahar (1989-08-10) 10 August 1989 42 7 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Scotland, 11 October 2018 INJ
FW Manor Solomon (1999-07-24) 24 July 1999 1 0 Israel Maccabi Petah Tikva v.  Scotland, 11 October 2018 INJ
FW Alon Turgeman (1991-06-09) 9 June 1991 2 0 Austria Austria Wien v.  Northern Ireland, 11 September 2018 INJ
FW Tal Ben Haim II (1989-08-05) 5 August 1989 29 5 Czech Republic Sparta Prague v.  Romania, 24 March 2018 INJ
  • INJ Withdrew due to an injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • SUS Suspended.
  • RET Retired from international football.

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
PWDLWin %
Israel 1948 2018 479 177 112 190 036.95

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. 1 2 "The Israel Football Association".
  2. 1 2 "The Israel Football Association".
  3. ↑ "Aust-Asian bid fails". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1974-09-16. p. 11. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  4. ↑ Rahman, Mansoor (1974-09-14). "'Visibles' win without any kick..." New Straits Times. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  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. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. 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. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2006.
  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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