Israel_national_football_team

Israel national football team

Israel national football team

Men's national association football team representing Israel

The Israel national football team (Hebrew: נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, romanized: Nivḥeret Yīsrāʾēl BeḴaduregel) represents Israel in men's international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association. They have been members of the European Confederation UEFA since 1994.

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

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

Israel qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1970. They also won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, before a forced relocation to UEFA.

History

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

Early 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 I and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The Mandatory Palestine national football team made its debut against Cairo (Egypt) in 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification, losing 0–5 in Cairo, Egypt. The team played five international matches, including a friendly match against Lebanon that Palestine won 1–5; until the British Mandate for Palestine national team 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.[3]

In 1948 the team became, officially, the national football team of (the State of) Israel.[4] The Israel national team's first match as an independent nation was on 26 September 1948, against the US Olympic Team. The game was won by the US 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

See also: Muslim and Arab World boycott, Mediterranean Games boycott, and AFC boycott
Israel winning the 1964 AFC Asian Cup

Muslim and Arab countries boycotting Israel

Israel was one of the founding members of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) following its own independence in 1948 (prior to that it played under the banner of the "British Mandate of Palestine").[5] After the 1974 Asian Games in Iran, and Israel's 0–1 tense loss to Iran in the finals,[6] Kuwait and other Muslim and Arab countries refused to play them. Following this, Israel were expelled from the confederation and spent a few years trying to qualify from such continental bodies as the OFC (Oceania), before eventually joining UEFA (Europe) officially.[7]

Israel's last years in the AFC

Israel competed at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) between 1954 and 1974. Due to the Arab League boycott of Israel, several Muslim countries 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 hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup.

In 1968, Israel went to their first Olympic Games and lost to Bulgaria in the quarterfinals.

1970's Israel national team at the Bloomfield Stadium of Tel Aviv, Israel

In 1969, Israel qualified for its first and only FIFA World Cup, via Asia/Oceania. Israel earned two points after a 1–1 draw with Sweden, a 0–0 draw with eventual finalist Italy, and a 0–2 loss to Uruguay. The goal against Sweden, scored by Mordechai Spiegler, is Israel's only FIFA World Cup goal to date.

In 1974, Israel was excluded from AFC competitions, as a result of a proposal by Kuwait (as other Muslim and Arab countries refused to play against Israel), that was adopted by a vote of 17 to 13 with 6 abstentions.[8][7] The vote coincided with the 1974 Asian Games, where the football competition was marred by the refusal of both North Korea[9] and Kuwait to play second-round matches against Israel.

In 1976, Israel went to its second Olympic Games and lost in the quarterfinals again, this time against Brazil. In 1973 and 1977, Israel participated in the World Cup qualification tournament which included teams from both Asia and Oceania, but failed to qualify.

Years in exile

First steps in UEFA

During the early 1980s, Israel played the majority of its matches against UEFA (Europe) teams, and competed in the European stage of qualification for the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

Ronny Rosenthal playing for Israel at the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification (Oceania) against New Zealand

First steps in OFC

For the next two tournaments, Israel entered Oceania's (OFC) qualification stage.

In 1989, Israel won the OFC second round (Oceania) by finishing above both Australia and New Zealand. As a result, Israel made it to the CONMEBOL–OFC play-offs to represent Oceania and play against CONMEBOL's (South America) Colombia for the 1990 World Cup, but lost (1–0, 0–0).

UEFA membership

In 1991, Israeli clubs began participating in European club competitions of UEFA, 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 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying play-offs, but was beaten by Denmark.

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 for the final tournament, but finished fourth in Group E, just one point behind second-placed Russia, who qualified directly with Croatia, and level on 23 points with England, who also failed to advance. 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 Israel failed to qualify again, finishing 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.[10]

In 2018, Willi Ruttensteiner was appointed as technical director. A national football academy was founded and three supporting development centers were established.[11]

Israel subsequently failed to qualify for any World Cup or European Championship finals, and performed inconsistently during the qualifying phases in which they took part, alternating between the good and the not-so-good. However, in the qualifiers for Euro 2020, they came very close to making history. Despite finishing 5th and penultimate in their particularly homogeneous qualifying group, Israel earned the right to play in the play-offs thanks to their position in the 2018-2019 edition of the Nations League. They first had to play in the semi-final of the Path C play-off in Scotland to earn the right to play in the final of the play-off in Serbia, which defeated Norway away in extra time. The game was tight, and the Israelis were finally eliminated in a penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw in regulation time and extra time (0–0, 3:5), Eran Zahavi having missed the first Israeli shot.

Promoted to League B for the 2020-2021 edition of the Nations League without having finished top of their group in the previous edition, thanks to the change of format subsequently decided by UEFA, Israel ensured their survival by finishing 3rd and penultimate in their group, with a balanced record of 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. At the 2022-2023 Nations League, Israel finished top of its 3-team group (Russia, which should have taken part, was excluded from European and international competitions due to its aggression against Ukraine), thanks to 2 wins over Albania (2–1 in both legs) and 2 draws against Iceland (2–2 on each occasion), synonymous with promotion to League A for the 2024-2025 edition.

In the Euro 2024 qualifiers, Israel was again eliminated at the play-off stage, as in the previous edition. Indeed, they finished 3rd in their qualifying group and saw their place in the play-offs assured thanks to their status as group winners at the 2022-2023 Nations League. Against Iceland in the semi-finals of the play-offs for Path B, they opened the scoring with Eran Zahavi's 31st-minute penalty, but failed to hold on to their advantage and were soundly beaten (1–4). The turning points of the match were Roy Revivo's 73rd-minute red card for a crude foul, and Eran Zahavi's penalty miss 7 minutes after the red card, when the score was 1–2.

Home stadium

The first home game of the Israel national football team was at Palms Ground on 6 April 1934 against Egypt in a 1934 World Cup qualifier. Prior to the formation of Israel, they also played at the Maccabi Ground for the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and Maccabiah Stadium. The first national team to represent the newly formed State of Israel back in 1948, had played at the Ramat Gan Stadium as part of 1954 FIFA World Cup qualification, in front of 55,000 spectators. The Ramat Gan Stadium would remain Israel's home stadium until 2013.

Since the construction of Sammy Ofer Stadium in the city of Haifa, Teddy Stadium in the city of Jerusalem, Turner Stadium in the city of Be'er Sheva, Netanya Stadium in the city of Netanya and Bloomfield Stadium in the city of Tel Aviv – the Israel national team has rotated their official home matches between the latter five.

Active stadiums

More information Matches, Image ...

Inactive stadiums

More information Matches, Image ...

Kit suppliers

More information Kit supplier, Origin ...

Results and fixtures

See also: Israel national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

25 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Israel  1–1  Kosovo Tel Aviv, Israel
18:00 (20:00 UTC+3)
  • Peretz 56'
 Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Bloomfield Stadium
Attendance: 28,935
Referee: Willie Collum (Scotland)
28 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Switzerland  3–0  Israel Geneva, Switzerland
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)
Report (UEFA) Stadium: Stade de Genève
Attendance: 14,819
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)
19 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Israel  2–1  Andorra Jerusalem, Israel
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Teddy Stadium
Attendance: 13,300
Referee: Dragomir Draganov (Bulgaria)
9 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Romania  1–1  Israel Bucharest, Romania
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Arena Națională
Attendance: 49,193
Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)
12 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Israel  1–0  Belarus Tel Aviv, Israel
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)
Report (UEFA) Stadium: Bloomfield Stadium
Attendance: 28,435
Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (Spain)
12 November 2023[note 2] UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Kosovo  1–0  Israel Prishtina, Kosovo
20:45
Report (UEFA) Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium
Attendance: 5,245
Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)
15 November 2023[note 3] UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Israel  1–1   Switzerland Felcsút, Hungary[note 4]
20:45
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Pancho Aréna
Attendance: 2,024
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
18 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Israel  1–2  Romania Felcsút, Hungary[note 4]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+2)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Pancho Aréna
Attendance: 2,921
Referee: François Letexier (France)
21 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Andorra  0–2  Israel Andorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45 Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Estadi Nacional
Attendance: 568
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Germany)

2024

21 March 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs Israel  1–4  Iceland Budapest, Hungary[note 4]
20:45
Report
Stadium: Szusza Ferenc Stadion
Attendance: 1,226
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
8 June 2024 Friendly Hungary  v  Israel Hungary
Source
6 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Belgium  v  Israel Belgium
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) Report (UEFA)
9 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Israel  v  Italy [note 4]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) Report (UEFA)
10 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Israel  v  France [note 4]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) Report (UEFA)
14 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Italy  v  Israel Italy
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) Report (UEFA)
14 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League France  v  Israel France
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) Report (UEFA)
17 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Israel  v  Belgium [note 4]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) Report (UEFA)

Coaching staff

Avram Grant has been one of the youngest official head coaches of Israel.
Alon Hazan is the current official head coach of Israel.
As of 21 November 2023.[18][19]
More information Position, Name ...

Coaching history

As of 21 November 2023.[20][21]
More information Manager, Years as manager ...

Players

Current squad

The following players were called for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Kosovo, Switzerland, Romania, Andorra, on 12, 15, 18 and 21 November 2023; respectively.[36][37]

Caps and goals are correct as of 21 November 2023, after the match against Andorra.[38][39][40][41]

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Israel squad within the last 12 months.

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

Main articles: List of Israel international footballers and Israel national football team records and statistics
As of 18 November 2023.[42]
Players in bold are still active with Israel.
Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.

Most capped players

Yossi Benayoun is Israel's most capped player with 101 appearances – also both Israel's current Professional manager and Technical manager.
More information Rank, Name ...

Top goalscorers

Eran Zahavi is Israel's top scorer with 34 goals.
More information Rank, Name ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Main article: Israel at the FIFA World Cup
See also: 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC) and 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)
More information FIFA World Cup record, Qualification record ...

UEFA European Championship

More information UEFA European Championship record, Qualification record ...

UEFA Nations League

More information League phase, Finals ...
*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
**Group stage played home and away. Flag shown represents host nation for the finals stage.

Olympic Games

Main article: Israel at the Summer Olympics
Main article: Football at the 2024 Summer Olympics § Qualification
See also: Israel at the 1968 Summer Olympics, Israel at the 1976 Summer Olympics, and 1980 Summer Olympics boycott
More information Olympic Games record, Year ...
More information AFC Asian Cup record, Year ...

FIFA World Ranking history

See also: History of the Israel national football team § 1993 to 2010 rating

The following is a chart of yearly averages of Israel's FIFA World Ranking.[43]

Honours

See also: History of the Israel national football team § Titles, and History of the Israel national football team § Awards
As an [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] member[44]

AFC Asian Cup

Asian Games

  • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Silver Medal (1): 1974

See also

Notes

  1. Yossi Benayoun also played and scored against Romania B however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
  2. Tal Ben Haim also played against Romania B however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
  3. Tal Banin also played against USSR XI however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
  4. Mordechai Spiegler also played in 25 matches that are not recognised by FIFA, scoring eight additional goals, however they are not full-international matches and are therefore not included
  5. Nahum Stelmach also played in 19 matches that are not recognised by FIFA, scoring three additional goals, however they are not full-international matches and are therefore not included
  6. Eli Ohana also played a 1984 Olympic qualification game however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
  7. Yehoshua Feigenbaum also played in 15 matches that are not recognised by FIFA, scoring nine additional goals, however they are not full-international matches and are therefore not included
  1. [N 1]
    Due to the Belarusian country's involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belarus are required to play their home matches at neutral venues and behind closed doors until further notice.[12]
  2. [N 2]
    The Kosovo v Israel match, originally scheduled to be played on 15 October 2023, was postponed to 12 November 2023 due to the Israel–Hamas war.[13][14]
  3. [N 3]
    The Israel v Switzerland match, originally scheduled to be played on 12 October 2023 at the Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, was postponed to a date to determine due and relocated to a neutral site due to the Israel–Hamas war.[15][16]
  4. [N 4]
    Due to the Israel–Hamas war, Israel are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice.[17]

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