Israel national football team

Israel
Nickname(s) הכחולים-לבנים (The Blue and Whites)
Association Israel Football Association (IFA)
Confederation UEFA (Europe) (1991–present)
no confederation (1974–91)
AFC (Asia) (1954–74)
Head coach Eli Guttman
Captain Yossi Benayoun
Most caps Yossi Benayoun (96)
Top scorer Mordechai Spiegler (33)
Home stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa
Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem
FIFA code ISR
FIFA ranking 46 Decrease 20 (9 April 2015)
Highest FIFA ranking 15 (November 2008)
Lowest FIFA ranking 82 (July 2012)
Highest Elo ranking 23 (4 April 1976)
Lowest Elo ranking 80 (February 1968)
First colours
Second colours
First international
Mandatory Palestine/Eretz Israel:
 Egypt 7–1 Mandatory Palestine/Eretz Israel Mandatory Palestine
(Cairo, Egypt; 16 March 1934)
Israel:
United States USA Olympic Team 3–1 Israel 
(New York, United States; 26 September 1948)
Biggest win
 Israel 9–0 Chinese Taipei 
(Wellington, New Zealand; 23 March 1988)
Biggest defeat
 Egypt 7–1 Mandatory Palestine/Eretz Israel Mandatory Palestine
(Cairo, Egypt; 16 March 1934)
 Germany 7–1 Israel 
(Kaiserslautern, Germany; 12 February 2002)
World Cup
Appearances 1 (First in 1970)
Best result Group Stage, 1970
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances 4 (First in 1956)
Best result Champions, 1964

The Israel national football team (Hebrew: נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל‎, Nivḥeret Yisra'el BeKhaduregel) is the national football team of Israel, governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA).

Israel's national team is the direct successor of the Mandatory Palestine/Eretz Israel national team, and was managed by the Eretz Israel Football Association. Israel has competed in FIFA World Cup qualifiers in three different confederations, competing in the Asian Football Confederation and the Oceania 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 1960.

History

Football has a long and rich 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.

Upon the creation of the State of Israel in May 1948, the IFA became the official association of the new state. 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–Israeli conflict, several Muslim states refused to compete against Israel. The political situation culminated in Israel winning the 1958 World Cup qualifying stage for Asia and Africa without playing a single game, forcing FIFA to schedule a playoff between Israel and Wales to ensure the team did not qualify without playing at least one game (which Wales won).

Israel 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

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.[1] The vote coincided with the 1974 Asian Games, where the football competition was marred by the refusal of both North Korea[2] 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 96 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.

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 finished fourth in Group E, behind Croatia, Russia, and England, respectively. 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.

Stadium

Main article: Sammy Ofer 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 have world-class standard.

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 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.

Competition history

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter – – – – – –
Italy 1934 Did Not Qualify
(as Eretz Israel Team)		 2 0 0 2 2 11
France 1938 2 0 0 2 1 4
Brazil 1950 Did Not Qualify 2 0 0 2 2 11
Switzerland 1954 4 0 0 4 0 5
Sweden 1958 2 0 0 2 0 4
Chile 1962 6 3 1 2 13 14
England 1966 4 0 0 4 1 12
Mexico 1970 Group Stage 12th 3 0 2 1 1 3 4 3 1 0 8 1
West Germany 1974 Did Not Qualify 5 3 1 1 5 3
Argentina 1978 5 2 1 1 5 3
Spain 1982 8 1 3 4 6 10
Mexico 1986 6 3 1 2 17 6
Italy 1990 6 1 4 1 5 5
United States 1994 10 1 3 6 10 27
France 1998 8 4 1 3 9 7
South Korea Japan 2002 8 3 3 2 11 7
Germany 2006 10 4 6 0 15 10
South Africa 2010 10 4 4 2 20 10
Brazil 2014 10 3 5 2 19 14
Russia 2018 To Be Determined
Qatar 2022
Total Group Stage 1/20 3 0 2 1 1 3 102 33 29 40 137 149
*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.

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
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.

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 To Be Determined To Be Determined
Total 0/14 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.

2014 FIFA World Cup

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group F

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Russia 10 7 1 2 20 5 +1522
 Portugal 10 6 3 1 20 9 +1121
 Israel 10 3 5 2 19 14 +514
 Azerbaijan 10 1 6 3 7 11 −49
 Northern Ireland 10 1 4 5 9 17 −87
 Luxembourg 10 1 3 6 7 26 −196
  Azerbaijan Israel Luxembourg Northern Ireland Portugal Russia
Azerbaijan  — 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1
Israel  1–1 — 3–0 1–1 3–3 0–4
Luxembourg  0–0 0–6 — 3–2 1–2 0–4
Northern Ireland  1–1 0–2 1–1 — 2–4 1–0
Portugal  3–0 1–1 3–0 1–1 — 1–0
Russia  1–0 3–1 4–1 2–0 1–0 —

UEFA Euro 2016

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Belgium Wales Israel Cyprus Bosnia and Herzegovina Andorra
1  Belgium 5 3 2 0 13 1 +12 11 Advance to final tournament — 0–0 13 Oct 5–0 3 Sep 6–0
2  Wales 5 3 2 0 7 2 +5 11 12 Jun — 6 Sep 2–1 0–0 13 Oct
3  Israel 5 3 0 2 9 6 +3 9 Final tournament or play-offs 0–1 0–3 — 10 Oct 3–0 3 Sep
4  Cyprus 5 2 0 3 9 10 −1 6 6 Sep 3 Sep 1–2 — 13 Oct 5–0
5  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 1 2 2 5 6 −1 5 1–1 10 Oct 12 Jun 1–2 — 6 Sep
6  Andorra 5 0 0 5 2 20 −18 0 10 Oct 1–2 1–4 12 Jun 0–3 —
Updated to match(es) played on 31 March 2015. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

2014

2015

Coaching staff

As of 26 February 2014[4]
Position Name Nationality
Head coach Eli Guttman  Israel
Assistant Manager Arik Benado  Israel
Assistant Manager Yossi Abuksis  Israel
Goalkeeper Coach Giora Antman  Israel
Fitness coach Ron Tziblin  Israel
Mental coach Alon Olman  Israel
Business Manager Israel Shchuchinski  Israel
Head Doctor Mark Rosnovsky  Israel

Current squad

The following players were named for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches against Wales and Belgium on 28 and 31 March 2015.[5]
Caps and goals updated as of 31 March 2015 after the match against Belgium.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 GK Ariel Harush 25 May 1988 7 0 Israel Maccabi Netanya
18 GK Ofir Martziano 7 October 1989 5 0 Israel Ashdod
23 GK Guy Haimov 9 February 1986 1 0 Israel Ironi Kiryat Shmona
3 DF Tal Ben Haim I (Captain) 31 March 1982 85 1 England Charlton Athletic
- DF Eitan Tibi 16 November 1987 20 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
5 DF Rami Gershon 12 August 1988 20 2 Belgium Gent
20 DF Omri Ben Harush 4 March 1990 10 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
15 DF Taleb Tawatha 21 June 1992 4 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa
21 DF Orel Dgani 8 January 1989 4 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa
2 DF Eli Dasa 3 December 1992 0 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem
6 MF Bibras Natkho 18 February 1988 38 1 Russia CSKA Moscow
9 MF Lior Refaelov 26 April 1986 35 5 Belgium Club Brugge
16 MF Beram Kayal 2 May 1988 26 1 England Brighton & Hove Albion
7 MF Eran Zahavi 25 July 1987 25 3 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
17 MF Maor Buzaglo 14 January 1988 16 1 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
13 MF Sheran Yeini 8 December 1986 14 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
4 MF Nir Bitton 30 October 1991 12 0 Scotland Celtic
19 MF Roi Kahat 12 May 1992 0 0 Israel Ironi Kiryat Shmona
10 FW Elyaniv Barda 15 December 1981 36 12 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva
14 FW Ben Sahar 10 August 1989 35 6 Netherlands Willem II
11 FW Itay Shechter 22 February 1987 24 5 Israel Maccabi Haifa
- FW Omer Damari INJ 24 March 1989 18 9 Germany RB Leipzig
8 FW Tomer Hemed 2 May 1987 17 10 Spain Almería
12 FW Tal Ben Haim II 5 August 1989 13 2 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
22 FW Moanes Dabour 14 May 1992 1 0 Switzerland Grasshopper

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 Boris Klaiman 26 October 1990 0 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16 November 2014
DF Eyal Meshumar 10 August 1983 10 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16 November 2014
DF Ofir Davidzada 5 May 1991 4 0 Israel Hapoel Be'er Sheva v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16 November 2014
DF Oded Elkayam 9 February 1988 0 0 Israel Ironi Kiryat Shmona v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16 November 2014
DF Hatem Abd Elhamed 18 March 1991 0 0 Romania Dinamo București v.  Cyprus, 10 October 2014
DF Yuval Spungin 3 April 1987 27 0 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Honduras, 1 June 2014
DF Avi Rikan 10 September 1988 2 0 Switzerland Zürich v.  Honduras, 1 June 2014
DF Shai Haddad 2 July 1987 0 0 Israel Ashdod v.  Honduras, 1 June 2014
MF Gil Vermouth INJ 5 August 1985 26 2 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Bosnia and Herzegovina, 16 November 2014
MF Yossi Benayoun 5 May 1980 96 24 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Honduras, 1 June 2014
MF Kobi Moyal 12 June 1987 1 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa v.  Honduras, 1 June 2014
FW Toto Tamuz 1 April 1988 10 2 Romania Petrolul Ploiești v.  Cyprus, 10 October 2014
FW Eden Ben Basat 8 September 1986 13 7 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv v.  Honduras, 1 June 2014

Notes:

Previous squads

FIFA World Cup

AFC Asian Cup

  • 1956 AFC Asian Cup squads - Israel
  • 1960 AFC Asian Cup squads - Israel
  • 1964 AFC Asian Cup squads - Israel
  • 1968 AFC Asian Cup squads - Israel

Summer Olympics Football Tournament

  • 1976 Summer Olympics squads - Israel
  • 1968 Summer Olympics squads - Israel

Player history

Most capped players

As of 31 March 2015, the ten players with the most caps for Israel are:

Rank. Name Career Caps Goals
1 Yossi Benayoun 1998–present 96 24
2 Arik Benado 1995–2007 94 0
3 Alon Harazi 1992–2006 89 2
4 Amir Schelach 1992–2001 85 0
Tal Ben Haim 2002–present 85 1
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

Top goalscorers

As of 31 March 2015, the ten players with the most goals for Israel are:

Rank. Player Career Goals Caps
1 Mordechai Spiegler 1963–1977 33 83
2 Yehoshua Feigenbaum 1966–1977 24 50
Yossi Benayoun 1998–present 24 96
4 Ronen Harazi 1992–1999 23 53
5 Nahum Stelmach 1956–1968 22 61
6 Gidi Damti 1971–1981 21 69
7 Giora Spiegel 1965–1980 18 44
Yehoshua Glazer 1949–1961 18 35
9 Eli Ohana 1984–1997 17 51
Avi Nimni 1992–2005 17 80

Managers

Manager Years as manager Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF GA Win%[6]
Austria Egon Pollak 1948 1 0 0 1 0 1 0.00
Austria Israel Lajos Hess 1949 3 1 0 2 5 12 33.33
Hungary Vladislav Scali 1950 2 1 0 1 7 4 50.00
Israel Jerry Beit haLevi 1953–54 5 0 0 5 1 7 0.00
England Jack Gibbons 1956 5 2 0 3 7 12 40.00
Israel Jerry Beit haLevi 1957 1 0 0 1 4 5 0.00
Israel Moshe Varon 1958 5 2 0 3 6 7 40.00
Hungary Gyula Mándi 1959–63 31 12 7 12 49 63 38.71
England George Ainsley 1963–64 3 2 0 1 4 2 66.67
Israel Yosef Merimovich 1964 1 0 0 1 0 4 0.00
Hungary Gyula Mándi 1964 3 3 0 0 5 1 100.00
Israel Yosef Merimovich 1964–65 3 1 0 2 2 2 33.33
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Milovan Ćirić 1965–68 25 8 2 15 43 45 32.00
Israel Emmanuel Scheffer 1968–70 24 8 8 8 44 34 33.33
Romania Israel Edmond Schmilovich 1970–73 19 10 4 5 27 13 52.63
Israel David Schweitzer 1973–77 36 17 11 8 67 34 47.22
Israel Emmanuel Scheffer 1978–79 13 5 4 4 17 15 38.46
England Jack Mansell 1980–81 10 2 3 5 8 12 20.00
Israel Yosef Merimovich 1983–86 27 8 9 10 39 36 29.63
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Miljenko Mihić 1986–88 20 4 5 11 27 35 20.00
Israel Itzhak Schneor
Israel Ya'akov Grundman		 1988–92 18 5 5 8 21 30 27.78
Israel Shlomo Scharf 1992–2000 82 31 18 33 131 118 37.80
Denmark Richard Møller Nielsen 2000–02 20 7 4 9 29 33 35.00
Israel Avram Grant 2002–06 33 14 13 6 55 37 42.42
Israel Dror Kashtan 2006–10 31 15 10 6 51 30 48.39
Israel Eli Ohana (caretaker) 2010 1 1 0 0 2 0 100.00
France Spain Luis Fernández 2010–2011 15 6 1 8 12 18 40.00
Israel Eli Guttman 2011– 25 8 6 11 38 39 32.00

WDL Record since 1948

Team From To Record
PWDLWin %
Israel 1948 2014 462 173 110 179 37.45

Honours

Winners (1): 1964
Runners-up (2): 1956, 1960

Kit suppliers

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

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.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Aust-Asian bid fails". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1974-09-16. p. 11. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  2. ↑ Rahman, Mansoor (1974-09-14). "'Visibles' win without any kick...". New Straits Times. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  3. ↑ "Israel v Wales correction of kick-off time" (PDF). Israel Football Association. 11 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "National team staff". Israel Football Association. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Israel team for Wales and Belgium". faw.org.uk (Israel Football Association). 23 March 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  6. ↑ Win% is rounded to two decimal places

External links

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