The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

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 team, which played five internationals in 1934–1940, and was managed by the Palestine Football Association. The Israel Football Association is a full member of the European Confederation

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

since 1994. Israel qualified for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

for the first (and only) time in 1970. They also won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup prior to a forced relocation to UEFA.

History

Early history

Football has a long tradition in

. The game was originally introduced during the time of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. The Palestinian Football Association was formed in August 1928, and joined

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and the establishment of the

State of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 1948. The British Mandate of Palestine national team made its debut against Cairo (''Egypt'') in 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification, losing 0–5 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

. The team played five international matches, including a friendly match against

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

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 Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

players. Three anthems were played before each match: the British "

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, ...

", the

(and future

i) " Hatikvah", and the opposing team's anthem. In 1948 the team became, officially, the national football team of (the State of) Israel. 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 Shmuel Ben Dror (1924 – January 6, 2009) was an Israeli association football player. Football career Ben Dror was born in Petah Tikva. He played defense for the Israeli national football team. He served as their first captain and scored the t ...

scored the first goal after the creation of the State of Israel.

Asian Football Confederation membership

Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - The Asian Cup

Muslim and Arab countries boycotting Israel

Israel was one of the founding members of the

AFC AFC may stand for: Organizations * Action for Children, a UK children's charity * AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits * Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution * A ...

(Asian Football Confederation) following its own independence in 1948 (prior to that it played under the banner of the " British Mandate of Palestine"). After the

1974 Asian Games The 7th Asian Games ( fa, بازی‌های آسیایی ۱۹۷۴) were held from 1 to 16 September 1974 in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran. The Aryamehr Sports Complex was built for the Games. The Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East for th ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, and Israel's 0–1 tense loss to Iran in the finals,

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Ku ...

and other

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

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

(Europe) officially.

Israel's last years in the AFC

Israel competed at the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly ...

(AFC) between 1954 and 1974. Due to the

Arab League boycott of Israel The Arab League boycott of Israel is a strategy adopted by the Arab League and its member states to boycott economic and other relations between Arabs and the Arab states and Israel and specifically stopping all trade with Israel which adds t ...

, several

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 Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

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 The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

and lost to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

in the quarterfinals. Israeli National Team 1970

In 1969, Israel qualified for its first and only

, via Asia/Oceania. Israel earned two points after a 1–1 draw with

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, a 0–0 draw with eventual finalist

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, and a 0–2 loss to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. The goal against Sweden, scored by

Mordechai Spiegler Mordechai "Motaleh" Shpigler ( he, מרדכי "מוטל'ה" שפיגלר; born 19 August 1944) is a retired Israeli footballer, and manager. Shpigler is placed second in Israel's all time goalscoring list, with 32 goals in 83 caps. Early life ...

, is Israel's only FIFA World Cup goal to date. In 1974, Israel was excluded from

competitions, as a result of a proposal by

(as other

and Arab countries refused to play against Israel), that was adopted by a vote of 17 to 13 with 6 abstentions. The vote coincided with the

, where the football competition was marred by the refusal of both

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and

to play second-round matches against Israel. In 1976, Israel went to its second

and lost in the quarterfinals again, this time against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. In 1972 and 1977, it attempted World Cup qualification as part of Asia, which both times ended in failure.

Years in exile

First steps in UEFA

During the early 1980s, Israel played the majority of its matches against

(Europe) teams, and competed in the European stage of qualification for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. Israel v New Zealand - Ramat Gan, 1989 - Ronny Rosenthal

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. As a result, Israel made it to the CONMEBOL–OFC play-offs to represent Oceania and play against CONMEBOL's (South America)

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

for the 1990 World Cup, but lost (1–0, 0–0).

UEFA membership

In 1991, Israeli clubs began participating in European club competitions of

, 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 France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1993, and 5–0 against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in 1999. That year, Israel made it to the

UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying play-offs The UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying play-offs were the last round of qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2000. They were contested by the eight lowest-ranked runners-up from the nine first round groups of the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying tournament. The wi ...

, but was beaten by

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. Israel came close to advancing to the playoff stage in their 2006 World Cup qualifying group, finishing third, behind

, and tied on points with

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, 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 Avraham "Avram" Grant ( he, אברהם "אברם" גרנט; born Avraham Granat; ) is an Israeli professional football manager. He has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup ...

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 Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, who qualified directly with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

, and level on 23 points with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, 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 Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

, Israel again came in fourth, behind

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, and

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

. 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

to justify its transfer from the Oceania Football Confederation to the

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

Home stadium

The first home game of the Israel national football team was at

Palms Ground The Palms Ground ( he, מגרש הדקלים) was a football ground in the Florentin neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel. The ground was first known as Maccabi Ground and later as Hapoel Ground, but was nicknamed Palms Ground after the palms surroun ...

on 6 April 1934 against

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

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 Sammy Ofer Stadium ( he, אצטדיון סמי עופר), also known as Haifa Municipal Stadium (), is a 30,858 seats multi-purpose stadium in Haifa, Israel. Construction began in late 2009 and was completed in 2014. The stadium was develop ...

in the city of

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Teddy Stadium in the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Turner Stadium The Turner Stadium ( he, אצטדיון טרנר), officially the Yaakov Turner Toto Stadium Be'er Sheva, is a football stadium in Be'er Sheva, Israel. It is the home ground of Hapoel Be'er Sheva. It was named after former Be'er Sheva mayor Ya ...

in the city of Be'er Sheva, Netanya Stadium in the city of Netanya, HaMoshava Stadium in the city of Petah Tikva, and

Bloomfield Stadium Bloomfield Stadium ( he, אצטדיון בלומפילד) is a football stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, with a capacity of 29,400. It is the home stadium of Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv. The stadium also serves the Is ...

in the city of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

– the Israel national team has rotated their home matches between the latter six.

Active stadiums

Inactive stadiums

Kit suppliers

Results and fixtures

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

on 17 and 20 November 2022. ''Caps and goals updated as of 17 November 2022, after the match against

.''

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called-up to the Israel squad within the last 12 months. ^INJ Withdrew due to injury or illness
^PRE Preliminary squad/standby
^RET Retired from the national team
^SUS Serving suspension due to yellow/red cards
^WD Player withdrew from the squad due to neither injury nor illness issue
^U-21 Player withdrew from the squad to play for the national under-21 team

Player of the Year

Records

:''Players in bold are still active with Israel.'' :''Statistics include official FIFA-recognised matches only.''

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

Olympic Games

AFC Asian Cup

+ ''Israel qualified as hosts but later withdrew.

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

replaced them later.'' * ''Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.'' * ''Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.''

Asian Games

Head-to-head record

As of 3 March 2022.

FIFA World Ranking history

The following is a chart of yearly averages of Israel's

FIFA World Ranking The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil . The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the ...

Honours

Titles

FIFA World Cup Inter-confederation play-offs CONMEBOL v OFC * Runners-up:

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

(representing OFC) CAF/AFC v UEFA * Runners-up:

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

(representing CAF/

) OFC Second Round * Champions:

(as a non- OFC member) AFC and OFC Final Round * Champions: 1970 (representing

) UEFA Group 1 * Third place: 1966 (as a non-

member) UEFA Group 7 Final Round * Runners-up: 1962 (as a non-

member)

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

* Champions: 1964 * Runners-up:

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

* Third place:

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

Asian Games * Silver Medal:

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

Awards

Notes

References

External links

The Israel Football Association
(official)
Israel National Team Statistics
(Hebrew)
Reports for all matches of Israel national football team
{{Navboxes, , title=Squads, list1= {{Israel squad 1956 AFC Asian Cup {{Israel squad 1960 AFC Asian Cup {{Israel squad 1964 AFC Asian Cup {{Israel squad 1968 AFC Asian Cup {{Israel football squad 1968 Summer Olympics {{Israel squad 1970 FIFA World Cup {{Israel football squad 1976 Summer Olympics

1948 establishments in Israel National sports teams established in 1948