Israel at the AFC Asian Cup

Main article: Israel national football team § Asian Football Confederation membership

The Israel national team winning the 1964 AFC Asian Cup

Israel competed at the AFC Asian Cup four times. In 1956 and 1960 Israel finished second, in 1964 they finished first, and in 1968 they finished third. ^[1] In 1972 Israel qualified for the tournament as hosts but later had to withdraw. ^[2]

See also: Muslim and Arab World boycott, Mediterranean Games boycott, and AFC boycott

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"). ^[3] After the 1974 Asian Games in Iran, and Israel's 0–1 tense loss to Iran in the finals, ^[4] 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. ^[5]

Record

AFC Asian Cup record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1956	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	6	5
1960	Runners-up	2nd	3	2	0	1	6	4
1964	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	5	1
1968	Third Place	3rd	4	2	0	2	11	5
1972	Withdrew
Total	Champions	4/15	13	9	0	4	28	15

Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

1956 AFC Asian Cup

Israel competed at the 1956 AFC Asian Cup. This was the first AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s first appearance. ^[6]

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
South Korea	3	2	1	0	9	6	+3	5
Israel	3	2	0	1	6	5	+1	4
Hong Kong	3	0	2	1	6	7	−1	2
South Vietnam	3	0	1	2	6	9	−3	1

Matches

1 September 1956

19:00

Hong Kong	2 – 3	Israel
Au Chi Yin 12', 66'		Glazer 37', 76' Stelmach 69'

Government Stadium, Hong Kong

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: H.A. Sheppard (England)

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8 September 1956

19:00

Israel	1 – 2	South Korea
Stelmach 71'		Woo Sang-kwon 52' Sung Nak-woon 64'

Government Stadium, Hong Kong

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Trương Văn Ky (South Vietnam)

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12 September 1956

19:00

Israel	2 – 1	South Vietnam
Stelmach 14', 27'		Trần Văn Tổng 58'

Government Stadium, Hong Kong

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Tommy Tucker (England)

Goalscorers

With four goals, Nahum Stelmach is the top scorer in the tournament.

4 goals

• Nahum Stelmach

2 goals

• Yehoshua Glazer

Squad

Head coach: Jackie Gibbons

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Ya'akov Hodorov	(1927-06-16)16 June 1927 (aged 29)	12	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	1 GK	Ya'akov Vissoker	(1930-09-05)5 September 1930 (aged 25)	0	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	2 DF	David Kremer	(1929-04-06)6 April 1929 (aged 27)	2	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	2 DF	Shaul Matania	(1937-03-08)8 March 1937 (aged 19)	2	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Jerry Haldi	(1935-08-14)14 August 1935 (aged 21)	2	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	3 MF	Binyamin Rabinovich	1936 (aged 20)	2	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Itzhak Schneor	(1925-12-11)11 December 1925 (aged 30)	11	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Asher Balut	(1932-01-06)6 January 1932 (aged 24)	5	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Zigi Silberstein		0	0	Maccabi Petah Tikva
	4 FW	Yehoshua Glazer	(1927-12-29)29 December 1927 (aged 28)	11	8	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Yosef Mirmovich	(1924-07-24)24 July 1924 (aged 32)	11	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Nahum Stelmach	(1936-07-19)19 July 1936 (aged 20)	2	1	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	4 FW	Boaz Kofman	(1935-03-29)29 March 1935 (aged 21)	1	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	4 FW	Rehavia Rozenboim	(1934-04-29)29 April 1934 (aged 22)	5	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Shmuel Israeli	(1928-10-15)15 October 1928 (aged 27)	2	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Eliezer Spiegel	(1922-06-20)20 June 1922 (aged 34)	2	0	Maccabi Petah Tikva

1960 AFC Asian Cup

Israel competed at the 1960 AFC Asian Cup. This was the second AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s second appearance. ^[6]

Qualification – Western Zone

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Israel	6	3	2	1	10	8	+2	8
Iran	6	3	1	2	12	10	+2	7
Pakistan	6	2	1	3	8	10	–2	5
India	6	2	0	4	7	9	–2	4

Matches

5 December 1959

Israel	0 – 3	Iran
		Hajari 49' Barmaki 59' Dehdari 65'

Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: P. Chakravarthy (India)

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8 December 1959

India	1 – 3	Israel
Devadas 60'		R. Levi 35', 43', 53'

Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi

Attendance: 30,000

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10 December 1959

Israel	2 – 0	Pakistan
R. Levi 55' Stelmach 65'

Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: P. Chakravarthy (India)

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12 December 1959

Israel	1 – 1	Iran
Menchel 9'		Hajari 49'

Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: P. Chakravarthy (India)

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16 December 1959

India	1 – 2	Israel
Rehmatullah 19'		Stelmach 11' R. Levi 75'

Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: Natarajan (Malaya)

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17 December 1959

Pakistan	2 – 2	Israel
Omar 49' Ghafoor 57'		Menchel 60' Ratzabi 68'

Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: A. N. Jayaraman (India)

Tournament results

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
South Korea	3	3	0	0	9	1	+8	6
Israel	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	4
Republic of China	3	1	0	2	2	2	0	2
South Vietnam	3	0	0	3	2	12	−10	0

Matches

17 October 1960

15:00

South Korea	3 – 0	Israel
Cho Yoon-Ok 17', 60' Woo Sang-Kwon 30'

Hyochang Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Yozo Yokoyama (Japan)

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19 October 1960

South Vietnam	1 – 5	Israel
Trần Văn Nhung 68' (pen.)		R. Levi 13' Stelmach 18' S. Levi 25' Menchel 32' Aharonskind 70'

Hyochang Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 15,000

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23 October 1960

Israel	1 – 0	Republic of China
S. Levi 72'

Hyochang Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Yozo Yokoyama (Japan)

Goal scorers

2 goals

• Shlomo Levi

1 goal

• Amnon Aharonskind
• Rafi Levi
• Avraham Menchel
• Nahum Stelmach

Squad

Squad

Head coach: Gyula Mándi

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Ya'akov Hodorov	(1927-06-16)16 June 1927 (aged 33)	23	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	1 GK	Ya'akov Vissoker	(1930-09-05)5 September 1930 (aged 30)	2	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	2 DF	Amatzia Levkovich	(1937-12-27)27 December 1937 (aged 22)	14	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	2 DF	Dov Atzmon		0	0	Hapoel Jerusalem
	2 DF	Mordechai Benbenishti	(1938-03-01)1 March 1938 (aged 22)	3	0	Hapoel Jerusalem
	2 DF	Zvi Moisescu	(1939-08-13)13 August 1939 (aged 21)	3	0	Maccabi Netanya
	3 MF	Avraham Klemi		0	0	Maccabi Jaffa
	3 MF	Avraham Menchel	(1935-12-12)12 December 1935 (aged 24)	13	4	Maccabi Haifa
	3 MF	Gideon Tish	(1939-10-13)13 October 1939 (aged 21)	16	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Yosef Goldstein	(1932-03-29)29 March 1932 (aged 28)	20	1	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Aharon Amar	1937 (aged 23)	8	0	Maccabi Haifa
	4 FW	Amnon Aronskind		0	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Nahum Stelmach	(1936-07-19)19 July 1936 (aged 24)	23	13	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	4 FW	Rafi Levi	(1938-02-22)22 February 1938 (aged 22)	14	10	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Shlomo Levi	(1934-06-01)1 June 1934 (aged 26)	0	0	Hapoel Haifa
	4 FW	Shlomo Nahari	(1934-10-17)17 October 1934 (aged 25)	8	1	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	4 FW	Yehoshua Glazer	(1927-12-29)29 December 1927 (aged 32)	32	15	Maccabi Tel Aviv

1964 AFC Asian Cup

Israel competed at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. This was the third AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s third appearance. ^[6]

Host nation

The tournament used a round-robin system with the winners from the West, Central 1 and 2 and East Asia zones and the team from the host nation (Israel) competing for the title. 11 of the 16 nations withdrew including Iran and Japan with the result that only one zone (combined Central 1 and 2) played any qualifying matches and the 'winners' of 2 zones and host Israel qualified uncontested. In this diminished competition Israel won the title with three wins. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]}

Venues

Ramat Gan	Haifa	Ramat Gan Haifa Tel Aviv Jerusalem	Tel Aviv	Jerusalem
Ramat Gan Stadium	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium		Bloomfield Stadium	Hebrew University Stadium
Capacity: 41,583	Capacity: 17,000		Capacity: 22,000	Capacity: 16,000

Qualification

Israel as the host nation automatically qualified for the tournament. ^[14]

Tournament results

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Israel	3	3	0	0	5	1	+4	6
India	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	4
South Korea	3	1	0	2	2	4	−2	2
Hong Kong	3	0	0	3	1	5	−4	0

Matches

26 May 1964

16:30

Israel	1 – 0	Hong Kong
Spiegler 76'

Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan

Attendance: 25,000

Referee: Patrick Nice (Malaysia)

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29 May 1964

16:00

Israel	2 – 0	India
Spiegler 29' (pen.) Aharoni 76'

Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Li Pak Tung (Malaysia)

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3 June 1964

16:00

South Korea	1 – 2	Israel
Lee Soon-Myung 79'		Leon 20' Tish 38'

Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan

Attendance: 35,000

Referee: Davoud Nassiri (Iran)

Goal scorers

2 goals

• Mordechai Spiegler

1 goal

• Yohai Aharoni
• Moshe Leon
• Gideon Tish

Squad

Squad

Head coach: Yosef Merimovich

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Haim Levin	(1937-03-03)3 March 1937 (aged 27)	1	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	1 GK	Itzhak Vissoker	(1944-09-18)18 September 1944 (aged 19)	4	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	2 DF	Avraham Kalmi		1	0	Maccabi Jaffa
	2 DF	David Primo	(1946-05-05)5 May 1946 (aged 18)	2	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	2 DF	Haim Bahar	(1943-04-10)10 April 1943 (aged 21)	0	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	2 DF	Moshe Leon	(1944-01-09)9 January 1944 (aged 20)	7	0	Maccabi Jaffa
	2 DF	Shaul Matania	(1937-03-08)8 March 1937 (aged 19)	17	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Amatzia Levkovich	(1937-12-27)27 December 1937 (aged 18)	36	1	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Gideon Tish	(1939-10-13)13 October 1939 (aged 16)	34	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Mordechai Spiegler	(1944-08-19)19 August 1944 (aged 19)	4	1	Maccabi Netanya
	3 MF	Nahum Stelmach	(1936-07-19)19 July 1936 (aged 27)	45	20	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	3 MF	Yehezkel Katsav	1945 (aged 19)	0	0	Maccabi Jaffa
	3 MF	Yosef Mahalal	(1939-12-25)25 December 1939 (aged 24)	4	2	Bnei Yehuda
	4 FW	Einstein Kalish	1939 (aged 25)	2	0	Maccabi Jaffa
	4 FW	Rahamim Talbi	(1943-05-17)17 May 1943 (aged 21)	0	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Roby Young	(1942-05-15)15 May 1942 (aged 22)	13	2	Hapoel Haifa
	4 FW	Shlomo Levi	(1934-06-01)1 June 1934 (aged 29)	11	6	Hapoel Ramat Gan
	4 FW	Yohai Aharoni	(1943-06-08)8 June 1943 (aged 20)	0	0	Hapoel Mahane Yehuda

1968 AFC Asian Cup

Israel competed at the 1968 AFC Asian Cup. This was the fourth AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s fourth and last appearance. ^[6]

After the 1968 tournament Israel did not compete in a regional football tournament for many years. Israel was expelled from the AFC in the early 1970s and eventually became a member of UEFA. ^[15] After joining the UEFA Israel began competing in the UEFA European Championship in 1996.

Qualification – West Zone 1

Israel qualified for the tournament by default after all other teams in their zone withdrew from the tournament. ^[16]

Tournament results

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Iran	4	4	0	0	11	2	+9	8
Burma	4	2	1	1	5	4	+1	5
Israel	4	2	0	2	11	5	+6	4
Republic of China	4	0	2	2	3	10	−7	2
Hong Kong	4	0	1	3	2	11	−9	1

Matches

12 May 1968

Hong Kong	1–6	Israel
Yuan Kuan Yick 76'		Spiegler 9', 53' Spiegel 52', 65' Romano 61', 71'

Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Batha Chaterchi (India)

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14 May 1968

Burma	1–0	Israel
Suk Bahadur 42'

Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Norman Boswell (Malaysia)

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17 May 1968

Israel	4–1	Republic of China
Romano 2', 60' Rosenthal 70' Spiegel 76'		Li Huan-wen 45+1'

Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Narayan Ghosh (India)

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19 May 1968

Iran	2–1	Israel
Behzadi 75' Ghelichkhani 86'		Spiegel 56'

Amjadieh Stadium, Tehran

Attendance: 30,000

Referee: Alex Joseph Vaz (India)

Goal scorers

With 4 goals, Giora Spiegel and Moshe Romano of Israel tied with Homayoun Behzadi of Iran as the top scorers of the tournament.

4 goals

• Giora Spiegel
• Moshe Romano

2 goals

• Mordechai Spiegler

1 goal

• Shmuel Rosenthal

Squad

Squad

Head coach: Milovan Ćirić

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1 GK	Itzhak Vissoker	(1944-09-18)18 September 1944 (aged 23)	14	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	1 GK	Haim Levin	(1937-03-03)3 March 1937 (aged 27)	15	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	2 DF	Menahem Bello	(1947-12-26)26 December 1947 (aged 20)	14	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	2 DF	Dani Shmulevich	(1940-11-29)29 November 1940 (aged 27)	23	0	Maccabi Haifa
	2 DF	Itzhak Marili	(1945-05-12)12 May 1945 (aged 22)	2	0	Hapoel Jerusalem
	2 DF	David Karako	(1944-02-11)11 February 1944 (aged 24)	3	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	2 DF	Itzhak Drucker	(1947-06-03)3 June 1947 (aged 20)	6	0	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	2 DF	Zvi Rosen	(1947-06-23)23 June 1947 (aged 20)	2	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Dani Borsuk	(1944-02-16)16 February 1944 (aged 24)	6	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Haim Nurieli	(1943-05-01)1 May 1943 (aged 25)	2	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Moshe Asis	(1943-10-09)9 October 1943 (aged 24)	13	1	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	3 MF	Shmuel Rosenthal	(1947-04-22)22 April 1947 (aged 21)	14	1	Hapoel Petah Tikva
	4 FW	George Borba	(1944-07-12)12 July 1944 (aged 23)	9	4	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Giora Spiegel	(1947-07-27)27 July 1947 (aged 20)	10	5	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Mordechai Spiegler	(1944-08-19)19 August 1944 (aged 23)	27	13	Maccabi Netanya
	4 FW	Moshe Romano	(1946-05-06)6 May 1946 (aged 22)	5	1	Shimshon Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Rahamim Talbi	(1943-05-17)17 May 1943 (aged 24)	18	5	Maccabi Tel Aviv
	4 FW	Roby Young	(1942-05-15)15 May 1942 (aged 25)	37	5	Hapoel Haifa

See also

• AFC Asian Cup qualifiers#All-time table
• Israel at the Asian Games
• Israel at the FIFA World Cup

References

1. Asian Nations Cup
2. "Malaysia, Singapore stay in Asian Cup central zone". The Straits Times. 16 August 1970. Archived from the original on 13 February 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
3. "Site-Map-Israel-Football-Facts—Stats". Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
4. "Bayati recalls Iran's tense win over Israel". Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
5. Montague, James (27 February 2008). "Time is right for Israel to return to its Asian roots". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
6. Asian Cup: Know Your History – Part One (1956-1988)
7. Smith, Matt (4 June 2014). "Amnesia, not admiration for Israel's 1964 heroes". Uk.reuters.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
8. Dann, Uzi (22 January 2015). "Israel erased from Asian Cup history video - World - Israel News". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
9. Michael Safi (22 January 2015). "Israel omitted from Asian Cup video history | Football". The Guardian. Theguardian.com. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
10. "Israel wiped from AFC history | The Australian Jewish News". Jewishnews.net.au. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
11. Dominic Bossi (30 January 2015). "Winners and losers of the 2015 Asian Cup". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
12. "Football: Israel's forgottten heroes who brought Asian Cup in 1964 - The Economic Times". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
13. "Asian Eye - Indian football still finding its feet :: Total Football Magazine - Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, Non-League News". Totalfootballmag.com. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
14. Asian Nations Cup 1964
15. "About the IFA". The Israel Football Association. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
16. Asian Nations Cup 1968