Israel national football team

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

Israel

Nickname(s)	התכולים-לבנים (The Skyblue and Whites) הנבחרת (The Chosen Team)
Association	Israel Football Association (IFA)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe; 1980–81; 1991–present) OFC (Oceania; 1985–89) AFC (Asia; 1954–74)
Head coach	Ran Ben Shimon
Captain	Eli Dasa [1]
Most caps	Yossi Benayoun (101) [a]
Top scorer	Eran Zahavi (35)
Home stadium	Various Stadiums
FIFA code	ISR
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	81 2 (24 October 2024) [2]
Highest	15 (November 2008)
Lowest	99 (January 2018)
First international
Egypt 5–0 Mandatory Palestine   (Cairo, Egypt; 4 April 1930) as the State of Israel:   US 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
Germany 7–1 Israel   (Kaiserslautern, Germany; 13 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)
Asian Games
Appearances	2 (first in 1958 )
Best result	Silver Medal (1974)
Medal record AFC Asian Cup 1956 Hong Kong Team 1960 South Korea Team 1964 Israel Team 1968 Iran Team Asian Games 1974 Iran Team

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.

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 Palestine Football Association was formed in August 1928, and joined FIFA in June 1929, but at the time the association was made up of Arab and Jewish clubs as well as clubs of British policemen and soldiers serving in the region during the British Mandate. 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 these 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 the national football team 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 independence in 1948. ^[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 was expelled from the confederation. It tried to join continental bodies such as the OFC (Oceania), before eventually joining UEFA (Europe). ^[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 its 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, after Kuwait and other Muslim and Arab countries refused to play against it. The proposal 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.

During the Israel–Hamas war, Israel played most of their home matches in Hungary.

Active stadiums

Matches	Image	Stadium	Capacity	Location	First match	Last match
51	UEFA	Bloomfield Stadium	29,400	Tel Aviv, Israel	17 May 1964	12 September 2023
14	UEFA	Teddy Stadium	31,733	Jerusalem, Israel	12 February 1992	19 June 2023
12	UEFA	Sammy Ofer Stadium	30,942	Haifa, Israel	16 November 2014	2 June 2022
9	UEFA	Netanya Stadium	13,610	Netanya, Israel	6 February 2013	29 March 2022
4	UEFA	Turner Stadium	16,126	Be'er Sheva, Israel	14 October 2018	12 October 2021

Inactive stadiums

Matches	Image	Stadium	Capacity	Location	First match	Last match
137		Ramat Gan Stadium	41,583	Ramat Gan, Israel	8 March 1954	15 October 2013
3		Maccabiah Stadium	20,000	Tel Aviv, Israel	30 July 1949	28 October 1950

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier	Origin	Period
Umbro	United Kingdom	1970
Diadora	Italy	1992–1995
Adidas	Germany	2008–2018
Puma	Germany	1985–1989 1996–2008 2018–2024

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

Andorra   v   Israel

21 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Andorra	0–2	Israel	Andorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45		Report (UEFA)	Cervós 29' (o.g.) Kinda 81'	Stadium: Estadi Nacional Attendance: 568 Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Germany)

2024

Israel   v   Iceland

21 March 2024 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs	Israel	1–4	Iceland	Budapest, Hungary [note 1]
20:45	Zahavi 31' (pen.)	Report	A. Guðmundsson 39', 83', 87' Traustason 42'	Stadium: Szusza Ferenc Stadion Attendance: 1,226 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Hungary   v   Israel

8 June 2024 Friendly	Hungary	3–0	Israel	Debrecen, Hungary
18:00	Sallai 11' Varga 19', 22'	Report		Stadium: Nagyerdei Stadion Attendance: 19,900 Referee: Cláudio Pereira (Portugal)

Belarus   v   Israel

11 June 2024 Friendly	Belarus	0–4	Israel	Budapest, Hungary [note 2]
18:00  UTC+2		Report	Melamed 7' Safouri 18' Shlomo 36' Kna'an 82'	Stadium: Szusza Ferenc Stadion Referee: Tamás Bognár (Hungary)

Belgium   v   Israel

6 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Belgium	3–1	Israel	Debrecen, Hungary [note 3]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	De Bruyne 21', 52' (pen.) Tielemans 48'	Report (UEFA)	Castagne 36' (o.g.)	Stadium: Nagyerdei Stadion Attendance: 0 [13] [note 3] Referee: Michael Oliver (England)

Israel   v   Italy

9 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Israel	1–2	Italy	Budapest, Hungary [note 1]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Abu Fani 90'	Report (UEFA)	Frattesi 38' Kean 62'	Stadium: Bozsik Aréna Attendance: 2,090 Referee: Ivan Kružliak (Slovakia)

Israel   v   France

10 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Israel	1–4	France	Budapest, Hungary [note 1]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Gandelman 24'	Report (UEFA)	Camavinga 7' Nkunku 28' Guendouzi 87' Barcola 89'	Stadium: Bozsik Aréna Attendance: 2,226 Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)

Italy   v   Israel

14 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Italy	4–1	Israel	Udine, Italy
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Retegui 41' (pen.) Di Lorenzo 54', 79' Frattesi 72'	Report (UEFA)	Abu Fani 66'	Stadium: Dacia Arena Attendance: 11,700 Referee: Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea (Spain)

France   v   Israel

14 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	France	0–0	Israel	Saint-Denis, France
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)		Report (UEFA)		Stadium: Stade de France Attendance: 16,611 Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

Israel   v   Belgium

17 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Israel	1–0	Belgium	Budapest, Hungary [note 1]
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)	Shua 86'	Report (UEFA)		Stadium: Bozsik Aréna Attendance: 675 Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)

Coaching staff

Ran Ben Shimon is the current official head coach of Israel.

As of 23 May 2024. ^{[14] [15]}

Position	Name
Head coach	Ran Ben Shimon
Assistant coach	Amir Schelach
	Gal Cohen
Fitness coach	Eran Shedo
	Matan Shoshani
Goalkeeping coach	Itay Zilpa
Analyst	Adar Rosenberg
	Maayan Bahalul
Technical manager	Roy Reinschreiber
	Avi Levi
Head doctor	Ehud "Udi" Kaufman

Coaching history

As of 23 May 2024. ^{[16] [17]}

Manager	Years as manager	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win% [18]
Egon Pollak	1948	1	0	0	1	0	1	000.00
Lajos Hess	1949	3	1	0	2	5	12	033.33
László Székely	1950	2	1	0	1	7	4	050.00
Jerry Beit haLevi	1953–54	5	0	0	5	1	7	000.00
Jackie Gibbons	1956	5	2	0	3	7	12	040.00
Jerry Beit haLevi	1957	1	0	0	1	4	5	000.00
Moshe Varon	1958	5	2	0	3	6	7	040.00
Gyula Mándi	1959–63	31	12	7	12	49	63	038.71
George Ainsley	1963–64	3	2	0	1	4	2	066.67
Yosef Merimovich	1964	1	0	0	1	0	4	000.00
Gyula Mándi	1964	3	3	0	0	5	1	100.00
Yosef Merimovich	1964–65	3	1	0	2	2	2	033.33
Milovan Ćirić	1965–68	25	8	2	15	43	45	032.00
Emmanuel Scheffer	1968–70	24	8	8	8	44	34	033.33
Edmond Schmilovich	1970–73	19	10	4	5	27	13	052.63
David Schweitzer	1973–77	36	17	11	8	67	34	047.22
Emmanuel Scheffer	1978–79	13	5	4	4	17	15	038.46
Jack Mansell	1980–81	10	2	3	5	8	12	020.00
Yosef Merimovich	1983–86	27	8	9	10	39	36	029.63
Miljenko Mihić	1986–88	20	4	5	11	27	35	020.00
Itzhak Schneor Ya'akov Grundman	1988–92	18	5	5	8	21	30	027.78
Shlomo Scharf	1992–2000	82	31	18	33	131	118	037.80
Richard Møller Nielsen	2000–02	20	7	4	9	29	33	035.00
Avram Grant	2002–06	33	14	13	6	55	37	042.42
Dror Kashtan	2006–10	31	15	10	6	51	30	048.39
Eli Ohana (caretaker)	2010	1	1	0	0	2	0	100.00
Luis Fernández	2010–11	15	6	1	8	12	18	040.00
Eli Guttman	2011–15	29	8	7	14	42	46	027.59
Alon Hazan (caretaker)	2016	1	0	0	1	0	2	000.00
Elisha Levy	2016–2017	10	4	1	5	11	15	040.00
Alon Hazan (caretaker)	2018	1	0	0	1	1	2	000.00
Andi Herzog [19]	2018–2019	16	6	2	8	29	26	037.50
Willibald Ruttensteiner [20] [21]	2020–7 February 2022	19	8	4	7	33	33	042.11
Gadi Brumer [22] (caretaker)	17 March 2022 – 29 March 2022	2	0	1	1	2	4	000.00
Alon Hazan [17] [23]	8 May 2022 – 27 March 2024	17	7	5	5	26	24	041.18
Ran Ben Shimon	23 May 2024 – present	2	1	0	1	4	3	050.00

Players

Current squad

The following players were called for 2024–25 UEFA Nations, on 14 and 17 November 2024 against France and Belgium; respectively. ^{[24] [25]}

Caps and goals are correct as of 18 November 2024, after the match against Belgium. ^{[26] [27] [28] [29]}

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1 GK	Daniel Peretz	(2000-07-10) 10 July 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Bayern Munich
18	1 GK	Roi Mishpati	(1992-11-23) 23 November 1992 (age 31)	0	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
23	1 GK	Yoav Gerafi	(1993-08-29) 29 August 1993 (age 31)	4	0	Hapoel Haifa
2	2 DF	Eli Dasa (captain)	(1992-12-03) 3 December 1992 (age 31)	65	0	Dynamo Moscow
3	2 DF	Sean Goldberg	(1996-08-25) 25 August 1996 (age 28)	17	0	Maccabi Haifa
4	2 DF	Raz Shlomo	(1999-08-13) 13 August 1999 (age 25)	16	2	Maccabi Tel Aviv
5	2 DF	Idan Nachmias	(1997-03-17) 17 March 1997 (age 27)	9	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
12	2 DF	Ilay Feingold	(2004-08-23) 23 August 2004 (age 20)	2	0	Maccabi Haifa
14	2 DF	Nikita Stoinov	(2005-08-24) 24 August 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Maccabi Netanya
	2 DF	Sagiv Yehezkel	(1995-03-21) 21 March 1995 (age 29)	9	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
6	3 MF	Omri Gandelman	(2000-05-16) 16 May 2000 (age 24)	4	1	Gent
8	3 MF	Dor Peretz	(1995-05-17) 17 May 1995 (age 29)	47	6	Maccabi Tel Aviv
9	3 MF	Dia Saba	(1992-11-18) 18 November 1992 (age 32)	13	3	Maccabi Haifa
11	3 MF	Dolev Haziza	(1995-07-05) 5 July 1995 (age 29)	18	0	Maccabi Haifa
15	3 MF	Oscar Gloukh	(2004-04-01) 1 April 2004 (age 20)	18	3	Red Bull Salzburg
16	3 MF	Mohammad Abu Fani	(1998-04-27) 27 April 1998 (age 26)	27	2	Ferencváros
17	3 MF	Dan Biton	(1999-04-23) 23 April 1999 (age 25)	3	0	Hapoel Be'er Sheva
20	3 MF	Ethan Azoulay	(2002-05-26) 26 May 2002 (age 22)	2	0	Maccabi Haifa
22	3 MF	Mahmoud Jaber	(1999-10-05) 5 October 1999 (age 25)	10	0	Maccabi Haifa
	3 MF	Gabi Kanichowsky	(1997-08-24) 24 August 1997 (age 27)	16	1	Maccabi Tel Aviv
7	4 FW	Yarden Shua	(1999-06-16) 16 June 1999 (age 25)	1	1	Beitar Jerusalem
10	4 FW	Manor Solomon	(1999-07-24) 24 July 1999 (age 25)	41	7	Leeds United
13	4 FW	Anan Khalaily	(2004-09-03) 3 September 2004 (age 20)	9	0	Union SG
19	4 FW	Dor Turgeman	(2003-10-24) 24 October 2003 (age 21)	7	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv
21	4 FW	Dean David	(1996-03-14) 14 March 1996 (age 28)	6	1	Maccabi Haifa
	4 FW	Tai Baribo	(1998-01-15) January 15, 1998 (age 26)	18	3	Philadelphia Union
	4 FW	Liel Abada	(2001-10-03) 3 October 2001 (age 23)	15	1	Charlotte FC
	4 FW	Guy Melamed	(1992-12-21) 21 December 1992 (age 31)	3	1	Hapoel Haifa

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Israel squad within the last twelve months.^{[ when? ]}

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Omri Glazer	(1996-03-11) 11 March 1996 (age 28)	17	0	Red Star Belgrade	v.   Italy , 14 October 2024
GK	Shareef Keouf	(2001-06-25) 25 June 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Maccabi Haifa	v.   Italy , 14 October 2024
GK	Omer Nir'on	(2001-04-17) 17 April 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Maccabi Netanya	v.   Italy , 9 September 2024
GK	Gad Amos	(1988-12-24) 24 December 1988 (age 35)	0	0	Maccabi Bnei Reineh	v.   Andorra , 21 November 2023
DF	Denny Gropper	(1999-03-16) 16 March 1999 (age 25)	8	0	Ludogorets Razgrad	v.   Italy , 14 October 2024
DF	Matan Baltaxa	(1995-09-20) 20 September 1995 (age 29)	2	0	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	v.   Italy , 14 October 2024
DF	Roy Revivo	(2003-05-22) 22 May 2003 (age 21)	6	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	v.   Italy , 9 September 2024
DF	Ofri Arad	(1998-09-11) 11 September 1998 (age 26)	10	0	Kairat	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
DF	Gil Cohen	(2000-11-08) 8 November 2000 (age 24)	0	0	Beitar Jerusalem	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
DF	Uri Dahan	(1999-12-07) 7 December 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Beitar Jerusalem	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
DF	Ofir Davidzada	(1991-05-05) 5 May 1991 (age 33)	19	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	v.   Iceland , 21 March 2024
DF	Miguel Vítor	(1989-06-30) 30 June 1989 (age 35)	12	0	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	v.   Iceland , 21 March 2024
DF	Stav Lemkin	(2003-04-02) 2 April 2003 (age 21)	3	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	v.   Andorra , 21 November 2023
DF	Avishay Cohen	(1995-06-19) 19 June 1995 (age 29)	1	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	v.   Andorra , 21 November 2023
MF	Ramzi Safouri	(1995-10-21) 21 October 1995 (age 29)	17	1	Antalyaspor	v.   Italy , 14 October 2024
MF	Eliel Peretz	(1996-11-18) 18 November 1996 (age 28)	2	0	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	v.   Italy , 14 October 2024
MF	Neta Lavi	(1996-08-25) 25 August 1996 (age 28)	22	0	Gamba Osaka	v.   Italy , 9 September 2024
MF	Dan Glazer	(1996-09-20) 20 September 1996 (age 28)	21	1	Pari Nizhny Novgorod	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Gadi Kinda	(1994-03-23) 23 March 1994 (age 30)	10	2	Maccabi Haifa	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Mohammed Kna'an	(2000-01-14) 14 January 2000 (age 24)	3	0	Ashdod	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Roei Gordana	(1990-07-06) 6 July 1990 (age 34)	2	0	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Goni Naor	(1999-04-23) 23 April 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Yoav Hofmayster	(2000-12-25) 25 December 2000 (age 23)	1	0	Korona Kielce	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Eden Shamir	(1995-06-25) 25 June 1995 (age 29)	1	0	Maccabi Petah Tikva	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Ofek Bitton	(1999-09-27) 27 September 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Hapoel Jerusalem	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
MF	Ido Shahar	(2001-08-20) 20 August 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Maccabi Tel Aviv	v.   Iceland , 21 March 2024
MF	Tomer Yosefi	(1999-02-02) 2 February 1999 (age 25)	0	0	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	v.   Iceland , 21 March 2024
MF	Eden Kartsev	(2000-04-11) 11 April 2000 (age 24)	6	0	Shenzhen Peng City	v.   Andorra , 21 November 2023
FW	Omri Altman	(1994-03-23) 23 March 1994 (age 30)	2	0	Volos	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
FW	Alon Turgeman	(1991-06-09) 9 June 1991 (age 33)	2	0	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	v.   Belarus , 11 June 2024
FW	Eran Zahavi	(1987-07-25) 25 July 1987 (age 37)	74	35	Maccabi Tel Aviv	v.   Iceland , 21 March 2024
FW	Shon Weissman	(1996-02-14) 14 February 1996 (age 28)	33	6	Granada	v.   Andorra , 21 November 2023
FW	Idan Gorno	(2004-08-09) 9 August 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Crown Legacy	v.   Andorra , 21 November 2023
INJ Withdrew due to injury or illness PRE Preliminary/extended squad RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension due to either a red card, or two accumulated yellow cards WD Player withdrew from the squad due to neither injury nor illness issue U21 Player withdrew from the squad to play for the national under-21 team

Records

Main articles: List of Israel international footballers and Israel national football team records and statistics

As of 18 November 2023. ^[30]

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.

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Yossi Benayoun [a]	101	23	1998–2017
2	Tal Ben Haim [b]	95	2	2002–2017
3	Arik Benado	94	0	1995–2007
4	Alon Harazi	88	1	1992–2006
	Bibras Natcho	88	4	2010–2023
6	Amir Schelach	85	0	1992–2001
7	Avi Nimni	80	17	1992–2005
8	Eyal Berkovic	78	9	1992–2004
	Dudu Aouate	78	0	1999–2013
10	Tal Banin [c]	77	12	1990–2003

Top goalscorers

Eran Zahavi is Israel's top scorer with 35 goals.

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Eran Zahavi list)	35	74	0.47	2010–present
2	Mordechai Spiegler [d]	24	57	0.42	1964–1977
3	Ronen Harazi	23	52	0.44	1992–1999
	Yossi Benayoun [a]	23	101	0.23	1998–2017
5	Nahum Stelmach [e]	19	45	0.42	1956–1968
6	Alon Mizrahi	17	37	0.46	1992–2001
	Tomer Hemed	17	38	0.45	2011–2019
	Eli Ohana [f]	17	50	0.34	1984–1997
	Avi Nimni	17	80	0.21	1992–2005
10	Yehoshua Feigenbaum [g]	15	36	0.42	1966–1977
	Mu'nas Dabbur	15	40	0.38	2014–2022

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)

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Confederation
As   Mandatory Palestine											As   Mandatory Palestine
1930	Did not enter										Did not enter
1934	Did not qualify										2nd	2	0	0	2	2	11	Africa/Asia
1938											2nd	2	0	0	2	1	4	Europe
As   Israel											As   Israel
1950	Did not qualify										2nd	2	0	0	2	2	11	Europe
1954											3rd	4	0	0	4	0	5
1958											Play-off	2	0	0	2	0	4	CAF/AFC
1962											Final Round	6	3	1	2	13	14	UEFA
1966											3rd	4	0	0	4	1	12
1970	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	1	3	Squad		Final Round	4	3	1	0	8	1	AFC/OFC
1974	Did not qualify										Zone A Final	6	4	1	1	12	2
1978											First round	4	2	1	1	5	3
1982											5th	8	1	3	4	6	10	UEFA
1986											2nd	6	3	1	2	17	6	OFC
1990											Play-off	6	1	4	1	5	5
1994											6th	10	1	3	6	10	27	UEFA
1998											3rd	8	4	1	3	9	7
2002											3rd	8	3	3	2	11	7
2006											3rd	10	4	6	0	15	10
2010											4th	10	4	4	2	20	10
2014											3rd	10	3	5	2	19	14
2018											4th	10	4	0	6	10	15
2022											3rd	10	5	1	4	23	21
2026	To be determined										To be determined
2030
2034
Total	1/22	Group stage	3	0	2	1	1	3	—		Final Round	130	43	35	52	180	180	—

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualification record
Year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Outcome	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960–1992	Not a UEFA member										Not a UEFA member
1996	Did not qualify										5th	10	3	3	4	13	13
2000											Play-offs	8	4	1	3	25	9
2004											3rd	8	2	3	3	9	11
2008											4th	12	7	2	3	20	12
2012											3rd	10	5	1	4	13	11
2016											4th	10	4	1	5	16	14
2020											Play-offs	11	3	3	5	16	18
2024											Play-offs	11	4	3	4	12	15
2028	To be determined										To be determined
2032
Total	—										Play-offs	80	32	17	31	124	103

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
League phase													Finals
Season	LG	Grp	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK		Year	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
2018–19	C	1	2nd	4	2	0	2	6	5		30th		2019	Did not qualify
2020–21	B	2	2nd	6	2	2	2	7	7		25th		2021
2022–23	B	2	1st	4	2	2	0	8	6		17th		2023
2024–25	A	2	4th	6	1	1	4	5	13		TBD		2025
Total				20	7	5	8	26	31	TBD			Total	—

*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

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1952	Did not enter
1956
1960	Did not qualify
1964
1968	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	9	7	Squad
1972	Did not qualify
1976	Quarter-finals	6th	4	0	3	1	4	7	Squad
1980	Withdrew
1984	Did not qualify
1988
1992–present	Competition played as an Under-23 competition
Total	Quarter-finals	2/10	8	2	4	2	13	14	—

AFC Asian Cup Main article: Israel at the AFC Asian Cup See also: 1956 AFC Asian Cup, 1960 AFC Asian Cup, 1964 AFC Asian Cup, 1968 AFC Asian Cup, and 1972 AFC Asian Cup AFC Asian Cup record Year Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad 1956 Runners-up 3 2 0 1 6 5 Squad 1960 Runners-up 3 2 0 1 6 4 Squad 1964 Champions 3 3 0 0 5 1 Squad 1968 Third place 4 2 0 2 11 5 Squad 1972 Withdrew+ Total 1 Title 13 9 0 4 28 15 — + Israel qualified as hosts but later withdrew. Thailand replaced them later. Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Asian Games Main article: Israel at the Asian Games See also: Israel at the 1958 Asian Games, Israel at the 1974 Asian Games, Olympic Council of Asia § Member nations, and Olympic Council of Asia § Former members Asian Games record Year Round Pld W D L GF GA Squad 1951 Did not enter 1954 1958 Quarter-finals 3 2 0 1 6 3 Squad 1962 Did not enter 1966 1970 1974 Runners-up 7 6 0 1 24 4 Squad Total 2/13 10 8 0 2 30 7 –

Head-to-head record

As of 18 November 2024 ^[31]

  Positive record  Neutral record  Negative record

Opponents	Pld	W	D	L
Albania	6	4	0	2
Andorra	6	6	0	0
Argentina	5	1	1	3
Armenia	1	1	0	0
Australia	17	3	9	5
Austria	13	3	4	6
Azerbaijan	5	3	2	0
Belarus	8	6	0	2
Belgium	9	2	0	7
Bosnia and Herzegovina	4	2	1	1
Brazil	3	0	0	3
Bulgaria	7	1	2	4
Cameroon	3	0	2	1
Canada	6	6	0	0
Chile	2	1	0	1
Chinese Taipei	7	6	0	1
Colombia	2	0	1	1
Costa Rica	3	3	0	0
Croatia	9	0	1	8
Cyprus	16	9	3	4
Czech Republic	4	0	0	4
Denmark	10	1	0	9
Egypt	2	0	0	2
El Salvador	1	1	0	0
England	4	0	2	2
Estonia	3	3	0	0
Ethiopia	4	4	0	0
Faroe Islands	5	4	1	0
Finland	5	2	1	2
France	11	1	5	5
Georgia	6	3	2	1
Germany [h]	5	0	0	5
Ghana	1	1	0	0
Greece	19	3	5	11
Guatemala	2	1	1	0
Honduras	2	2	0	0
Hong Kong	3	3	0	0
Hungary	6	2	2	2
Iceland	6	2	3	1
India	4	4	0	0
Indonesia	1	1	0	0
Iran	5	1	1	3
Italy	7	0	1	6
Ivory Coast	2	0	1	1
Japan	7	7	0	0
Kosovo	2	0	1	1
Latvia	7	5	1	1
Lebanon	1	1	0	0
Liechtenstein	4	4	0	0
Lithuania	5	4	1	0
Luxembourg	9	9	0	0
Malaysia	2	2	0	0
Malta	9	6	2	1
Mexico	2	1	0	1
Moldova	8	5	3	0
Montenegro	1	1	0	0
Myanmar	2	1	0	1
Netherlands	4	0	0	4
New Zealand	8	6	1	1
North Macedonia	7	4	1	2
Northern Ireland	10	1	5	4
Norway	2	1	0	1
Pakistan	2	1	1	0
Philippines	1	1	0	0
Poland	11	2	4	5
Portugal	7	1	2	4
Republic of Ireland	5	1	3	1
Romania	24	5	7	12
Russia [i]	14	4	3	7
San Marino	2	2	0	0
Scotland	11	2	3	6
Serbia [j]	12	3	1	8
Singapore	1	1	0	0
Slovakia	7	2	2	3
Slovenia	4	0	3	1
South Africa	1	0	0	1
South Korea	11	2	4	5
Spain	6	0	1	5
Sri Lanka	3	3	0	0
Sweden	12	1	4	7
Switzerland	9	1	5	3
Thailand	3	1	2	0
Turkey	6	2	0	4
Ukraine	6	1	3	2
United States	6	3	1	2
Uruguay	6	1	1	4
Uzbekistan	1	1	0	0
Vietnam [k]	4	3	0	1
Wales	6	0	3	3
Zambia	1	1	0	0

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. ^[32]

Honours

See also: History of the Israel national football team § Titles, and History of the Israel national football team § Awards

Continental

As an [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] member ^[33]

• AFC Asian Cup
  • Champions (1): 1964
  • Runners-up (2): 1956, 1960
  • Third place (1): 1968

• Asian Games
  • Silver Medal (1): 1974

Summary

Competition				Total
AFC Asian Cup	1	2	1	4
Asian Games	0	1	0	1
Total	1	3	1	5

See also

• Association football portal
• Israel portal

• UEFA European Football Championship
• Israel women's national football team
• Israel national under-23 football team
• Israel national under-21 football team
• Israel national under-20 football team
• Israel national under-19 football team
• Israel national under-18 football team
• Israel national under-17 football team
• Israel national under-16 football team
• Football in Israel
• Sports in Israel
• Israeli Premier League

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
8. Includes matches against   West Germany .
9. Includes matches against   Soviet Union .
10. Includes matches against   Yugoslavia and   Serbia and Montenegro .
11. As   South Vietnam .

1. Due to the Israel–Hamas war, Israel are required to play their home matches at neutral venues until further notice. ^[12]
2. Due to the Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Israel–Hamas war, Belarus and Israel are required to play their home matches at neutral venues and behind closed doors until further notice.
3. Due to the Israel–Hamas war protests, the Belgium v Israel match was played at a neutral venue and behind closed doors.

References

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2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
3. Mubarak, Hassanin. "Palestine – International Results – Details". RSSSF . Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
4. "Statistical Kit: Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil" (PDF). FIFA.com . 28 June 2011. p. 53. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2020. A Jewish delegation from Palestine (then a British mandate) played at the qualifying games for 1934 & 1938. It was the first Jewish national team, and as such the forerunner of Israel.
5. "Site-Map-Israel-Football-Facts—Stats". Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
6. "Bayati recalls Iran's tense win over Israel". Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
7. 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.
8. "Aust-Asian bid fails". The Sydney Morning Herald . 16 September 1974. p. 11. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
9. Rahman, Mansoor (14 September 1974). "'Visibles' win without any kick..." New Straits Times . p. 22. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
10. Williams, Richard (19 May 2015). "Why Does Israel's Football Team Play In Europe?". Sky News. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
11. Willi Ruttensteiner ist nicht mehr Teamchef von Israel Archived 3 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine , der Standard, 2022-02-07.
12. "European Qualifier match between Belgium and Sweden declared abandoned with half-time result confirmed as final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 19 October 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
13. "Belgium vs. Israel" (JSON). Union of European Football Associations. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
14. "Israel Football Association - National A Team - Team Staff". Israel Football Association . 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
15. "ההתאחדודת לכדורגל בישראל - [ - נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל גברים ( בוגרים)] - בעלי תפקידים". Israel Football Association (in Hebrew). 23 May 2024.
16. "In national team - Ran Ben Shimon - National A Team - Team Staff". Israel Football Association . 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
17. "Alon Hazan, football manager". Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
18. Win% is rounded to two decimal places
19. "Andreas Herzog, football manager".
20. "Andreas Herzog, football manager".
21. "וילי רוטנשטיינר סיים את דרכו כמאמן נבחרת ישראל: "גאה בעשייה שלי"". 7 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
22. "ברומר וחרזי יאמנו את נבחרת ישראל - ספורט 5". 17 March 2022. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
23. "רשמי: אלון חזן מונה למאמן נבחרת ישראל - ספורט 5". 8 May 2022. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
24. "Israel Football Association - [seniors National] Team Squad". 29 August 2024.
25. "ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל - נבחרת לאומית גברים [בוגרים]" (in Hebrew). 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023.
26. "Israel vs. Belgium - 14 October 2024 - Soccerway".
27. "Israel vs Italy, 9 September 2024".
28. "Most Israel Caps" . Retrieved 7 October 2024.
29. "National A Team – Team Squad". Israel Football Association . 21 November 2023. Archived from the original on 31 May 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
30. Mamrud, Roberto. "Israel – Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
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32. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking - Associations - Israel- Men's". FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
33. 1954–74; Asia

External links

• The Israel Football Association (official)
• Israel National Team Statistics (Hebrew)
• RSSSF – List of "A" Games
• RSSSF – List of Official Games
• Reports for all matches of Israel national football team