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.
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.
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]
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.
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 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.
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
1 2 3 Yossi Benayoun also played and scored against Romania B however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
↑ Tal Ben Haim also played against Romania B however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
↑ Tal Banin also played against USSR XI however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
↑ 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
↑ 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
↑ Eli Ohana also played a 1984 Olympic qualification game however this was not a full-international match and is therefore not included
↑ 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
The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It promotes the game in Oceania and allows the member nations to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
The Cyprus national football team represents Cyprus in men's international football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association. The team's home ground is the AEK Arena in Larnaca.
The Kazakhstan national football team represents Kazakhstan in men's international football and it is governed by the Kazakhstan Football Federation. They split from the Soviet Union national team after independence in 1991 and joined the Asian Football Confederation's Central Asian Football Federation. After failing to qualify for the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, they joined UEFA, but are yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup or a UEFA European Championship.
The North Korea national football team represents North Korea in men's international football and it is controlled by the DPR Korea Football Association, the governing body for Football in North Korea. The team represents both FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Jordan national football team represents Jordan in international football. It is under the jurisdiction of the Jordan Football Association. Jordan played five times in the Asian Cup. It reached the finals of a major tournament for the first time in the 2023 edition, finishing as runners-up.
The Brunei national football team, nicknamed Tebuan, is the national team of Brunei, controlled by the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. The team was founded in 1959 and joined FIFA in 1969. In the past, they have also frequently featured in the Malaysian league and cup competitions as one of the state representative sides.
The Sri Lanka national football team represents Sri Lanka in Association football and is administered by Football Federation of Sri Lanka, the governing body of football in Sri Lanka. They have been a member of FIFA since 1952 and a member of AFC since 1954. Sri Lanka's home stadium is the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. The Sri Lankan team was known as the Ceylon national football team until 1972 when Ceylon was renamed Sri Lanka.
The Palestine national football team, governed by the Palestinian Football Association, represents Palestine in association football. The squad is governed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continentally, and FIFA worldwide.
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, CONMEBOL, OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) – was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 205 teams entered the qualification competition, with South Africa, as the host, qualifying for the World Cup automatically. The first qualification matches were played on 25 August 2007 and qualification concluded on 18 November 2009. Overall, 2,338 goals were scored over 852 matches, scoring on average 2.74 per match.
The Israel women's national football team represents Israel in international women's football. The Israel women's national football team was established in 1997. Women's football in Israel was developed as an upside down pyramid by first opening the national team and then after 2 years opening the first women's football league in Israel. Women's Football in Israel is struggling to develop because it is lacking investment.
In Israeli football (soccer), the Israel national under-19 football team and the Israel national under-20 football team ; or simply Israel Under-19s, Israel U19s; Israel Under-20s, Israel U20s - both squads are also regarded as the feeders for the Israel national under-21 team.
The Russia national football team represents Russia in men's international football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Union, the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home ground is the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and their head coach is Valery Karpin.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Israel's men's national football team has represented Israel in international football contests since 1930. The team is overseen by the Israel Football Association, the administrative body of Israeli football.
This is a record of the Israel national team's results at the FIFA World Cup. They have qualified for the tournament on one occasion, in 1970. Israel qualified for the 1970 World Cup as an Asian team. Nowadays Israel competes in the European zone, as well as a full member of UEFA since the 1990s.
The following tables show the England national football team's all-time international record. The statistics are composed of FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA Nations League and British Home Championship (1883–1984) matches, as well as numerous international friendly tournaments and matches.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will decide the 45 teams that will join hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification process determined 30 of the 32 teams which will play in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, with the co-hosts Australia and New Zealand qualifying automatically. It is the ninth FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. The tournament is the first Women's World Cup to be hosted in multiple countries, the third by an AFC member association after the 1991 and 2007 Women's World Cups in China, the first to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first senior FIFA tournament in Oceania, and also the first FIFA tournament to be hosted across multiple confederations.
This article provides details of international football games played by the Israel national football team from 2020 to present.
Twelve teams are scheduled to compete in the women's football tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympics. In addition to France, the host nation, 11 women's national teams qualified from six separate continental confederations.
↑ "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.
1 Associate member of OFC - Not a member of FIFA 2 Not a member of OFC and consequently not a member of FIFA 3 Northern Mariana Islands was only an associate member of OFC between 1998 and 2009 - Not a member of FIFA 4 Although not geographically in Oceania, Chinese Taipei was a member of the OFC between 1976–1978 and 1982–1989 Although not geographically in Oceania Israel entered OFC World Cup qualification in 1986 and 1990 due to political reasons, though it never became a formal OFC member.
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5 (28 November 2024) [2] 
Egypt 5–0 Mandatory Palestine 
US Olympic Team 3–1 Israel 
Germany 7–1 Israel 
Silver Medal (1974)
