Israel national football team
| Shirt badge/Association crest | |||
| Nickname(s) | The Blue and Whites | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Israel Football Association (IFA) | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) (1994–present) OFC (Oceania) (1974–1991) AFC (Asia) (1954–1974) | ||
| Head coach | Luis Fernández | ||
| Captain | Yossi Benayoun | ||
| Most caps | Arik Benado (94) | ||
| Top scorer | Mordechai Spiegler (33) | ||
| Home stadium | Ramat Gan Stadium | ||
| FIFA code | ISR | ||
| |||
| FIFA ranking | |||
| Current | 24 | ||
| Highest | 15 (November 2008) | ||
| Lowest | 71 (September 1993) | ||
| First international | |||
 United States 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; 12 February 2002) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (first in 1970) | ||
| Best result | Round 1, 1970 | ||
| AFC Asian Cup | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1956) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1964 | ||
The Israeli national football team (Hebrew: נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל) is the national football team of the State of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association (IFA).
Israel National Football team must not be confused with Palestine National Team during British Mandate. Israel has taken part in three different continents: Asia, Europe and Oceania in the Football World Cup qualifiers, before settling in Europe as a member of UEFA in 1994.
The Israeli side qualified for their only FIFA World Cup to date in 1970.
History
Upon the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the IFA became the official association of the new state. The Israel national team's first game as an independent nation was on September 26, 1948, against the United States (result: 3–1 to the USA).
Asian history
Israel initially competed in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), although due to their ongoing geopolitical situation, many Asian nations often refused to compete against Israel. This meant that they mainly competed in European (UEFA) or Oceanian (OFC) World Cup qualifying tournaments. In 1964, Israel hosted and won the Asian Nations Cup. In 1968, Israel went to their first Olympic Games and lost to Bulgaria in the quarter-finals. In 1970, Israel qualified for their first and only World Cup, via Oceania, but only earned two points after draws with Sweden and finalist Italy and a loss to Uruguay.
In 1976, Israel went to their second Olympic Games and lost in the quarter-finals again, this time against Brazil. In 1972 and 1977 they attempted World Cup qualification as part of Asia, which both times ended in failure.
Years in exile
In 1974, Israel was expelled from AFC as their position within it became untenable.[clarification needed] During the 1980s, they played their majority of matches against European teams, and competed in the European leg of qualification for the 1982 World Cup. For the next two tournaments, they entered the OFC's qualification groups and in 1989, Israel made it to the playoffs of the 1990 World Cup in Italy to play against Colombia, who qualified from the South American group, but lost (1–0, 0–0).
European history
In 1991, Israeli clubs began participating in European club competitions and Israel returned to the European leg of World Cup qualifying in 1992, notably winning 3–2 in Paris against France in 1993 and 5–0 against Austria in the late 1990s. In 1994, Israel received full UEFA membership, 20 years since they had left Asia. Within Europe, Israel have been a relatively minor nation, though with some successes. In 1999, Israel made it to the playoffs of Euro 2000, but was beaten by Denmark.
In 2006 World Cup qualifying, Israel finished third in European zone Group Four, behind France and Switzerland, respectively, despite being unbeaten in their 10 matches after four wins and six draws, and failed to qualify for the finals. Coach Avram Grant announced his resignation on 26 October 2005. After the end of his contract, he was succeeded by Dror Kashtan. In UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, Israel finished fourth in Group E, behind Croatia, Russia, and England, respectively. The 4–3 home loss to Croatia was the first loss after 13 consecutive official games and nine home games without a loss. Although Israel failed to qualify, they advanced in the world ranking, which led Israel to Pot 2 at the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification draw. The continued presence of the Israeli Football Association in UEFA was a precedent cited by Australia to justify its transfer from Oceania to the Asian Football Federation.
Stadium
Israel national football team play in the national stadium in ramat gan , the stadium contains 41,583 seats and he is the only stadium in Israel which is in a world-class standard . The stadium is mixed-use, fit for athletic competitions alongside its more popular usage as a football stadium when it hosts Israel international football matches along with the home UEFA Champions League of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Maccabi Haifa in the 2004–05 and 2009–10 seasons, respectively.
The pitch dimensions are 105 m × 68 m (115 × 74 yd), with a 10,500 m2 (2.6 acres) lawn. The stadium's plot area is 36,000 m2 (8.9 acres). The stadium also contains 6 dressing rooms, meeting halls, a conference center, press rooms, referees' room and medical and drug-test clinics. It is sided by 2 training fields, large athletes clinic, a cafe-restaurant, and a 3,900 space open-air car park. It also houses the headquarters of the Israel Football Association. The artificial lighting conditions in the stadium are on the same level with the world's top stadiums, offering a max 1,550 lux on every part of the pitch.
There are current plans to tear down the stadium and rebuild a bigger one, which is expected to have the capacity of 60,000 people. The stadium will cost more than 100 million dollars and is expected to start construction in 2011 and finish in 2015.
Competition history
FIFA World Cup record
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1930 |
Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1934 |
Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1938 |
Did not enter | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1950 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1954 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1958 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1962 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1966 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1970 |
Round 1 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 1974 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1978 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 1982 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1986 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1990 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1994 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1998 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
  2002 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2006 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 2010 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014 |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Total | 1/18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
Asian Cup record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1956 |
Runner up | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| 1960 |
Runner up | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
| 1964 |
Champions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
 1968 |
Third place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 |
| Total | 1 Title | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 15 |
Israel did not compete in a regional competition between the years 1968 and 1996
European Championship record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – |
  2000 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 2004 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – |
 2008 |
Did not qualify | – | – | – | – | – | – |
  2012 |
– | – | – | – | – | – |
UEFA Euro 2012
UEFA Euro 2012 qualification – Group F
Template:UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group F
Fixtures
Group F fixtures were to be finalised at a meeting between the participants in Athens, Greece on 7th March 2010. After that meeting proved inconclusive, the fixture list was determined by a random draw at the XXXIV Ordinary UEFA Congress in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 25 March.[1]
Friendly matches
Israel's score is written first.
| Opponents | Venue | Date | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
 Romania
|
Stadionul Dan Păltinişanu, Timişoara, Romania | 3 March 2010 | 2–0 |
| Uruguay
|
Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay | 26 May 2010 | |
| Chile
|
Estadio Collao, Concepción, Chile | 30 May 2010 | |
 Ivory Coast
|
Parc des Princes, Paris, France | 11 August 2010 |
Current squad
The following players were named for the Friendly Match against Uruguay on May 26, 2010 and Chile on May 30, 2010. Caps and goals correct as of May 13, 2010
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||
| GK | Dudu Aouate | October 17, 1977 | 49 | 0 | Mallorca
| |||
| GK | Ariel Harush | February 8, 1988 | 0 | 0 | Beitar Jerusalem
| |||
| GK | Ohad Levita | February 17, 1986 | 0 | 0 | RKC Waalwijk
| |||
| Defenders | ||||||||
| DF | Dedi Ben Dayan | November 22, 1978 | 23 | 1 | Hapoel Tel Aviv
| |||
| DF | Tal Ben Haim | March 31, 1982 | 54 | 0 | Portsmouth
| |||
| DF | Dekel Keinan | September 15, 1984 | 14 | 0 | Maccabi Haifa
| |||
| DF | Shai Maimon | March 18, 1986 | 1 | 0 | Maccabi Haifa
| |||
| DF | Klemi Saban | February 17, 1980 | 23 | 1 | Maccabi Netanya
| |||
| DF | Yoav Ziv | March 16, 1981 | 24 | 0 | Lokeren
| |||
| DF | Avi Strool | September 18, 1980 | 14 | 0 | Lokeren
| |||
| DF | Ali Ottman | February 8, 1987 | 0 | 0 | Maccabi Haifa
| |||
| Midfielders | ||||||||
| MF | Lior Rafaelov | April 26, 1986 | 1 | 0 | Maccabi Haifa
| |||
| MF | Bibras Natkho | February 18, 1988 | 1 | 0 |  Rubin Kazan
| |||
| MF | Yossi Benayoun 
|
May 5, 1980 | 78 | 20 | Liverpool
| |||
| MF | Gil Vermuth | August 5, 1985 | 4 | 0 | Hapoel Tel Aviv
| |||
| MF | Avihai Yadin | October 26, 1986 | 4 | 0 | Hapoel Tel Aviv
| |||
| MF | Maor Melikson | October 30, 1984 | 0 | 0 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva
| |||
| MF | Nir Biton | October 31, 1991 | 0 | 0 | F.C. Ashdod
| |||
| Forwards | ||||||||
| FW | Elyaniv Barda | December 15, 1981 | 20 | 11 | Racing Genk
| |||
| FW | Itay Shechter | February 22, 1987 | 4 | 0 | Hapoel Tel Aviv
| |||
| FW | Roberto Colautti | May 24, 1982 | 17 | 6 | Borussia Mönchengladbach
| |||
| FW | Omer Golan | October 4, 1982 | 36 | 8 | Lokeren
| |||
| FW | Shlomi Arbeitman | May 14, 1985 | 6 | 3 | Maccabi Haifa
| |||
| FW | Ben Sahar | August 10, 1989 | 18 | 5 | Espanyol
| |||
Recent call-ups
The following players have been called recently to Israel squad.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | Rami Gershon | August 12, 1988 | 0 | 0 | Standard Liège
| |||
| DF | Ze'ev Haimovich | April 7, 1983 | 1 | 0 | Terek Grozny
| |||
| DF | Nir Mansour | January 22, 1991 | 4 | 0 | Real Madrid
| |||
| DF | Yuval Spungin | April 3, 1987 | 9 | 0 | Maccabi Tel Aviv
| |||
| DF | Dean Mori | November 8, 1988 | 2 | 0 | Bnei Yehuda
| |||
| MF | Tamir Cohen | May 4, 1984 | 16 | 0 | Bolton Wanderers
| |||
| MF | Gai Assulin | April 9, 1991 | 1 | 0 | Barcelona Atlètic
| |||
| MF | Almog Cohen | September 1, 1988 | 13 | 0 | Nuremberg
| |||
| MF | Eyal Golasa | October 7, 1991 | 0 | 0 | Maccabi Haifa
| |||
| MF | Gal Alberman | April 17, 1983 | 26 | 1 | Borussia Mönchengladbach
| |||
| MF | Idan Vered | January 1, 1989 | 13 | 1 | West Ham United
| |||
| MF | Aviram Baruchyan | March 20, 1985 | 10 | 2 | Beitar Jerusalem
| |||
| FW | Eliran Atar | February 17, 1987 | 0 | 0 | Bnei Yehuda
| |||
| FW | Pini Balili | June 18, 1979 | 29 | 7 |  Antalyaspor
| |||
| FW | Barak Yitzhaki | September 25, 1984 | 11 | 1 | Beitar Jerusalem
| |||
Player history
Most capped players
| # | Name | Career | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arik Benado | 1995–2007 | 94 | 0 |
| 2 | Alon Harazi | 1992–2006 | 89 | 2 |
| 3 | Amir Schelach | 1992–2001 | 85 | 0 |
| 4 | Mordechai Spiegler | 1963–1977 | 83 | 33 |
| Nir Klinger | 1987–1997 | 83 | 2 | |
| 6 | Avi Nimni | 1992–2006 | 80 | 17 |
| 7 | ||||
| Yossi Benayoun | 1998–present | 78 | 20 | |
| Eyal Berkovic | 1992–2004 | 78 | 14 | |
| Tal Banin | 1990–2002 | 78 | 12 | |
| Itzhak Shum | 1969–1981 | 78 | 10 |
Last updated: 12 May 2010
Top scorers
| # | Player | Career | Goals | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mordechai Spiegler | 1963–1977 | 33 | 83 |
| 2 | Yehoshua Feigenbaum | 1966–1977 | 24 | 50 |
| 3 | Ronen Harazi | 1992–1999 | 23 | 55 |
| 4 | Nahum Stelmach | 1956–1968 | 22 | 61 |
| 5 | Gidi Damti | 1971–1981 | 21 | 69 |
| 6 | Yossi Benayoun | 1998–present | 20 | 78 |
| 7 | Giora Spiegel | 1965–1980 | 18 | 44 |
| Yehoshua Glazer | 1949–1961 | 18 | 35 | |
| 9 | Eli Ohana | 1984–1997 | 17 | 50 |
| Avi Nimni | 1992–2006 | 17 | 80 |
Last updated: 12 May 2010
Managers
| Manager | Israel career | Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF | GA | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egon Pollack
|
1948 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 00.0% |
| Lajos Hess
|
1949 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 33.3% |
 Vladislav Scali
|
1950 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 50.0% |
| Jerry Beit haLevi
|
1953 – 1954 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 00.0% |
| Jack Gibbons
|
1956 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 40.0% |
| Jerry Beit haLevi
|
1957 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 00.0% |
| Moshe Varon
|
1958 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 40.0% |
| Gyula Mándi
|
1959 – 1963 | 31 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 49 | 63 | 50.0% |
| George Ainsley
|
1963 – 1964 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 66.7% |
| Yosef Mirmovich
|
1964 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 00.0% |
| Gyula Mándi
|
1964 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 100.0% |
| Yosef Mirmovich
|
1964 – 1965 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 33.3% |
 Milovan Ćirić
|
1965 – 1968 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 15 | 43 | 45 | 36.0% |
| Emmanuel Scheffer
|
1968 – 1970 | 24 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 44 | 34 | 50.0% |
| Edmond Schmilovich
|
1970 – 1973 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 63.2% |
| David Schweitzer
|
1973 – 1977 | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 67 | 34 | 62.5% |
| Emmanuel Scheffer
|
1978 – 1979 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 53.8% |
| Jack Mansell
|
1980 – 1981 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 35.0% |
| Yosef Mirmovich
|
1983 – 1986 | 27 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 39 | 36 | 46.3% |
| Miljenko Mihić
|
1986 – 1988 | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 27 | 35 | 32.5% |
| Itzhak Schneor Ya'akov Grundman
|
1988 – 1992 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 21 | 30 | 32.5% |
| Shlomo Scharf
|
1992 – 1999 | 82 | 31 | 18 | 33 | 131 | 118 | 48.2% |
 Richard Møller Nielsen
|
2000 – 2002 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 33 | 45.0% |
| Avram Grant
|
2002 – 2006 | 33 | 14 | 13 | 6 | 55 | 37 | 42.4% |
| Dror Kashtan
|
2006 – 2010 | 19 | 10 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 19 | 52.6% |
| Eli Ohana (caretaker)
|
2010 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| Luis Fernández
|
2010 – present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Honours
- Group stage (1): 1970
References
- ^ "Fixtures draw completes qualifying schedule". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
External links
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| Domestic leagues |
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| Domestic cups |
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| Defunct competitions |
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| National teams |
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| Related to national team |
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| International tournaments | |||||||
| Other articles | |||||||
| Lists | |||||||
International association football | ||
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| World (FIFA) |  | |
| Asia (AFC) | ||
| Africa (CAF) | ||
| North America (CONCACAF) | ||
| South America (CONMEBOL) | ||
| Oceania (OFC) | ||
| Europe (UEFA) | ||
| Inter-Continental |
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| Non-FIFA | ||
1970 FIFA World Cup finalists | |
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| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Quarter-finals | |
| Group stage | |
