Israel at the FIFA World Cup

This is a record of Israel's results at the FIFA World Cup. They have qualified for the tournament on one occasion, in 1970.[1] Israel qualified for the 1970 World Cup as an Asian team. Soon after this, they were expelled from the Asian Football Confederation, and now compete in the European zone as a member of UEFA.

History

In 1934 and 1938 Mandatory Palestine competed in the World Cup. In 1970 Israel competed in the World Cup for the first time. FIFA states in reference to the 1930s Palestine Mandate team that the 'Palestine team' that had participated in previous competitions in the 1930s was actually the forerunner of today's Israel team and as such bears no relation to the national team of the Palestinian authority.[2] However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered "one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers".[3]

Record at the FIFA World Cup
Israel's FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Pos Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA Confederation
1930 Did Not Enter Did Not Enter
1934 Did Not Qualify 2nd 2 0 0 2 2 11 CAF/AFC
1938 2nd 2 0 0 2 1 4 UEFA
1950 Did Not Qualify 2nd 2 0 0 2 2 11
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
2026
Total 1/23 Group Stage 3 0 2 1 1 3
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks
  • 1930–1938 as Mandatory Palestine (Eretz Israel)
  • 1950– as Israel

By Match
World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Venue Scorers
1970Group stage Uruguay0–2LPuebla—
 Sweden1–1DTolucaM. Spiegler
 Italy0–0DToluca—

Record by Opponent
FIFA World Cup matches (by team)
Opponent Wins Draws Losses Total Goals Scored Goals Conceded
 Italy010100
 Sweden010111
 Uruguay001102

1970 FIFA World Cup

At the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Israel participated for the first time. Israel qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1970, along with El Salvador and Morocco.[1]

Although it was reported in the build-up to the final draw that seedings would be used, as had been the case at the previous two World Cup Finals,[4][5] the FIFA Organising Committee ultimately announced that there would be no seeding of teams.[6] Instead, the sixteen teams were divided into four 'geographical groupings', which also took into account the teams' strengths and even political considerations;[7] the system ensured that Israel and Morocco would not be drawn to face each other after Morocco had earlier threatened to withdraw from the tournament, as they had done from the Olympic football tournament two years earlier,[8] if that were the case.[9]

1970 Qualifying Round
Main article: 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC and OFC)

1970 Qualifying Round 1

During the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification Israel received a First Round bye in the first round and moved directly to the Second Round.

1970 Qualifying Round 2

In the second round, North Korea, quarter-finalists at the previous tournament, were disqualified after refusing to play in Israel for political reasons.[10][11]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Israel 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 4
2  New Zealand 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0
—  North Korea (W) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source:
(W) Withdrew.
28 September 1969 Israel  4 – 0  New Zealand Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel[12]
Spiegler  48'
Spiegel  65'
Feigenbaum  72', 86'		 Referee: Nassiri (Iran)
1 October 1969 Israel  2 – 0  New Zealand Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel[12]
Spiegler  24'
Spiegel  33'		 Referee: Nassiri (Iran)

1970 Qualifying Final Round
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Israel  2–1  Australia 1–0 1–1
4 December 1969 Israel  1 – 0  Australia Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Zeman  16' (o.g.) Report Referee: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)
14 December 1969 Australia  1 – 1  Israel Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney
Watkiss  88'  79' Spiegler Referee: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)

1970 FIFA World Cup Group 2
Main article: 1970 FIFA World Cup Group 2
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 3 1 2 0 1 0 +1 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  Uruguay 3 1 1 1 2 1 +1 3
3  Sweden 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 3
4  Israel 3 0 2 1 1 3 −2 2
Source: FIFA
Uruguay vs Israel
Uruguay 2–0 Israel
Maneiro  23'
Mujica  50'		 Report
Attendance: 20,654
Uruguay
Israel
GK1Ladislao Mazurkiewicz
DF4Luis Ubiña
DF2Atilio Ancheta
DF3Roberto Matosas
DF6Juan Mujica
MF7Luis Cubilla
MF5Julio Montero Castillo
MF8Pedro Rocha (c) 12'
FW9Víctor Espárrago
FW10Ildo Maneiro
FW21Julio Losada
Substitutions:
FW20Julio César Cortés 12'
Manager:
Juan Hohberg
GK1Itzhak Vissoker
DF12Yisha'ayahu Schwager
DF4David Primo
DF14Danny Shmulevich-Rom 57'
DF5Zvi Rosen
MF6Shmuel Rosenthal
MF8Giora Spiegel
MF10Mordechai Spiegler (c)
MF7Itzhak Shum
FW9Yehoshua Feigenbaum
FW15Rachamim Talbi 46'
Substitutions:
DF2Shraga Bar 46'
DF16Yochanan Vollach 57'
Manager:
Emmanuel Scheffer


Assistant referees:
Rudolf Scheurer (Switzerland)
Seyoum Tarekegn (Ethiopia)

Sweden vs Israel
Sweden 1–1 Israel
Turesson  53' Report Spiegler  56'
Attendance: 9,624
Referee: Seyoum Tarekegn (Ethiopia)
Sweden
Israel
GK12Sven-Gunnar Larsson
DF2Hans Selander
DF3Kurt Axelsson
DF20Jan Olsson
DF5Roland Grip
MF6Tommy Svensson (c)
MF7Bo Larsson
MF16Tomas Nordahl
FW18Tom Turesson
FW9Ove Kindvall
FW11Örjan Persson 75'
Substitutions:
FW22Sten Pålsson 75'
Manager:
Orvar Bergmark
GK1Itzhak Vissoker
DF2Shraga Bar
DF4David Primo
DF16Yochanan Vollach 51'
DF5Zvi Rosen
MF12Yisha'ayahu Schwager
MF6Shmuel Rosenthal
MF7Itzhak Shum
FW10Mordechai Spiegler (c)
FW8Giora Spiegel
FW9Yehoshua Feigenbaum
Substitutions:
MF19Roni Shuruk 51'
Manager:
Emmanuel Scheffer


Assistant referees:
Andrei Rădulescu (Romania)
Josip-Drago Horvat (Yugoslavia)

Italy vs Israel
Italy 0–0 Israel
Report
Attendance: 9,890
Referee: Ayrton Vieira de Moraes (Brazil)
Italy
Israel
GK1Enrico Albertosi
DF2Tarcisio Burgnich
DF5Pierluigi Cera
DF8Roberto Rosato
DF3Giacinto Facchetti (c)
MF10Mario Bertini
MF16Giancarlo De Sisti
MF15Alessandro Mazzola
FW13Angelo Domenghini 46'
FW20Roberto Boninsegna
FW11Luigi Riva
Substitutions:
MF14Gianni Rivera 46'
Manager:
Ferruccio Valcareggi
GK1Itzhak Vissoker
DF2Shraga Bar
DF4David Primo
DF12Yisha'ayahu Schwager
DF6Shmuel Rosenthal
MF5Zvi Rosen
MF3Menachem Bello
MF7Itzhak Shum
FW10Mordechai Spiegler (c)
FW8Giora Spiegel
FW9Yehoshua Feigenbaum 46'
Substitutions:
FW14Dani Shmulevich-Rom 46'
Manager:
Emmanuel Scheffer


Assistant referees:
Seyoum Tarekegn (Ethiopia)
Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)

Squad

Head coach: Emmanuel Scheffer

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Yitzchak Vissoker (1944-09-18)18 September 1944 (aged 25) 17 Hapoel Petah Tikva
2 2DF Shraga Bar (1948-03-24)24 March 1948 (aged 22) 13 Maccabi Netanya
3 2DF Menachem Bello (1947-12-26)26 December 1947 (aged 22) 25 Maccabi Tel Aviv
4 3MF David Primo (1946-05-05)5 May 1946 (aged 24) 18 Hapoel Tel Aviv
5 2DF Zvi Rosen (1947-06-23)23 June 1947 (aged 22) 16 Maccabi Tel Aviv
6 2DF Shmuel Rosenthal (1947-04-22)22 April 1947 (aged 23) 23 Hapoel Petah Tikva
7 3MF Itzhak Shum (1948-09-01)1 September 1948 (aged 21) 8 Hapoel Kfar Saba
8 4FW Giora Spiegel (1947-07-27)27 July 1947 (aged 22) 19 Maccabi Tel Aviv
9 4FW Yehoshua Feigenbaum (1947-12-05)5 December 1947 (aged 22) 15 Hapoel Tel Aviv
10 4FW Mordechai Spiegler (1944-08-19)19 August 1944 (aged 25) 36 Maccabi Netanya
11 3MF George Borba (1944-07-12)12 July 1944 (aged 25) 10 Hapoel Tel Aviv
12 3MF Yisha'ayahu Schwager (1946-02-10)10 February 1946 (aged 24) 6 Maccabi Haifa
13 4FW Yechezekel Chazom (1947-01-01)1 January 1947 (aged 23) 4 Hapoel Tel Aviv
14 3MF Danny Shmulevich-Rom (1940-11-29)29 November 1940 (aged 29) 24 Maccabi Haifa
15 4FW Rachamim Talbi (1943-05-17)17 May 1943 (aged 27) 25 Maccabi Tel Aviv
16 2DF Yochanan Vollach (1945-05-14)14 May 1945 (aged 25) 4 Hapoel Haifa
17 4FW Eli Ben Rimoz (1947-01-01)1 January 1947 (aged 23) 2 Hapoel Jerusalem
18 3MF Moshe Romano (1946-05-06)6 May 1946 (aged 24) 6 Shimshon Tel Aviv
19 3MF Roni Shuruk (1946-02-24)24 February 1946 (aged 24) 8 Hakoah Maccabi Ramat Gan
20 2DF David Karako (1945-02-11)11 February 1945 (aged 25) 6 Maccabi Tel Aviv
21 1GK Yechiel Hameiri (1946-08-20)20 August 1946 (aged 23) 1 Hapoel Haifa
22 1GK Yair Nossovsky (1937-06-29)29 June 1937 (aged 32) 3 Hapoel Kfar Saba

Qualifier history

Through the 2014 qualifier, Israel has entered the qualifiers for the World Cup on 19 occasions. In 1934 and 1938 Israel competed as Mandatory Palestine, and since 1950 has competed as Israel. In all years but 1970 Israel failed to qualify for the World Cup.

1934 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1934 FIFA World Cup, Mandatory Palestine competed in the Africa and Asia Group 12 qualifying round.[13] Mandatory Palestine finished in second place and was eliminated.

The Palestine football team consisted of nine British footballers, six Jewish footballers and one Arab footballer.[14] FIFA states in reference to the 1930s Palestine Mandate team that the 'Palestine team' that had participated in previous competitions in the 1930s was actually the forerunner of today's Israel team and as such bears no relation to the national team of the Palestinian authority.[2] However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered "one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers".[3]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1  Egypt 2 2 0 0 11 2 5.500 4
2  Palestine, British Mandate 2 0 0 2 2 11 0.182 0
—  Turkey (W) 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0
Source:
(W) Withdrew.
Matches
16 March 1934 Egypt  7 – 1  Palestine, British Mandate Cairo, Egypt
El-Tetsh  11', 35', 51'
Taha  21', 79'
Latif  43', 87'		 Nudelman  61' Stadium: British Army Ground
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Stanley Wells (England)
6 April 1934 Palestine, British Mandate  1 – 4  Egypt Tel Aviv, Palestine, British Mandate
Sukenik  54' Latif  2'
El-Tetsh  7', 22'
Fawzi  35'		 Stadium: Palms Stadium
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Frederick Goodsby (England)
Squad

Coaches: Egon Pollak, Shimon Ratner

16/03/1934:
GK: Willy Berger (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
DF: Avraham Reznik (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Pinhas Fiedler (Maccabi Hasmonean)
MF: Zalman Friedman (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Gedalyahu Fuchs (Hapoel Haifa), Yohanan Sukenik (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
FW: Amnon Harlap (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Ferenc Kraus (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Paul Kastenbaum (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Haim Reich, Avraham Nudelman (Hapoel Tel Aviv)

06/04/1934:
GK: Willy Berger (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
DF: David Weinberg (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Pinhas Fiedler (Maccabi Hasmonean)
MF: Zalman Friedman (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Gedalyahu Fuchs (Hapoel Haifa), Yohanan Sukenik (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
FW: Amnon Harlap (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Ya'akov Levi-Meir (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Ya'akov Zelivanski (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Haim Reich, Avraham Nudelman (Hapoel Tel Aviv)

1938 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1938 FIFA World Cup, Mandatory Palestine competed in the UEFA Group 6 qualifying round.[15] Hungary as the strongest team of this group was seeded. Greece and Mandatory Palestine would play against each other on a home-and-away basis, with Hungary playing against the winner at home. Mandatory Palestine lost to Greece in the First Round, and finished in third and last place.

In 1938 World Cup marked the second (1934 being the first) and final time Mandatory Palestine competed in the World Cup. FIFA states in reference to the 1930s Palestine Mandate team that the 'Palestine team' that had participated in previous competitions in the 1930s was actually the forerunner of today's Israel team and as such bears no relation to the national team of the Palestinian authority.[2]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1  Greece 2 2 0 0 4 1 4.000 4
2  Palestine, British Mandate 2 0 0 2 1 4 0.250 0
Source:
Matches
22 January 1938 Palestine, British Mandate  1 – 3  Greece Tel Aviv, Palestine/Eretz Israel
Neufeld  36' Report Vikelidis  15', 30'
Migiakis  73'		 Stadium: Maccabiah Stadium
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Mohammed Youssef (Egypt)
20 February 1938 Greece  1 – 0  Palestine, British Mandate Athens, Greece
Vikelidis  88' (pen.) Report Stadium: Stadio Leoforos Alexandras
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Mika Popovic (Yugoslavia)
Game 1
Mandatory Palestine vs Greece

Palestine (British Mandate) 1 — 3
(final score after 90 minutes) 		Greece

Manager: Egon Pollak

Team:
01 - GK - Julius Klein
02 - DF - Avraham Beit haLevi
03 - DF - Avraham Reznik (capt.)
04 - MF - Yosef Libermann
05 - MF - Yohanan Sukenik
06 - MF - Menahem Mirmovich
07 - FW - Mila Ginzburg
08 - FW - Shuka Brashedski
09 - FW - Peri Neufeld
10 - FW - Gaul Machlis
11 - FW - Avraham Nudelmann

Substitutes:

none

Unused Substitutes:
?

Scorers:
1-2 Peri Neufeld (36')

Half-time:
1-2

Competition:
World Cup qualifier 1938
(Group 5)

Date:
Saturday
22 January 1938

Kick off:
3.30 p.m.

Venue:
Maccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv

Attendance:
5000

Referee:
Mohamed Youssef  EGY

Assistants:
?

Match rules:
90 minutes
substitutes ?

Manager: Kostas Negrepontis

Team:
01 - GK - Spyros Sklavounos
02 - DF - Georgios Gasparis
03 - DF - Georgios Papadopoulos
04 - MF - Anastassios Kritikos
05 - MF - Antonis Kasimatis sub 46'
06 - MF - Konstantinos Gikas
07 - FW - Antonis Migiakis (capt.)
08 - FW - Dimitris Baltatsis
09 - FW - Kleanthis Vikelidis
10 - FW - Kleanthis Maropoulos
11 - FW - Theologis Symeonidis

Substitutes:
12 - MF - Spyros Kontoulis on 46'

Unused Substitutes:
?

Scorers:
0-1 Kleanthis Vikelidis (15')
0-2 Kleanthis Vikelidis (30')
1-3 Antonis Migiakis (73')

Game 2
Greece vs Mandatory Palestine

Greece 1 — 0
(final score after 90 minutes) 		Palestine (British Mandate)

Manager: Kostas Negrepontis

Team:
01 - GK - Spyros Sklavounos sub 15'
02 - DF - Georgios Gasparis
03 - DF - Georgios Papadopoulos
04 - MF - Anastassios Kritikos
05 - MF - Spyros Kontoulis
06 - MF - Konstantinos Gikas
07 - FW - Antonis Migiakis (capt.)
08 - FW - Spyros Depountis
09 - FW - Kleanthis Vikelidis
10 - FW - Kleanthis Maropoulos
11 - FW - Vassilis Manetas

Substitutes:
12 - GK - Nikolaos Sotiriadis on 15'

Unused Substitutes:
?

Scorers:
1-0 Kleanthis Vikelidis (86', pen.)

Half-time:
0-0

Competition:
World Cup qualifier 1938
(Group 5)

Date:
Sunday
20 February 1938

Kick off:
3 p.m.

Venue:
Leoforos Alexandras, Athens

Attendance:
12000

Referee:
Mika Popović  YUG

Assistants:
?

Match rules:
90 minutes
substitutes ?

Manager: Egon Pollak

Team:
01 - GK - Israel Elsner
02 - DF - Avraham Beit haLevi
03 - DF - Avraham Reznik (capt.)
06 - MF - Yosef Libermann
05 - MF - Gdalyahu Fuchs
04 - MF - Menahem Mirmovich
08 - FW - Yona Stern
10 - FW - Jerry Beit haLevi
09 - FW - Peri Neufeld
07 - FW - Gaul Machlis
11 - FW - Natan Panz

Substitutes:

none

Unused Substitutes:
?

Scorers:
-

Squad

Head coach: Egon Pollak

Pos. Player DoB Games
played		 Goals Minutes
played		 Sub off Sub on Club
DFAvraham Beit haLevi191520180009090 Hapoel Tel Aviv
FWJerry Beit haLevi14 November 1912109000-90 Maccabi Tel Aviv
FWShuka Brashedski191410900090- Hapoel Haifa
GKIsrael Elsner1909109000-90 Maccabi Tel Aviv
MFGdalyahu Fuchs1911109000-90 Hapoel Haifa
FWMila Ginzburg191810900090- Maccabi Tel Aviv
GKJulius Klein190710900090- Hapoel Haifa
MFYosef Libermann190920180009090 Maccabi Tel Aviv
FWGaul Machlis191820180009090 Maccabi Tel Aviv
MFMenahem Mirmovich191920180009090 Maccabi Tel Aviv
FWPeri Neufeld191321180009090 Maccabi Tel Aviv
FWAvraham Nudelmann191010900090- Hapoel Tel Aviv
FWNatan Pentz1917109000-90 Maccabi Tel Aviv
DFAvraham Reznik190920180009090 Maccabi Tel Aviv
FWYona Stern1908109000-90 Hapoel Haifa
MFYohanan Sukenik191010900090- Hapoel Tel Aviv
1950 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1950 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 3 qualifying round. Israel finished in third and last place.[16]

This World Cup was the first for Israel, although they previously competed in 1934 and 1938 as Mandatory Palestine. FIFA states in reference to the 1930s Palestine Mandate team that the 'Palestine team' that had participated in previous competitions in the 1930s was actually the forerunner of today's Israel team and as such bears no relation to the national team of the Palestinian authority.[2]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Yugoslavia 2 2 0 0 11 2 +9 4
2  Israel 2 0 0 2 2 11 −9 0
Source:

Source:[17]

Matches

Israel competed in Group 3, which had 3 teams each. The strongest team, France, was seeded. The winner of the First Round would move on to the Final Round. Israel lost to Yugoslavia in the First Round and was eliminated.

21 August 1949 Yugoslavia  6–0  Israel Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Pajević  12', 19', 26'
Senčar  44'
Ž. Čajkovski  63'
Bobek  83' (pen.)		 Report Stadium: JNA Stadion
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Giovanni Galeati (Italy)
18 September 1949 Israel  2–5  Yugoslavia Tel Aviv, Israel
Glazer  65', 76' Report Valok  19', 64'
Bobek  20'
Z. Čajkovski  41'
Ž. Čajkovski  82'		 Stadium: Maccabiah Stadium
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Yosef Kinstlich (Cyprus)
1954 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1954 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 10 qualifying round. Israel finished in third and last place.[18]

Standings
Final table Home Away
Rank TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts PldWDLGFGAPtsPldWDLGFGAPts
1.  Yugoslavia 440040+48X1:01:022002042200204
2.  Greece 420232+140:1X1:021011122101212
3.  Israel 400405-500:10:2X20020302002020
Matches
1 November 1953 Greece  1 – 0  Israel Athens, Greece
Bembis Report Referee: Massai (Italy)
8 November 1953 Yugoslavia  1 – 0  Israel Skopje, Yugoslavia
Milutinović Report Referee: Alsteen (Belgium)
8 March 1954 Israel  0 – 2  Greece Tel Aviv, Israel
Report Kokkinakis
Kamaras 		Referee: Buchmüller (Switzerland)
21 March 1954 Israel  0 – 1  Yugoslavia Tel Aviv, Israel
Report Zebec Referee: Leafe (England)
1958 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1958 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the Africa and Asia qualification round. The round was conducted in a knockout stage format.[19] Israel won its group by default because its three opponents, Turkey, Indonesia and Sudan, refused to play.

The national team was placed in the African/Asian zone and was drawn to play against Turkey in the first round. However, Turkey withdrew in protest of being placed in the African/Asian zone (instead of the European Zone), and Israel advanced to the second round without playing a match, along with Indonesia, Egypt and Sudan. Israel was drawn to play Indonesia, but, as Indonesia refused to play in Israel and as FIFA rejected their request to play against Israel on neutral ground, Indonesia withdrew and Israel advanced to the regional finals, again without playing a match, alongside Sudan. In the final round, Sudan refused to play Israel for political reasons and withdrew. FIFA had imposed a rule that no team would qualify without playing at least one match, after it had happened in several previous World Cups. Wales, which finished second in its group behind Czechoslovakia, was drawn into a play-off, which they won.

CAF / AFC Preliminary Round - Group 2

Turkey refused to compete in the Asian group, so Israel advanced to the Second Round automatically.

Rank TeamPtsPldWDLGFGA
1  Israel advanced
—  Turkey withdrew
CAF / AFC Second Round

Indonesia withdrew after FIFA rejected their request to play against Israel on neutral ground. Israel advanced to the Final Round automatically.

Rank TeamPtsPldWDLGFGA
1=  Israel advanced
1=  Sudan advanced
—  Egypt withdrew
—  Indonesia withdrew
CAF / AFC Final Round

Sudan refused to play against Israel for political reasons, so Israel would technically qualify automatically, but before the qualification rounds began, FIFA ruled that no team would qualify without playing at least one match (except for the defending champions and the hosts), and Israel had yet to play any.

Rank TeamPtsPldWDLGFGA
1  Israel advanced
—  Sudan withdrew
UEFA / AFC Play-off

A special play-off was created between Israel and the runner-up of one of the UEFA Groups, where the teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis, with the winner qualifying. After Belgium refused, Wales, the runner-up of UEFA Group 4, was the team drawn from the UEFA group runners-up.[20]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Wales 2 2 0 0 4 0 +4 4
2  Israel 2 0 0 2 0 4 −4 0
Source:
Matches
15 January 1958 Israel  0 – 2  Wales Ramat Gan, Israel
Report L. Allchurch  38'
Bowen  65'		 Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Referee: Maurice Guigue (France)
5 February 1958 Wales  2 – 0  Israel Cardiff, Wales
I. Allchurch  76'
Jones  80'		 Report Stadium: Ninian Park
Referee: Klas Schipper (Netherlands)
1962 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 7 qualifying round. The round was conducted in a knockout stage format. The five teams in this group played in a knockout stage on a home-and-away basis, with Israel finishing in second place, after losing to Italy in the finals.[21]

Bracket
 
First RoundSecond RoundFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
 Italy -
 
 
 
 bye -
 
 Italy -
 
 
 
 Romania withdrew
 
 Romania -
 
 
 
 bye -
 
 Italy 4 6
 
 
 
 Israel 2 0
 
 Ethiopia -
 
 
 
 bye -
 
 Ethiopia 0 2
 
 
 
 Israel 1 3
 
 Israel 1 6
 
 
 Cyprus 1 1
 
Matches
First Round

Israel defeated Cyprus to advance to the Second Round.

13 November 1960 Cyprus  1 – 1  Israel Nicosia, Cyprus
Shialis Report Kofman  31' Referee: Bajić (Yugoslavia)
27 November 1960 Israel  6 – 1  Cyprus Tel Aviv, Israel
Levi  14', 30', 66'
Stelmach  61', 88'
Nahari  34'		 Report Shialis Referee: Bajić (Yugoslavia)
Second round

Israel defeated Ethiopia to advance to the Final Round.

14 March 1961 Israel  1 – 0  Ethiopia Tel Aviv, Israel
Glazer  69' Referee: Zsolt (Hungary)
19 March 1961 Israel  3 – 2  Ethiopia Haifa, Israel
Glazer  27', 77'
Stelmach  59'		 Mengistu
Tesfaye 		Referee: Pósa (Hungary)
Final round

Israel lost to Italy in the Final Round to be eliminated.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Italy 2 2 0 0 10 2 +8 4
 Israel 2 0 0 2 2 10 −8 0
Source:
15 October 1961 Israel  2 – 4  Italy Tel Aviv, Israel
Stelmach  15'
Young  38'		 Report Lojacono  53' (pen.)
Altafini  79'
Corso  87', 90'		 Referee: Takow (Bulgaria)
4 November 1961 Italy  6 – 0  Israel Turin, Italy
Sivori  16', 52', 65', 88'
Corso  59'
Angelillo  69'		 Report Referee: Asensi Martin (Spain)
Squad

Head coach: Gyula Mándi

Pos. Player DoB Games
played		 Goals Minutes
played		 Sub off Sub on Club
Aharon Amar19373027000909090--- Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Mordechai Benbinisti6054000909090909090 Hapoel Jerusalem F.C.
FWYehoshua Glazer29 December 19272318000--9090-- Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.
Yosef Goldstein3027000-909090-- Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.
Yaacov Grundman109000----90- Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C.
GKYa'akov Hodorov16 June 19272018000----9090 Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
Boaz Kofman11900090----- Hapoel Petah Tikva
FWShlomo Levi433600090909090-- Hapoel Haifa F.C.
Amatsia Levkovich6054000909090909090 Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
Avraham Menchel12 December 193550450009090-909090 Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Zvi Muisescu20180009090----
Shlomo Nahari3127000-9090-90- Hapoel Petah Tikva
Shalom Peterburg109000-----90 Hapoel Petah Tikva
FWZecharia Ratzabi302700090---9090 Hapoel Petah Tikva
FWDanny Shmulevich-Rom29 November 19404036000-909090-90 Maccabi Haifa F.C.
FWNahum Stelmach19 July 19365445000909090-9090 Hapoel Petah Tikva
Zvi Tendler2018000----9090 Hapoel Haifa F.C.
Gidon Tish504500090-90909090 Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
GKYaacov Visoker403600090909090-- Hapoel Petah Tikva
Uri Weinberg109000---90-- Hapoel Haifa F.C.
Reuven Young3127000---909090 Hapoel Haifa F.C.
1966 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1966 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 1 qualifying round, finishing in third and last place.[22] Israeli referee Menachem Ashkenazi also participated in the World Cup, officiating the Group 1 game between France and Mexico, as well as the Quarter-finals game between Portugal and North Korea.[23]

Standings
Final table Home Away
Rank TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts PldWDLGFGAPtsPldWDLGFGAPts
1.  Belgium 4301113+86X5:01:022006042101532
2.  Bulgaria 430196+363:0X4:022007042101262
3.  Israel 4004112-1100:51:2X20021702002050
Matches
9 May 1965 Belgium  1 – 0  Israel Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium
Jurion  24' (pen.) Report Attendance: 21,699
Referee: Poulsen (Denmark)
13 June 1965 Bulgaria  4 – 0  Israel Slavia Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria
Kotkov  16', 39'
Asparuhov  67'
Kitov  69'		 Report Attendance: 18,770
Referee: Talu (Turkey)
10 November 1965 Israel  0 – 5  Belgium Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel
Report Van Himst  24', 33', 69'
Thio  31'
Puis  48'		 Attendance: 48,355
Referee: Sbardeua (Italy)
21 November 1965 Israel  1 – 2  Bulgaria Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel
Talbi  48' Report Kolev  31'
Asparuhov  81'		 Attendance: 28,213
Referee: Babauczek (Austria)
Squad

Head coach: Milovan Ćirić

Pos. Player DoB Games
played		 Goals Minutes
played		 Sub off Sub on Club
MFHaim Bahar9 April 1943302700090-9090 Hapoel Petah Tikva
DFMenahem Bello26 December 1947109000-90-- Maccabi Tel Aviv
MFItzhak Englander30 April 1946109000--90- Hapoel Haifa
FWYehezkel Hazum1947109000--90- Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
FWBoaz Kofman23 May 19352018000-90-90 Hapoel Petah Tikva
DFMoshe Leon1944302700090-9090 Maccabi Jaffa
GKHaim Levin3 March 19373027000909090- Maccabi Tel Aviv
DFAmatsia LevkovichSeptember 193820180009090-- Hapoel Tel Aviv
FWYosef Mahalal1939109000--90- Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
GKYair Nosovski29 June 1937109000---90 Hapoel Kfar Saba
MFHaim Nurieli194310900090--- Hapoel Tel Aviv
DFDavid Primo5 May 1946403600090909090 Hapoel Tel Aviv
FWMoshe Romano1946109000---90 Shimshon Tel Aviv
MFShmuel Rosenthal22 April 19473027000-909090 Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C.
MFDanny Shmulevich-Rom29 November 1940403600090909090 Maccabi Haifa
MFGiora Spiegel27 July 1947109000---90 Maccabi Tel Aviv
FWMordechai Spiegler19 August 19443027000909090- Maccabi Netanya
FWNahum Stelmach19 July 193620180009090-- Hapoel Petah Tikva
MFRahamim Talbi17 May 19433127000-909090 Maccabi Tel Aviv
MFReuven Young15 May 194230270009090-90 Hapoel Haifa
FWGadi Zelniker12 March 194410900090--- Hakoah Ramat Gan
1974 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the AFC and OFC qualifying round, losing in the Zone A finals.[24] The 1974 World Cup was Israel's last as an official member of the AFC, as they resigned the Asian Games Federation in 1974.[25]

Classification matches

Based on the results of the classification match Israel was assigned to Group 2 with Thailand and Malaysia.

16 May 1973 Israel  2 – 1  Japan Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul
19:45 KST (UTC+09) Mordechai Spiegler  5'
Moshe Onana  61'		 Shusaku Hirasawa  27' Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Boskovic (Australia)
Group 2

Israel finished in first place in Group 2, moving on to the semi-finals with South Korea.

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Israel 3 2 1 0 9 0 +9 5
2  South Korea 3 1 2 0 4 0 +4 4
3  Malaysia 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 3
4  Thailand 3 0 0 3 0 12 −12 0
Source:
Matches
19 May 1973 Israel  3 – 0  Malaysia Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul
17:25 KST (UTC+09) Farkas  50'
Itzhak Shum  62'
Moshe Onana  82'		 Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Aing Kim Ean (Khmer Republic)
21 May 1973 Israel  6 – 0  Thailand Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul
18:00 KST (UTC+09) George Borba  12'
Mordechai Spiegler  62'
Itzhak Shum  69'
Zvi Rozen  73', 84'
Moshe Onana  78'		 Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Dhillon (Singapore)
23 May 1973 South Korea  0 – 0  Israel Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul
19:45 KST (UTC+09) Attendance: 40,000
Referee: U Tin Thut (Burma)
Semifinals

Israel, defeating Japan in the semifinals, advanced to the Zone A finals to face South Korea.

26 May 1973 Israel  1 – 0
(a.e.t.)		  Japan Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul
16:45 KST (UTC+09) Moshe Onana  110' Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Dhillon (Singapore)
Finals

In the Zone A finals, Israel lost to South Korea, who moved on to the AFC/OFC Final Round.

28 May 1973 South Korea  1 – 0
(a.e.t.)		  Israel Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul
19:00 KST (UTC+09) Cha Bum-Kun  109' Attendance: 40,000
Referee: U Tin Thut (Burma)
1978 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1978 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the AFC and OFC Group 2 qualifying round, finishing in second place.[26] Israel, despite resigning the Asian Games Federation in 1974, was still assigned to compete in the AFC and OFC qualifying round.[25]

Additionally Israeli referee, Abraham Klein, worked games in Group 1, Group A and the third place match.[27]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  South Korea 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3 6
2  Israel 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 5
3  Japan 4 0 1 3 0 5 −5 1
—  North Korea (W) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source:
(W) Withdrew.
Matches
27 February 1977 Israel  0 – 0  South Korea Tel Aviv, Israel
Referee: McGinlay (Scotland)
6 March 1977 Israel  2 – 0  Japan Tel Aviv, Israel
Referee: Kitabdjian (France)
10 March 1977 Japan  0 – 2  Israel Tel Aviv, Israel[28]
Referee: Verbeke (France)
20 March 1977 South Korea  3 – 1  Israel Seoul, Korea Republic
Cha Bum-Kun  23'
Park Sang-In  86'
Choi Chong-Dock  88'		 Malmillian  76'
1982 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 6 qualifying round, finishing in fifth and last place.[29]

Israel was previously part of the Asian Games Federation until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 Israel was barred joining the new Olympic Council of Asia, Israel opted to join the European Olympic Committees in the early 1990s. The 1982 World Cup Israel was not yet part of the continent group, however was assigned to it.[30]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Scotland 8 4 3 1 9 4 +5 11
2  Northern Ireland 8 3 3 2 6 3 +3 9
3  Sweden 8 3 2 3 7 8 −1 8
4  Portugal 8 3 1 4 8 11 −3 7
5  Israel 8 1 3 4 6 10 −4 5
Source:
Matches
26 March 1980 Israel  0 – 0  Northern Ireland Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Report Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Stjepan Glavina (Yugoslavia)
18 June 1980 Sweden  1 – 1  Israel Råsunda Stadium, Solna
Ramberg  35' Report Damti  80' Attendance: 39,831
Referee: Martti Hirviniemi (Finland)
12 November 1980 Israel  0 – 0  Sweden Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Report Attendance: 45,000
Referee: George Courtney (England)
17 December 1980 Portugal  3 – 0  Israel Estádio da Luz, Lisbon
Coelho  33', 72'
Jordão  36'		 Report Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Enzo Barbaresco (Italy)
25 February 1981 Israel  0 – 1  Scotland Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Report Dalglish  54' Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Otto Anderco (Romania)
28 April 1981 Scotland  3 – 1  Israel Hampden Park‚ Glasgow
Robertson  21' (pen.), 30' (pen.)
Provan  54'		 Report Sinai  56' Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Gudmundur Haraldsson (Iceland)
28 October 1981 Israel  4 – 1  Portugal Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Tabak  6', 18', 30'
Damti  14'		 Report Jordão  8' Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Sotou Afxentiou (Cyprus)
18 November 1981 Northern Ireland  1 – 0  Israel Windsor Park, Belfast
Armstrong  27' Report Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Emilio Guruceta Muro (Spain)
Goalscorers
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1986 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the OFC qualification round, finishing in second place.

Israel was previously part of the Asian Games Federation until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 Israel was barred joining the new Olympic Council of Asia, Israel opted to join the European Olympic Committees in the early 1990s. The 1986 World Cup Israel was not yet part of a continent group, therefore joining OFC.[30]

Standings
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Australia (A) 6 4 2 0 20 2 +18 10 — 1–1 2–0 8–0
 Israel 6 3 1 2 17 6 +11 7 1–2 — 3–0 5–0
 New Zealand 6 3 1 2 13 7 +6 7 0–0 3–1 — 5–0
 Chinese Taipei 6 0 0 6 1 36 −35 0 0–7 0–6 1–5 —
Source:
(A) Group winner; advanced to UEFA–OFC play-off.
Matches
3 September 1985 Chinese Taipei  0–6  Israel Ramat Gan, Israel[31]
 28', 35', 74' Turk
 39' Armeli
 53', 90' Malmilian		 Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Mircea Salomir (Romania)
8 September 1985 Israel  5–0  Chinese Taipei Ramat Gan, Israel
Cohen  7'
Armeli  18'
Ohana  56', 72', 79'		 Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Ioan Igna (Romania)
8 October 1985 Israel  1–2  Australia Ramat Gan, Israel
Armeli  65'  46' Mitchell
 50' Kosmina		 Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Luigi Agnolin (Italy)
20 October 1985 Australia  1–1  Israel Melbourne, Australia
Ratcliffe  32'  47' Cohen Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 27,000
Referee: José Rosa dos Santos (Portugal)
26 October 1985 New Zealand  3–1  Israel Auckland, New Zealand
Rufer  3'
Dunford  30'
Walker  67'		  23' Armeli Stadium: Mount Smart Stadium
Attendance: 10,600
Referee: Egbert Mulder (Netherlands)
10 November 1985 Israel  3–0  New Zealand Ramat Gan, Israel
Cohen  67'
Selecter  75'
Armeli  85'		 Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Dieter Pauly (West Germany)
Goalscorers
5 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the OFC qualification round, finishing in first place. Israel went on to face Colombia in the CONMBOL vs. OFC playoff, losing 1–0.

Israel was previously part of the Asian Games Federation until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 Israel was barred joining the new Olympic Council of Asia, Israel opted to join the European Olympic Committees in the early 1990s. The 1990 World Cup Israel was not yet part of a continent group, therefore joining OFC.[30]

OFC qualification
Round 1

In round 1, Israel received a bye and advanced to the final round directly. The remaining four teams were paired up to play knockout matches on a home-and-away basis. The winners would advance to the Second Round.

Round 2

In round 2 Israel competed against Australia and New Zealand, finishing in first place.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Israel (A) 4 1 3 0 5 4 +1 5 — 1–1 1–0
 Australia 4 1 2 1 6 5 +1 4 1–1 — 4–1
 New Zealand 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 3 2–2 2–0 —
Source:
(A) Group winner: advanced to CONMEBOL–OFC play-off.
5 March 1989 Israel  1–0  New Zealand Ramat Gan, Israel
Rosenthal  7' Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Attendance: 44,500
Referee: Serge Muhmenthaler (Switzerland)
19 March 1989 Israel  1–1  Australia Ramat Gan, Israel
Ohana  67' (pen.)  72' Yankos Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Manfred Neuner (West Germany)
9 April 1989 New Zealand  2–2  Israel Auckland, New Zealand
Wright  19'
Dunford  35'		  16' Rosenthal
 37' Klinger		 Stadium: Mount Smart Stadium
Attendance: 3,200
Referee: Claude Bouillet (France)
16 April 1989 Australia  1–1  Israel Sydney, Australia
Trimboli  88'  40' Ohana Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 40,320
Referee: Carlo Longhi (Italy)
Goal Scorers
2 goals
1 goal
CONMEBOL vs OFC playoff

Israel, as the winning team of the OFC qualification tournament played the CONMEBOL group winner with the weakest record in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Colombia  1–0  Israel 1–0 0–0
15 October 1989 Colombia  1–0  Israel Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
15:30 UTC–5 Usuriaga  73' Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)
30 October 1989 Israel  0–0  Colombia Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
19:00 UTC+2 Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Edgardo Codesal (Mexico)
1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 6 qualifying round, finishing in sixth and last place.[32] Israel was previously part of the Asian Games Federation until it was disbanded in 1981. In 1982 Israel was barred joining the new Olympic Council of Asia, Israel opted to join the European Olympic Committees in the early 1990s. The 1994 World Cup was the first in which Israel competed in Europe.[30]

Standings
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Sweden 10 6 3 1 19 8 +11 15
 Bulgaria 10 6 2 2 19 10 +9 14
 France 10 6 1 3 17 10 +7 13
 Austria 10 3 2 5 15 16 −1 8
 Finland 10 2 1 7 9 18 −9 5
 Israel 10 1 3 6 10 27 −17 5
Source:
Matches
28 October 1992 Austria  5–2  Israel Prater Stadium, Vienna
Herzog  41', 46'
Polster  49'
Stöger  56'
A. Ogris  87'		 Report Zohar  57', 77' Attendance: 12,000
Referee: João Pinto Correia (Portugal)
11 November 1992 Israel  1–3  Sweden Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Banin  42' Report Limpar  37'
Dahlin  58'
Ingesson  74'		 Attendance: 25,230
Referee: Serge Muhmenthaler (Switzerland)
2 December 1992 Israel  0–2  Bulgaria Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Report Sirakov  56'
Penev  83'		 Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Vassilios Nikakis (Greece)
17 February 1993 Israel  0–4  France Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Report Cantona  28'
Blanc  62', 84'
Roche  89'		 Attendance: 26,000
Referee: Ryszard Wójcik (Poland)
12 May 1993 Bulgaria  2–2  Israel Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia
Stoichkov  35' (pen.)
Sirakov  60'		 Report R. Harazi  52'
Rosenthal  53'		 Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Ahmet Çakar (Turkey)
2 June 1993 Sweden  5–0  Israel Råsunda, Solna
Brolin  17', 41', 65'
Zetterberg  55'
Landberg  89'		 Report Attendance: 22,042
Referee: Sergei Khusainov (Russia)
16 June 1993 Finland  0–0  Israel Lahti Stadium, Lahti
Report Attendance: 4,620
Referee: Volodymyr Pyanykh (Ukraine)
13 October 1993 France  2–3  Israel Parc des Princes, Paris
Sauzée  32'
Ginola  43'		 Report R. Harazi  21'
Berkovich  83'
Atar  90'		 Attendance: 32,700
Referee: Alan Snoddy (Northern Ireland)
27 October 1993 Israel  1–1  Austria Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
Rosenthal  3' Report Reinmayr  15' Attendance: 23,500
Referee: László Vágner (Hungary)
10 November 1993 Israel  1–3  Finland Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
R. Harazi  90' Report Hyryläinen  54', 85'
Hjelm  73'		 Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Daniel Roduit (Switzerland)
Goalscorers
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 5 qualifying round, finishing in third place.[33]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1  Bulgaria 8 6 0 2 18 9 +9 18
2  Russia 8 5 2 1 19 5 +14 17
3  Israel 8 4 1 3 9 7 +2 13
4  Cyprus 8 3 1 4 10 15 −5 10
5  Luxembourg 8 0 0 8 2 22 −20 0
Source:
Matches
1 September 1996 Israel  2–1  Bulgaria Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
18:00 UTC+3 Harazi  34'
Banin  62'		 Report Balakov  3' (pen.) Attendance: 13,200
Referee: Alfredo Trentalange (Italy)
9 October 1996 Israel  1–1  Russia Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
18:00 UTC+3 Brumer  65' Report Kolyvanov  82' Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Marc Batta (France)
10 November 1996 Cyprus  2–0  Israel Tsirion, Limassol
18:00 UTC+2 Gogić  9', 15' (pen.) Report Attendance: 10,500
Referee: Gheorghe Constantin (Romania)
15 December 1996 Israel  1–0  Luxembourg Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
18:00 UTC+2 Ohana  39' Report Attendance: 24,400
Referee: John Ashman (Wales)
31 March 1997 Luxembourg  0–3  Israel Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City
17:00 UTC+2 Report Zohar  11', 79'
Banin  86' (pen.)		 Attendance: 6,607
Referee: René Temmink (Netherlands)
30 April 1997 Israel  2–0  Cyprus Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
18:00 UTC+3 Ohana  3', 72' Report Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Vasyl Melnychuk (Ukraine)
8 June 1997 Russia  2–0  Israel Dinamo, Moscow
19:00 UTC+3 Radimov  8'
Kosolapov  38'		 Report Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Gerd Grabher (Austria)
20 August 1997 Bulgaria  1–0  Israel Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia
20:00 UTC+3 Penev  65' Report Attendance: 32,000
Referee: Sándor Piller (Hungary)
Goalscorers
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 7 qualifying round, finishing in third place.[34]

Standings
Final table Home Away
Rank TeamPldWDLGFGAGDPts PldWDLGFGAPtsPldWDLGFGAPts
1.  Spain 8620214+1720-4:02:04:15:04400151124220638
2.  Austria 8431108+2151:1-2:12:02:0431072104121365
3.  Israel 8332117+4121:11:1-3:12:042207384112444
4.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 82241212081:21:10:0-5:041217354103593
5.  Liechtenstein 8008023-2300:20:10:30:3-400409040040140
Matches
3 September 2000 Israel  2–0  Liechtenstein Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:20 UTC+3 Mizrahi  1'
Balili  80'		 Report Referee: Richard O'Hanlon (Ireland)
7 October 2000 Spain  2–0  Israel Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
21:30 UTC+2 Gerard  20'
Hierro  54'		 Report Referee: Claude Colombo (France)
11 October 2000 Israel  3–1  Bosnia and Herzegovina Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
19:25 UTC+2 Berkovich  12'
Abuksis  62'
Katan  76'		 Report Akrapović  48' Referee: Dick Jol (Netherlands)
28 March 2001 Austria  2–1  Israel Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna
20:30 UTC+2 Baur  9'
Herzog  42' (pen.)		 Report Baur  6' (o.g.) Referee: Alfredo Trentalange (Italy)
2 June 2001 Liechtenstein  0–3  Israel Rheinpark, Vaduz
19:00 UTC+2 Report Revivo  3'
Tal  7'
Nimni  18'		 Referee: Lassin Isaksen (Faroe Islands)
6 June 2001 Israel  1–1  Spain Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:00 UTC+3 Revivo  4' Report Raúl  63' Referee: Anders Frisk (Sweden)
1 September 2001 Bosnia and Herzegovina  0–0  Israel Koševo, Sarajevo
20:15 UTC+2 Report Referee: Dieter Schoch (Switzerland)
27 October 2001 Israel  1–1  Austria Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
19:30 UTC+2 Gershon  55' (pen.) Report Herzog  90+1' Referee: Vítor Melo Pereira (Portugal)
Goalscorers
2 goals
1 goal
2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 4 qualifying round, finishing in third place.

Standings
Legend
Group winners and two best runners-up among all groups directly qualified for the finals
Remaining group runners-up advanced to the play-offs
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  
 France 10 5 5 0 14 2 +12 20 0–0 0–0 0–0 4–0 3–0
  Switzerland 10 4 6 0 18 7 +11 18 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 6–0
 Israel 10 4 6 0 15 10 +5 18 1–1 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–1
 Republic of Ireland 10 4 5 1 12 5 +7 17 0–1 0–0 2–2 3–0 2–0
 Cyprus 10 1 1 8 8 20 −12 4 0–2 1–3 1–2 0–1 2–2
 Faroe Islands 10 0 1 9 4 27 −23 1 0–2 1–3 0–2 0–2 0–3
Source: [35]
Matches
2004-09-04 France  0–0  Israel Stade de France, Saint-Denis
21:00 (Report) Attendance: 43,527
Referee: René Temmink (Netherlands)
2004-09-08 Israel  2–1  Cyprus Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:50 Benayoun  64'
Badir  75'		 (Report) Konstantinou  59' Attendance: 21,872
Referee: Sergey Shmolik (Belarus)
2004-10-09 Israel  2–2   Switzerland Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:05 Benayoun  9', 48' (Report) Frei  26'
Vonlanthen  34'		 Attendance: 37,976
Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)
2004-11-17 Cyprus  1–2  Israel GSP Stadium, Nicosia
19:00 Okkas  45' (Report) Keisi  17'
Nimni  86'		 Attendance: 1,624
Referee: Sten Kaldma (Estonia)
2005-03-26 Israel  1–1  Republic of Ireland Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
19:50 Abbas Souan  90' (Report) Morrison  43' Attendance: 32,150
Referee: Valentin Ivanov (Russia)
2005-03-30 Israel  1–1  France Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:50 Badir  83' (Report) Trezeguet  50' Attendance: 32,150
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
2005-06-04 Republic of Ireland  2–2  Israel Lansdowne Road, Dublin
19:30 Harte  5'
Keane  11'		 (Report) Avi Yehiel  39'
Avi Nimni  45+1'		 Attendance: 36,000
Referee: Kyros Vassaras (Greece)
2005-09-03 Switzerland   1–1  Israel St. Jakob-Park, Basel
17:30 Frei  6' (Report) Keisi  20' Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)
2005-09-07 Faroe Islands  0–2  Israel Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn
18:00 (Report) Nimni  54'
Katan  79'		 Attendance: 2,240
Referee: Pieter Vink (Netherlands)
2005-10-08 Israel  2–1  Faroe Islands Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
21:10 Benayoun  1'
Zandberg  90+1'		 (Report) Samuelsen  90+3' Attendance: 31,857
Referee: Bernhard Brugger (Austria)
Goalscorers
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group 2 qualifying round, finishing in fourth place.

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Switzerland 10 6 3 1 18 8 +10 21 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup
2  Greece 10 6 2 2 20 10 +10 20 Advance to second round
3  Latvia 10 5 2 3 18 15 +3 17
4  Israel 10 4 4 2 20 10 +10 16
5  Luxembourg 10 1 2 7 4 25 −21 5
6  Moldova 10 0 3 7 6 18 −12 3
Source:
Matches

The match schedule was established at a meeting in Israel on 8 January 2008.[36]

6 September 2008 Israel  2–2   Switzerland Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:55 UTC+3 Benayoun  73'
Sahar  90+2'		 Report Yakin  45'
Nkufo  56'		 Attendance: 29,600
Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)
10 September 2008 Moldova  1–2  Israel Zimbru Stadium, Chişinău
20:30 UTC+3 Picusceac  1' Report Golan  39'
Saban  45'		 Attendance: 10,500
Referee: César Muñiz Fernández (Spain)
11 October 2008 Luxembourg  1–3  Israel Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg
20:15 UTC+2 Peters  14' Report Benayoun  2' (pen.)
Golan  54'
Tuama  81'		 Attendance: 3,562
Referee: Igor Egorov (Russia)
15 October 2008 Latvia  1–1  Israel Skonto Stadions, Riga
19:00 UTC+3 Koļesņičenko  89' Report Benayoun  50' Attendance: 7,100
Referee: Vladimír Hriňák (Slovakia)
28 March 2009 Israel  1–1  Greece Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
21:00 UTC+2 Golan  55' Report Gekas  42' Attendance: 38,000
Referee: Roberto Rosetti (Italy)
1 April 2009 Greece  2–1  Israel Pankritio Stadium, Heraklion
21:30 UTC+3 Salpingidis  32'
Samaras  67' (pen.)		 Report Barda  60' Attendance: 22,794
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)
5 September 2009 Israel  0–1  Latvia Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
21:00 UTC+3 Report Gorkšs  59' Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Knut Kircher (Germany)
9 September 2009 Israel  7–0  Luxembourg Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
21:00 UTC+3 Barda  9', 21', 43'
Baruchyan  15'
Golan  58'
Sahar  62', 84'		 Report Attendance: 7,038
Referee: Michael Svendsen (Denmark)
10 October 2009 Israel  3–1  Moldova Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
21:00 UTC+2 Barda  22', 70'
Ben Dayan  65'		 Report Calincov  90+2' Attendance: 8,700
Referee: Kevin Blom (Netherlands)
14 October 2009 Switzerland   0–0  Israel St. Jakob-Park, Basel
20:00 UTC+2 Report Attendance: 38,500
Referee: Alexandru Tudor (Romania)
Goalscorers
6 goals
4 goals
3 goals
1 goal
Attendance
Team Highest Lowest Average
 Israel38,0007,03820,668
2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Israel competed in the UEFA Group F qualifying round, finishing in third place.

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Russia 10 7 1 2 20 5 +15 22 Qualification to 2014 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 4–1
2  Portugal 10 6 3 1 20 9 +11 21 Advance to second round 1–0 — 1–1 3–0 1–1 3–0
3  Israel 10 3 5 2 19 14 +5 14 0–4 3–3 — 1–1 1–1 3–0
4  Azerbaijan 10 1 6 3 7 11 −4 9 1–1 0–2 1–1 — 2–0 1–1
5  Northern Ireland 10 1 4 5 9 17 −8 7 1–0 2–4 0–2 1–1 — 1–1
6  Luxembourg 10 1 3 6 7 26 −19 6 0–4 1–2 0–6 0–0 3–2 —
Source:
  Winner qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup
  Runner-up (ranked as one of the eight best runners-up among all nine groups) advanced to the play-offs
Matches

The match schedule was determined at a meeting in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, on 25 November 2011.[37][38]

7 September 2012 Azerbaijan  1–1  Israel Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku
21:00 UTC+5 Abishov  65' Report Natkho  50' Attendance: 22,211
Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
11 September 2012 Israel  0–4  Russia Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:00 UTC+3 Report Kerzhakov  7', 64'
Kokorin  18'
Fayzulin  78'		 Attendance: 28,131
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)
12 October 2012 Luxembourg  0–6  Israel Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg
21:00 UTC+2 Report Radi  4'
Ben Basat  12'
Hemed  27', 74', 90+1'
Melikson  61'		 Attendance: 2,631
Referee: Leontios Trattou (Cyprus)
16 October 2012 Israel  3–0  Luxembourg Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
18:00 UTC+2 Hemed  13', 48'
Ben Basat  35'		 Report Attendance: 20,400
Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)
22 March 2013 Israel  3–3  Portugal Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
14:45 UTC+2 Hemed  24'
Ben Basat  40'
Gershon  70'		 Report Alves  2'
Postiga  72'
Coentrão  90+3'		 Attendance: 38,600
Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)
26 March 2013 Northern Ireland  0–2  Israel Windsor Park, Belfast
19:45 UTC±0 Report Refaelov  77'
Ben Basat  84'		 Attendance: 11,200
Referee: Hannes Kaasik (Estonia)
7 September 2013 Israel  1–1  Azerbaijan Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:45 UTC+3 Shechter  73' Report Amirguliyev  61' Attendance: 21,250
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)
10 September 2013 Russia  3–1  Israel Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
19:00 UTC+4 V. Berezutski  49'
Kokorin  52'
Glushakov  74'		 Report Zahavi  90+3' Attendance: 21,107
Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Germany)
11 October 2013 Portugal  1–1  Israel Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon
20:45 UTC+1 Costa  28' Report Ben Basat  85' Attendance: 48,317
Referee: Tom Harald Hagen (Norway)
15 October 2013 Israel  1–1  Northern Ireland Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan
20:00 UTC+3 Ben Basat  43' Report Davis  72' Attendance: 12,785
Referee: Laurent Duhamel (France)
Goalscorers
6 goals
1 goal

Record Players

Ten players were fielded in all three of Israel's group matches in 1970 by coach Emmanuel Scheffer, making them record World Cup players for their country.

No. Name Matches
1 Shraga Bar3
Yehoshua Feigenbaum3
David Primo3
Zvi Rosen3
Shmuel Rosenthal3
Yisha'ayahu Schwager3
Itzhak Shum3
Giora Spiegel3
Mordechai Spiegler3
Itzhak Vissoker3

Goalscorers

The only Israeli goal at a FIFA World Cup was scored by team captain Mordechai Spiegler in their 1-1 draw against Sweden on 7 June 1970.

References
  1. "FIFA World Cup: Milestones, facts & figures. Statistical Kit 7" (PDF). FIFA. 26 March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013.
  2. "FIFA Fact Sheet: History of the FIFA World Cup (TM) Preliminary Competition (see page 43)" (PDF). FIFA. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  3. "Palestine (PLE)". FIFA. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  4. "Ability and politics govern the draw". The Times. London. 19 December 1969. p. 11.
  5. "Top teams to be seeded". The Times. London. 8 January 1970. p. 11.
  6. "FIFA World Cup: Seeded teams 1930–2010" (PDF). FIFA. November 2009.
  7. "Brasil, Alemanha e Italia querem o Grupo Dois" (in Portuguese). Jornal do Brasil. 11 January 1970.
  8. "Football at the 1968 Ciudad de México Summer Games: Men's Football". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013.
  9. "Africa in the FIFA World Cup: Part 3 – The Seventies". Currybet.net. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  10. "North Korea out". The Times. London. 5 July 1969. p. 7.
  11. Glanville, Brian (2010). The Story of the World Cup. Faber and Faber. p. 167.
  12. Both matches were played in Israel.
  13. World Cup 1934 Qualifying
  14. "A long wait for a home game". Reuters. 24 October 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  15. WORLD CUP 1938 - QUALIFYING
  16. World Cup 1950 Qualifying
  17. Europe Qualifiers
  18. "World Cup 1954 qualifications". rsssf.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  19. World Cup 1958 Qualifying
  20. The Joy of Six International Play-offs
  21. World Cup 1962 qualifications
  22. World Cup 1966 qualifications
  23. 1966 FIFA World Cup
  24. World Cup 1974 qualifications
  25. "Israel make their mark - UEFA.com". uefa.com. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  26. "World Cup 1978 qualifications". rsssf.com. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  27. World Cup 1978 finals
  28. Japan played its "home" match against Israel away at Israel.
  29. "World Cup 1982 qualifications". rsssf.com. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  30. "Israel". eurolympic.org. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014.
  31. All home matches of Chinese Taipei were played away instead.
  32. World Cup 1994 qualifications Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  33. World Cup 1998 qualifications
  34. World Cup 2002 Qualifying
  35. 2006 UEFA Group 4 Standings
  36. Yossi Benayoun: 'We should qualify'
  37. "Azerbaijan begins with home match against Israel – MATCH SCHEDULE". 25 November 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  38. 2014 matches
  39. Israel 2014
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.