Israel national football team facts for kids
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Nickname(s) | התכולים-לבנים (The Skyblue and Whites) הנבחרת (The Chosen Team) |
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Association | Israel Football Association (IFA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe; 1980–81; 1991–present) OFC (Oceania; 1985–89) AFC (Asia; 1954–74) |
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Head coach | Ran Ben Shimon | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Captain | Eli Dasa | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Most caps | Yossi Benayoun (101) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Top scorer | Eran Zahavi (35) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Home stadium | Various Stadiums | ||||||||||||||||||||||
FIFA code | ISR | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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FIFA ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current | 92 ![]() |
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Highest | 15 (November 2008) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Lowest | 99 (January 2018) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Elo ranking | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current | 66 ![]() |
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Highest | 23 (April 1976) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Lowest | 81 (December 1959) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
First international | |||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() (Cairo, Egypt; 4 April 1930) as the State of Israel: ![]() ![]() (New York, United States; 26 September 1948) |
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Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() (Wellington, New Zealand; 23 March 1988) |
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Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() (Kaiserslautern, Germany; 13 February 2002) |
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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 | ![]() |
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Medal record
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The Israel national football team (Hebrew: נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, romanized: Nivḥeret Yīsrāʾēl BeḴaduregel) plays for Israel in international men's football games. The team is managed by the Israel Football Association. Since 1994, they have been part of UEFA, which is the European football group.
Israel made it to the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1970. They also won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. After this, they had to move to UEFA because of political reasons.
Contents
Team History
How it Started
Football has been popular in Israel for a long time. The game first came to the area during the time of the Ottoman Empire. The Palestine Football Association was created in 1928 and joined FIFA in 1929. This group included Arab, Jewish, and British police clubs.
The Mandatory Palestine national football team played its first game against Egypt in 1934, losing 0–5. The team played five international matches before it was dissolved. All players in these games were Jewish. Before each match, three national songs were played: the British "God Save the King", the Jewish "HaTikvah" (which later became Israel's national song), and the opposing team's song.
In 1948, the team became the national football team of Israel. Their first game as an independent nation was on September 26, 1948, against the US Olympic Team. The US won 3–1. In that game, Shmuel Ben-Dror scored Israel's first goal.
Joining the Asian Football Group
Israel was one of the first members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after it became an independent country in 1948. However, after the 1974 Asian Games in Iran, many Muslim and Arab countries refused to play against Israel. Because of this, Israel was removed from the AFC. They then tried to join other groups like the OFC (Oceania) before finally becoming a full member of UEFA (Europe).
Why Israel Left the AFC
Israel played in the AFC from 1954 to 1974. Due to political issues, several Muslim countries would not play against Israel. This situation became very difficult. In 1958, Israel even won the World Cup qualifying stage for Asia and Africa without playing a single game! FIFA then made Israel play a special game against Wales to make sure they didn't qualify without playing at all. Wales won that game.
Israel hosted and won the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. This was a big achievement for them.
In 1968, Israel played in its first Olympic Games. They reached the quarterfinals but lost to Bulgaria.
In 1969, Israel qualified for its first and only FIFA World Cup. They earned two points in the tournament. They drew 1–1 with Sweden and 0–0 with Italy. They lost 0–2 to Uruguay. The goal against Sweden, scored by Mordechai Spiegler, is Israel's only World Cup goal so far.
In 1974, Israel was officially removed from AFC competitions. This happened because Kuwait and other Muslim and Arab countries refused to play against them. The decision was made by a vote of 17 to 13. This vote happened during the 1974 Asian Games, where some teams refused to play Israel in the football competition.
In 1976, Israel went to its second Olympic Games. They again lost in the quarterfinals, this time to Brazil. In 1973 and 1977, Israel played in World Cup qualifying tournaments that included teams from both Asia and Oceania, but they did not qualify.
Moving to Europe
First Steps in UEFA
In the early 1980s, Israel started playing most of its games against teams from UEFA (Europe). They also competed in the European part of the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Playing in Oceania
For the next two big tournaments, Israel joined the Oceania's (OFC) qualifying rounds.
In 1989, Israel won the OFC second round by finishing above Australia and New Zealand. This meant Israel got to play against Colombia from South America for a spot in the 1990 World Cup. However, they lost (1–0, 0–0).
Full UEFA Membership
In 1991, Israeli football clubs began playing in European club competitions. By 1992, Israel was back in the European World Cup qualifiers. In 1994, Israel became a full member of UEFA, 20 years after leaving Asia.
Within Europe, Israel has had some good moments. They famously won 3–2 against France in Paris in 1993. They also beat Austria 5–0 in 1999. That year, Israel almost made it to the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying play-offs, but they were defeated by Denmark.
Israel nearly qualified for the 2006 World Cup. They finished third in their group, tied on points with Switzerland. Switzerland had a better goal difference and moved on.
In the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, Israel came very close to reaching the main tournament. They finished fourth in their group, just one point behind Russia.
Israel has continued to play in European qualifiers for World Cups and European Championships. They have had mixed results, sometimes playing well and sometimes not. In the qualifiers for Euro 2020, they almost made history. Even though they finished fifth in their group, they got a chance to play in the play-offs. They lost to Scotland in a penalty shootout after a 0–0 draw.
In the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League, Israel finished first in their group. This meant they were promoted to League A for the 2024-2025 season.
In the Euro 2024 qualifiers, Israel again reached the play-off stage. They lost 1–4 to Iceland in the semi-finals.
Home Stadiums
The Israel national football team's first home game was at Palms Ground in 1934. Before Israel became a country, they also played at the Maccabi Ground and Maccabiah Stadium.
The first national team for the new State of Israel played at the Ramat Gan Stadium in 1954. This stadium was Israel's main home stadium until 2013.
Now, Israel uses several modern stadiums for its home matches. These include Sammy Ofer Stadium in Haifa, Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, Turner Stadium in Be'er Sheva, Netanya Stadium in Netanya, and Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv.
During the Gaza war, Israel played most of their home matches in Hungary.
Active Stadiums
Matches | Image | Stadium | Capacity | Location | First match | Last match |
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51 | Bloomfield Stadium | 29,400 | Tel Aviv, Israel | 17 May 1964 | 12 September 2023 | |
14 | Teddy Stadium | 31,733 | Jerusalem, Israel | 12 February 1992 | 19 June 2023 | |
12 | Sammy Ofer Stadium | 30,942 | Haifa, Israel | 16 November 2014 | 2 June 2022 | |
9 | Netanya Stadium | 13,610 | Netanya, Israel | 6 February 2013 | 29 March 2022 | |
4 | 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 |
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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 |
Recent Games
The Israel national team has played several matches recently. In the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League, they faced tough opponents like Belgium, Italy, and France. They also played in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification games.
Coaching Staff
The current coaching team helps the players perform their best.
Current Players
This is a list of players who were called up for recent matches in June 2025.
Caps (games played) and goals are correct as of June 10, 2025, after the match against Slovakia.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
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GK | Omri Glazer | 11 March 1996 | 18 | 0 | ![]() |
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GK | Daniel Peretz | 10 July 2000 | 7 | 0 | ![]() |
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GK | Yoav Gerafi | 29 August 1993 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
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GK | Niv Eliasi | 1 February 2002 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
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DF | Eli Dasa | 3 December 1992 | 69 | 1 | ![]() |
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DF | Raz Shlomo | 13 August 1999 | 20 | 2 | ![]() |
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DF | Idan Nachmias | 17 March 1997 | 13 | 0 | ![]() |
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DF | Roy Revivo | 22 May 2003 | 12 | 0 | ![]() |
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DF | Denny Gropper | 16 March 1999 | 9 | 0 | ![]() |
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DF | Stav Lemkin | 2 April 2003 | 4 | 0 | ![]() |
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DF | Guy Mizrahi | 30 March 2001 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
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MF | Dor Peretz | 17 May 1995 | 50 | 6 | ![]() |
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MF | Mohammad Abu Fani | 27 April 1998 | 31 | 4 | ![]() |
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MF | Oscar Gloukh | 1 April 2004 | 21 | 3 | ![]() |
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MF | Mahmoud Jaber | 5 October 1999 | 13 | 0 | ![]() |
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MF | Dan Biton | 23 April 1999 | 8 | 2 | ![]() |
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MF | Eliel Peretz | 18 November 1996 | 6 | 0 | ![]() |
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MF | Omri Gandelman | 16 May 2000 | 5 | 1 | ![]() |
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MF | Yarin Levi | 21 March 2005 | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
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MF | Itamar Noy | 28 April 2001 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
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MF | Adi Yona | 17 April 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
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MF | Lior Kasa | 27 September 2005 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
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FW | Manor Solomon | 24 July 1999 | 44 | 7 | ![]() |
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FW | Liel Abada | 3 October 2001 | 18 | 1 | ![]() |
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FW | Anan Khalaily | 3 September 2004 | 11 | 1 | ![]() |
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FW | Dor Turgeman | 24 October 2003 | 10 | 1 | ![]() |
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FW | Yarden Shua | 16 June 1999 | 3 | 2 | ![]() |
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FW | Amir Ganah | 7 September 2004 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
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FW | Timothy Muzie | 24 August 2001 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
Team Records
Here are some interesting facts about the Israel national football team's players.
- Players in bold are still playing for Israel.
- Statistics include only official games recognized by FIFA.
Most Games Played
Rank | Name | Caps | Goals | Career |
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1 | Yossi Benayoun | 101 | 23 | 1998–2017 |
2 | Tal Ben Haim | 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 | Dudu Aouate | 78 | 0 | 1999–2013 |
Eyal Berkovic | 78 | 9 | 1992–2004 | |
10 | Tal Banin | 77 | 12 | 1990–2003 |
Top Goal Scorers
Rank | Name | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
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1 | Eran Zahavi (list) | 35 | 74 | 0.47 | 2010–present |
2 | Mordechai Spiegler | 24 | 57 | 0.42 | 1964–1977 |
3 | Ronen Harazi | 23 | 52 | 0.44 | 1992–1999 |
Yossi Benayoun | 23 | 101 | 0.23 | 1998–2017 | |
5 | Nahum Stelmach | 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 | 17 | 50 | 0.34 | 1984–1997 | |
Avi Nimni | 17 | 80 | 0.21 | 1992–2005 | |
10 | Yehoshua Feigenbaum | 15 | 36 | 0.42 | 1966–1977 |
Mu'nas Dabbur | 15 | 40 | 0.38 | 2014–2022 |
Tournament History
FIFA World Cup
Israel has played in one FIFA World Cup tournament.
FIFA World Cup record | |||||||||
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Year | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
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Did not enter | ||||||||
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Did not qualify | ||||||||
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Did not qualify | ||||||||
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Group stage | 12th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Squad |
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Did not qualify | ||||||||
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To be determined | ||||||||
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Total | 1/22 | Group stage | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — |
UEFA European Championship
Israel has not yet qualified for the UEFA European Championship.
UEFA European Championship record | |||||||||
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Year | Round | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
1960–1992 | Not a UEFA member | ||||||||
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Did not qualify | ||||||||
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To be determined | ||||||||
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Total | — |
UEFA Nations League
Israel has played in the UEFA Nations League since it started. They were promoted to League A for the 2024–25 season.
UEFA Nations League record | |||||||||||||||||||||
League phase | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ![]() |
Did not qualify | ||||||||
2020–21 | B | 2 | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | ![]() |
25th | ![]() |
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2022–23 | B | 2 | 1st | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 6 | ![]() |
17th | ![]() |
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2024–25 | A | 2 | 4th | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | ![]() |
TBD | ![]() |
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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
Israel has participated in the Olympic Games football tournament twice.
Olympic Games record | |||||||||
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Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad |
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Did not enter | ||||||||
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Did not qualify | ||||||||
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Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | Squad |
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Did not qualify | ||||||||
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Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | Squad |
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Withdrew | ||||||||
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Did not qualify | ||||||||
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1992–present | Competition played as an Under-23 competition | ||||||||
Total | Quarter-finals | 2/10 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 14 | — |
AFC Asian CupIsrael had great success in the AFC Asian Cup before moving to UEFA.
+ Israel qualified as hosts but later withdrew. Thailand replaced them later.
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Asian GamesIsrael also competed in the Asian Games football tournament. |
FIFA World Ranking History
As of April 2025, Israel is ranked 78th in the FIFA Men's World Ranking. Their highest rank was 15th in November 2008, and their lowest was 99th in January 2018. On average, they have been ranked around 53rd.
Awards and Achievements
Continental Awards
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- As a member of the AFC
Summary of Awards
Competition | ![]() |
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Total |
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AFC Asian Cup | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Asian Games | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
More About Israeli Football
- 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
See also
In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Israel para niños