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. 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. However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered "one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers".

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
As  Mandatory Palestine (Eretz Israel) As  Mandatory Palestine (Eretz Israel)
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Did not enter
Kingdom of Italy 1934 Did not qualify 2nd 2 0 0 2 2 11 Africa/Asia
French Third Republic 1938 2nd 2 0 0 2 1 4 Europe
As  Israel As  Israel
Fourth Brazilian Republic 1950 Did not qualify 2nd 2 0 0 2 2 11 Europe
Switzerland 1954 3rd 4 0 0 4 0 5
Sweden 1958 Play-off 2 0 0 2 0 4 CAF/AFC
Chile 1962 Final Round 6 3 1 2 13 14 UEFA
England 1966 3rd 4 0 0 4 1 12
Mexico 1970 Group stage 12th 3 0 2 1 1 3 Squad Final Round 4 3 1 0 8 1 AFC/OFC
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify Zone A Final 6 4 1 1 12 2
Argentina 1978 First Round 4 2 1 1 5 3
Spain 1982 5th 8 1 3 4 6 10 UEFA
Mexico 1986 2nd 6 3 1 2 17 6 OFC
Italy 1990 Play-off 6 1 4 1 5 5
United States 1994 6th 10 1 3 6 10 27 UEFA
France 1998 3rd 8 4 1 3 9 7
South Korea Japan 2002 3rd 8 3 3 2 11 7
Germany 2006 3rd 10 4 6 0 15 10
South Africa 2010 4th 10 4 4 2 20 10
Brazil 2014 3rd 10 3 5 2 19 14
Russia 2018 4th 10 4 0 6 10 15
Qatar 2022 3rd 10 5 1 4 23 21
United States Canada Mexico 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 1/22 Group stage 3 0 2 1 1 3
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out

By Match

World Cup Round Opponent Score Result Venue Scorers
1970 Group stage  Uruguay 0–2 L Puebla
 Sweden 1–1 D Toluca M. Spiegler
 Italy 0–0 D Toluca

Record by Opponent

FIFA World Cup matches (by team)
Opponent Wins Draws Losses Total Goals Scored Goals Conceded
 Italy 0 1 0 1 0 0
 Sweden 0 1 0 1 1 1
 Uruguay 0 0 1 1 0 2

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.

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, the FIFA Organising Committee ultimately announced that there would be no seeding of teams. Instead, the sixteen teams were divided into four 'geographical groupings', which also took into account the teams' strengths and even political considerations; 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, if that were the case.

1970 Qualifying Round

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.

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:[citation needed]
(W) Withdrew
28 September 1969 Israel  4 – 0  New Zealand Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel
Spiegler 48'
Spiegel 65'
Feigenbaum 72', 86'
Referee: Nassiri (Iran)

1 October 1969 Israel  2 – 0  New Zealand Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel
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

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
GK 1 Ladislao Mazurkiewicz
DF 4 Luis Ubiña
DF 2 Atilio Ancheta
DF 3 Roberto Matosas
DF 6 Juan Mujica
MF 7 Luis Cubilla
MF 5 Julio Montero Castillo
MF 8 Pedro Rocha (c) downward-facing red arrow 12'
FW 9 Víctor Espárrago
FW 10 Ildo Maneiro
FW 21 Julio Losada
Substitutions:
FW 20 Julio César Cortés upward-facing green arrow 12'
Manager:
Juan Hohberg
GK 1 Itzhak Vissoker
DF 12 Yisha'ayahu Schwager
DF 4 David Primo
DF 14 Danny Shmulevich-Rom downward-facing red arrow 57'
DF 5 Zvi Rosen
MF 6 Shmuel Rosenthal
MF 8 Giora Spiegel
MF 10 Mordechai Spiegler (c)
MF 7 Itzhak Shum
FW 9 Yehoshua Feigenbaum
FW 15 Rachamim Talbi downward-facing red arrow 46'
Substitutions:
DF 2 Shraga Bar upward-facing green arrow 46'
DF 16 Yochanan Vollach upward-facing green arrow 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
GK 12 Sven-Gunnar Larsson
DF 2 Hans Selander
DF 3 Kurt Axelsson
DF 20 Jan Olsson
DF 5 Roland Grip
MF 6 Tommy Svensson (c)
MF 7 Bo Larsson
MF 16 Tomas Nordahl
FW 18 Tom Turesson
FW 9 Ove Kindvall
FW 11 Örjan Persson Yellow card downward-facing red arrow 75'
Substitutions:
FW 22 Sten Pålsson upward-facing green arrow 75'
Manager:
Orvar Bergmark
GK 1 Itzhak Vissoker
DF 2 Shraga Bar Yellow card
DF 4 David Primo Yellow card
DF 16 Yochanan Vollach downward-facing red arrow 51'
DF 5 Zvi Rosen
MF 12 Yisha'ayahu Schwager
MF 6 Shmuel Rosenthal
MF 7 Itzhak Shum
FW 10 Mordechai Spiegler (c)
FW 8 Giora Spiegel
FW 9 Yehoshua Feigenbaum
Substitutions:
MF 19 Roni Shuruk upward-facing green arrow 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
GK 1 Enrico Albertosi
DF 2 Tarcisio Burgnich
DF 5 Pierluigi Cera
DF 8 Roberto Rosato
DF 3 Giacinto Facchetti (c)
MF 10 Mario Bertini
MF 16 Giancarlo De Sisti
MF 15 Alessandro Mazzola
FW 13 Angelo Domenghini downward-facing red arrow 46'
FW 20 Roberto Boninsegna Yellow card
FW 11 Luigi Riva
Substitutions:
MF 14 Gianni Rivera upward-facing green arrow 46'
Manager:
Ferruccio Valcareggi
GK 1 Itzhak Vissoker
DF 2 Shraga Bar
DF 4 David Primo Yellow card
DF 12 Yisha'ayahu Schwager
DF 6 Shmuel Rosenthal
MF 5 Zvi Rosen
MF 3 Menachem Bello Yellow card
MF 7 Itzhak Shum
FW 10 Mordechai Spiegler (c)
FW 8 Giora Spiegel
FW 9 Yehoshua Feigenbaum downward-facing red arrow 46'
Substitutions:
FW 14 Dani Shmulevich-Rom upward-facing green arrow 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 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
2 2DF Shraga Bar (1948-03-24)24 March 1948 (aged 22) 13 Israel Maccabi Netanya
3 2DF Menachem Bello (1947-12-26)26 December 1947 (aged 22) 25 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
4 3MF David Primo (1946-05-05)5 May 1946 (aged 24) 18 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
5 2DF Zvi Rosen (1947-06-23)23 June 1947 (aged 22) 16 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
6 2DF Shmuel Rosenthal (1947-04-22)22 April 1947 (aged 23) 23 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
7 3MF Itzhak Shum (1948-09-01)1 September 1948 (aged 21) 8 Israel Hapoel Kfar Saba
8 4FW Giora Spiegel (1947-07-27)27 July 1947 (aged 22) 19 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
9 4FW Yehoshua Feigenbaum (1947-12-05)5 December 1947 (aged 22) 15 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
10 4FW Mordechai Spiegler (1944-08-19)19 August 1944 (aged 25) 36 Israel Maccabi Netanya
11 3MF George Borba (1944-07-12)12 July 1944 (aged 25) 10 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
12 3MF Yisha'ayahu Schwager (1946-02-10)10 February 1946 (aged 24) 6 Israel Maccabi Haifa
13 4FW Yechezekel Chazom (1947-01-01)1 January 1947 (aged 23) 4 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
14 3MF Danny Shmulevich-Rom (1940-11-29)29 November 1940 (aged 29) 24 Israel Maccabi Haifa
15 4FW Rachamim Talbi (1943-05-17)17 May 1943 (aged 27) 25 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
16 2DF Yochanan Vollach (1945-05-14)14 May 1945 (aged 25) 4 Israel Hapoel Haifa
17 4FW Eli Ben Rimoz (1947-01-01)1 January 1947 (aged 23) 2 Israel Hapoel Jerusalem
18 3MF Moshe Romano (1946-05-06)6 May 1946 (aged 24) 6 Israel Shimshon Tel Aviv
19 3MF Roni Shuruk (1946-02-24)24 February 1946 (aged 24) 8 Israel Hakoah Maccabi Ramat Gan
20 2DF David Karako (1945-02-11)11 February 1945 (aged 25) 6 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
21 1GK Yechiel Hameiri (1946-08-20)20 August 1946 (aged 23) 1 Israel Hapoel Haifa
22 1GK Yair Nossovsky (1937-06-29)29 June 1937 (aged 32) 3 Israel 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. 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. 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. However, the region currently known as Palestine is considered "one of the first Asian teams to compete in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers".

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:[citation needed]
(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'
[1] 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/Eretz Israel
Sukenik 54' [2] Latif 2'
El-Tetsh 7', 22'
Fawzi 35'
Stadium: Palms Stadium
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Frederick Goodsby (England)

Squad

Coaches: Mandatory PalestineAustria Egon Pollak, Mandatory PalestinePoland 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. 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.

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:[citation needed]
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
Mandatory Palestine Palestine (British Mandate) 1 — 3
(final score after 90 minutes)
Greece Greece

Manager: Austria 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: Greece 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 Greece 1 — 0
(final score after 90 minutes)
Mandatory Palestine Palestine (British Mandate)

Manager: Greece 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: Austria 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: Austria Egon Pollak

Pos. Player DoB Games
played
Goals Minutes
played
Sub off Sub on Greece Greece Club
DF Avraham Beit haLevi 1915 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 Mandatory Palestine Hapoel Tel Aviv
FW Jerry Beit haLevi 14 November 1912 1 0 90 0 0 - 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
FW Shuka Brashedski 1914 1 0 90 0 0 90 - Mandatory Palestine Hapoel Haifa
GK Israel Elsner 1909 1 0 90 0 0 - 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
MF Gdalyahu Fuchs 1911 1 0 90 0 0 - 90 Mandatory Palestine Hapoel Haifa
FW Mila Ginzburg 1918 1 0 90 0 0 90 - Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
GK Julius Klein 1907 1 0 90 0 0 90 - Mandatory Palestine Hapoel Haifa
MF Yosef Libermann 1909 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
FW Gaul Machlis 1918 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
MF Menahem Mirmovich 1919 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
FW Peri Neufeld 1913 2 1 180 0 0 90 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
FW Avraham Nudelmann 1910 1 0 90 0 0 90 - Mandatory Palestine Hapoel Tel Aviv
FW Natan Pentz 1917 1 0 90 0 0 - 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
DF Avraham Reznik 1909 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 Mandatory Palestine Maccabi Tel Aviv
FW Yona Stern 1908 1 0 90 0 0 - 90 Mandatory Palestine Hapoel Haifa
MF Yohanan Sukenik 1910 1 0 90 0 0 90 - Mandatory Palestine 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.

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.

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:[citation needed]

Source:

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.

Standings
Final table Home Away
Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Greece Israel Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pld W D L GF GA Pts
1.  Yugoslavia 4 4 0 0 4 0 +4 8 X 1:0 1:0 2 2 0 0 2 0 4 2 2 0 0 2 0 4
2.  Greece 4 2 0 2 3 2 +1 4 0:1 X 1:0 2 1 0 1 1 1 2 2 1 0 1 2 1 2
3.  Israel 4 0 0 4 0 5 -5 0 0:1 0:2 X 2 0 0 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0
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 Ramat Gan, Israel
Report Kokkinakis
Kamaras
Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Referee: Buchmüller (Switzerland)

21 March 1954 Israel  0 – 1  Yugoslavia Ramat Gan, Israel
Report Zebec Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
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. 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 Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
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 Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
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 Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA
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.

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:[citation needed]
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.

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 Ramat Gan, Israel
Levi 14', 30', 66'
Stelmach 61', 88'
Nahari 34'
Report Shialis Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Referee: Bajić (Yugoslavia)

Second round

Israel defeated Ethiopia to advance to the Final Round.


14 March 1961 Israel  1 – 0  Ethiopia Ramat Gan, Israel
Glazer 69' Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
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:[citation needed]

15 October 1961 Israel  2 – 4  Italy Ramat Gan, Israel
Stelmach 15'
Young 38'
Report Lojacono 53' (pen.)
Altafini 79'
Corso 87', 90'
Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
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: Hungary Gyula Mándi

Pos. Player DoB Games
played
Goals Minutes
played
Sub off Sub on Cyprus Cyprus Ethiopia Ethiopia Italy Italy Club
Aharon Amar 1937 3 0 270 0 0 90 90 90 - - - Israel Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Mordechai Benbinisti 6 0 540 0 0 90 90 90 90 90 90 Israel Hapoel Jerusalem F.C.
FW Yehoshua Glazer 29 December 1927 2 3 180 0 0 - - 90 90 - - Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.
Yosef Goldstein 3 0 270 0 0 - 90 90 90 - - Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.
Yaacov Grundman 1 0 90 0 0 - - - - 90 - Israel Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C.
GK Ya'akov Hodorov 16 June 1927 2 0 180 0 0 - - - - 90 90 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
Boaz Kofman 1 1 90 0 0 90 - - - - - Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
FW Shlomo Levi 4 3 360 0 0 90 90 90 90 - - Israel Hapoel Haifa F.C.
Amatsia Levkovich 6 0 540 0 0 90 90 90 90 90 90 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
Avraham Menchel 12 December 1935 5 0 450 0 0 90 90 - 90 90 90 Israel Maccabi Haifa F.C.
Zvi Muisescu 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 - - - -
Shlomo Nahari 3 1 270 0 0 - 90 90 - 90 - Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
Shalom Peterburg 1 0 90 0 0 - - - - - 90 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
FW Zecharia Ratzabi 3 0 270 0 0 90 - - - 90 90 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
FW Danny Shmulevich-Rom 29 November 1940 4 0 360 0 0 - 90 90 90 - 90 Israel Maccabi Haifa F.C.
FW Nahum Stelmach 19 July 1936 5 4 450 0 0 90 90 90 - 90 90 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
Zvi Tendler 2 0 180 0 0 - - - - 90 90 Israel Hapoel Haifa F.C.
Gidon Tish 5 0 450 0 0 90 - 90 90 90 90 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
GK Yaacov Visoker 4 0 360 0 0 90 90 90 90 - - Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
Uri Weinberg 1 0 90 0 0 - - - 90 - - Israel Hapoel Haifa F.C.
Reuven Young 3 1 270 0 0 - - - 90 90 90 Israel 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. 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.

Standings
Final table Home Away
Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Belgium Bulgaria Israel Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pld W D L GF GA Pts
1.  Belgium 4 3 0 1 11 3 +8 6 X 5:0 1:0 2 2 0 0 6 0 4 2 1 0 1 5 3 2
2.  Bulgaria 4 3 0 1 9 6 +3 6 3:0 X 4:0 2 2 0 0 7 0 4 2 1 0 1 2 6 2
3.  Israel 4 0 0 4 1 12 -11 0 0:5 1:2 X 2 0 0 2 1 7 0 2 0 0 2 0 5 0
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: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Milovan Ćirić

Pos. Player DoB Games
played
Goals Minutes
played
Sub off Sub on Belgium Bulgaria Belgium Bulgaria Club
MF Haim Bahar 9 April 1943 3 0 270 0 0 90 - 90 90 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
DF Menahem Bello 26 December 1947 1 0 90 0 0 - 90 - - Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
MF Itzhak Englander 30 April 1946 1 0 90 0 0 - - 90 - Israel Hapoel Haifa
FW Yehezkel Hazum 1947 1 0 90 0 0 - - 90 - Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.
FW Boaz Kofman 23 May 1935 2 0 180 0 0 - 90 - 90 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
DF Moshe Leon 1944 3 0 270 0 0 90 - 90 90 Israel Maccabi Jaffa
GK Haim Levin 3 March 1937 3 0 270 0 0 90 90 90 - Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
DF Amatsia Levkovich September 1938 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 - - Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
FW Yosef Mahalal 1939 1 0 90 0 0 - - 90 - Israel Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
GK Yair Nosovski 29 June 1937 1 0 90 0 0 - - - 90 Israel Hapoel Kfar Saba
MF Haim Nurieli 1943 1 0 90 0 0 90 - - - Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
DF David Primo 5 May 1946 4 0 360 0 0 90 90 90 90 Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv
FW Moshe Romano 1946 1 0 90 0 0 - - - 90 Israel Shimshon Tel Aviv
MF Shmuel Rosenthal 22 April 1947 3 0 270 0 0 - 90 90 90 Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C.
MF Danny Shmulevich-Rom 29 November 1940 4 0 360 0 0 90 90 90 90 Israel Maccabi Haifa
MF Giora Spiegel 27 July 1947 1 0 90 0 0 - - - 90 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
FW Mordechai Spiegler 19 August 1944 3 0 270 0 0 90 90 90 - Israel Maccabi Netanya
FW Nahum Stelmach 19 July 1936 2 0 180 0 0 90 90 - - Israel Hapoel Petah Tikva
MF Rahamim Talbi 17 May 1943 3 1 270 0 0 - 90 90 90 Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv
MF Reuven Young 15 May 1942 3 0 270 0 0 90 90 - 90 Israel Hapoel Haifa
FW Gadi Zelniker 12 March 1944 1 0 90 0 0 90 - - - Israel 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. The 1974 World Cup was Israel's last as an official member of the AFC, as they resigned the Asian Games Federation in 1974.

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:[citation needed]
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. Israel, despite resigning the Asian Games Federation in 1974, was still assigned to compete in the AFC and OFC qualifying round.

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

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:[citation needed]
(W) Withdrew
Matches
27 February 1977 Israel  0 – 0  South Korea Ramat Gan, Israel
Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Referee: McGinlay (Scotland)

6 March 1977 Israel  2 – 0  Japan Ramat Gan, Israel
Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
Referee: Kitabdjian (France)

10 March 1977 Japan  0 – 2  Israel Ramat Gan, Israel
Stadium: Ramat Gan Stadium
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.

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.

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:[citation needed]
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 ParkGlasgow
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.

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:[citation needed]
(A) Group winner; advanced to UEFA–OFC play-off
Matches
3 September 1985 Chinese Taipei  0–6  Israel Ramat Gan, Israel
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.

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:[citation needed]
(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. 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.

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:[citation needed]
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.

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:[citation needed]
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 National 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.

Standings
Final table Home Away
Rank Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Spain Austria Israel Bosnia and Herzegovina Liechtenstein Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pld W D L GF GA Pts
1.  Spain 8 6 2 0 21 4 +17 20 - 4:0 2:0 4:1 5:0 4 4 0 0 15 1 12 4 2 2 0 6 3 8
2.  Austria 8 4 3 1 10 8 +2 15 1:1 - 2:1 2:0 2:0 4 3 1 0 7 2 10 4 1 2 1 3 6 5
3.  Israel 8 3 3 2 11 7 +4 12 1:1 1:1 - 3:1 2:0 4 2 2 0 7 3 8 4 1 1 2 4 4 4
4.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 2 2 4 12 12 0 8 1:2 1:1 0:0 - 5:0 4 1 2 1 7 3 5 4 1 0 3 5 9 3
5.  Liechtenstein 8 0 0 8 0 23 -23 0 0:2 0:1 0:3 0:3 - 4 0 0 4 0 9 0 4 0 0 4 0 14 0
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 Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
21:30 UTC+2 Gerard 20'
Hierro 54'
Report Referee: Claude Colombo (France)
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:
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)
2005-03-30 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:[citation needed]
Matches

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

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
 Israel 38,000 7,038 20,668
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:[citation needed]
 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.

7 September 2012 Azerbaijan  1–1  Israel Tofiq Bahramov Republican Stadium, Baku
21:00 UTC+5 Abishov 65' Report Natcho 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.

Rank Player Matches
1 Shraga Bar 3
Yehoshua Feigenbaum 3
David Primo 3
Zvi Rosen 3
Shmuel Rosenthal 3
Yisha'ayahu Schwager 3
Itzhak Shum 3
Giora Spiegel 3
Mordechai Spiegler 3
Itzhak Vissoker 3

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.[citation needed]


This page was last updated at 2022-09-23 20:44 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari