Israel competed at the AFC Asian Cup four times. In 1956 and 1960 Israel finished second, in 1964 they finished first, and in 1968 they finished third.[1]In1972 Israel qualified for the tournament as hosts but later had to withdraw.[2]
Israel was one of the founding members of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) following its own independence in 1948 (prior to that it played under the banner of the "British Mandate of Palestine").[3] After the 1974 Asian GamesinIran, and Israel's 0–1 tense loss to Iran in the finals,[4] Kuwait and other Muslim and Arab countries refused to play them. Following this, Israel were expelled from the confederation and spent a few years trying to qualify from such continental bodies as the OFC (Oceania), before eventually joining UEFA (Europe) officially.[5]
AFC Asian Cup record | ||||||||
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Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
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Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
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Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 |
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Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
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Third Place | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 |
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Withdrew | |||||||
Total | Champions | 4/15 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 15 |
Israel competed at the 1956 AFC Asian Cup. This was the first AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s first appearance.[6]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 5 |
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3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 |
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3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 2 |
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3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 1 |
Hong Kong ![]() | 2 – 3 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Au Chi Yin ![]() |
Glazer ![]() Stelmach ![]() |
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: H.A. Sheppard (England)
Israel ![]() | 1 – 2 | ![]() |
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Stelmach ![]() |
Woo Sang-kwon ![]() Sung Nak-woon ![]() |
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Trương Văn Ky (South Vietnam)
Israel ![]() | 2 – 1 | ![]() |
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Stelmach ![]() |
Trần Văn Tổng ![]() |
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Tommy Tucker (England)
With four goals, Nahum Stelmach is the top scorer in the tournament.
Head coach: Jackie Gibbons
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1GK | Ya'akov Hodorov | (1927-06-16)16 June 1927 (aged 29) | 12 | 0 | ![]() | |
1GK | Ya'akov Vissoker | (1930-09-05)5 September 1930 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | David Kremer | (1929-04-06)6 April 1929 (aged 27) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Shaul Matania | (1937-03-08)8 March 1937 (aged 19) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Jerry Haldi | (1935-08-14)14 August 1935 (aged 21) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Binyamin Rabinovich | 1936 (aged 20) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Itzhak Schneor | (1925-12-11)11 December 1925 (aged 30) | 11 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Asher Balut | (1932-01-06)6 January 1932 (aged 24) | 5 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Zigi Silberstein | 0 | 0 | ![]() | ||
4FW | Yehoshua Glazer | (1927-12-29)29 December 1927 (aged 28) | 11 | 8 | ![]() | |
4FW | Yosef Mirmovich | (1924-07-24)24 July 1924 (aged 32) | 11 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Nahum Stelmach | (1936-07-19)19 July 1936 (aged 20) | 2 | 1 | ![]() | |
4FW | Boaz Kofman | (1935-03-29)29 March 1935 (aged 21) | 1 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Rehavia Rozenboim | (1934-04-29)29 April 1934 (aged 22) | 5 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Shmuel Israeli | (1928-10-15)15 October 1928 (aged 27) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Eliezer Spiegel | (1922-06-20)20 June 1922 (aged 34) | 2 | 0 | ![]() |
Israel competed at the 1960 AFC Asian Cup. This was the second AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s second appearance.[6]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 8 |
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6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 7 |
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6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | –2 | 5 |
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6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 9 | –2 | 4 |
Israel ![]() | 0 – 3 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Hajari ![]() Barmaki ![]() Dehdari ![]() |
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: P. Chakravarthy (India)
India ![]() | 1 – 3 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Devadas ![]() |
R. Levi ![]() |
Attendance: 30,000
Israel ![]() | 2 – 0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
R. Levi ![]() Stelmach ![]() |
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: P. Chakravarthy (India)
Israel ![]() | 1 – 1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Menchel ![]() |
Hajari ![]() |
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: P. Chakravarthy (India)
India ![]() | 1 – 2 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Rehmatullah ![]() |
Stelmach ![]() R. Levi ![]() |
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Natarajan (Malaya)
Pakistan ![]() | 2 – 2 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Omar ![]() Ghafoor ![]() |
Menchel ![]() Ratzabi ![]() |
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: A. N. Jayaraman (India)
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
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3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 |
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3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
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3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 |
South Korea ![]() | 3 – 0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Cho Yoon-Ok ![]() Woo Sang-Kwon ![]() |
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Yozo Yokoyama (Japan)
South Vietnam ![]() | 1 – 5 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Trần Văn Nhung ![]() |
R. Levi ![]() Stelmach ![]() S. Levi ![]() Menchel ![]() Aharonskind ![]() |
Attendance: 15,000
Israel ![]() | 1 – 0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
S. Levi ![]() |
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Yozo Yokoyama (Japan)
Head coach: Gyula Mándi
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1GK | Ya'akov Hodorov | (1927-06-16)16 June 1927 (aged 33) | 23 | 0 | ![]() | |
1GK | Ya'akov Vissoker | (1930-09-05)5 September 1930 (aged 30) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Amatzia Levkovich | (1937-12-27)27 December 1937 (aged 22) | 14 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Dov Atzmon | 0 | 0 | ![]() | ||
2DF | Mordechai Benbenishti | (1938-03-01)1 March 1938 (aged 22) | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Zvi Moisescu | (1939-08-13)13 August 1939 (aged 21) | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Avraham Klemi | 0 | 0 | ![]() | ||
3MF | Avraham Menchel | (1935-12-12)12 December 1935 (aged 24) | 13 | 4 | ![]() | |
3MF | Gideon Tish | (1939-10-13)13 October 1939 (aged 21) | 16 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Yosef Goldstein | (1932-03-29)29 March 1932 (aged 28) | 20 | 1 | ![]() | |
4FW | Aharon Amar | 1937 (aged 23) | 8 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Amnon Aronskind | 0 | 0 | ![]() | ||
4FW | Nahum Stelmach | (1936-07-19)19 July 1936 (aged 24) | 23 | 13 | ![]() | |
4FW | Rafi Levi | (1938-02-22)22 February 1938 (aged 22) | 14 | 10 | ![]() | |
4FW | Shlomo Levi | (1934-06-01)1 June 1934 (aged 26) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Shlomo Nahari | (1934-10-17)17 October 1934 (aged 25) | 8 | 1 | ![]() | |
4FW | Yehoshua Glazer | (1927-12-29)29 December 1927 (aged 32) | 32 | 15 | ![]() |
Israel competed at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. This was the third AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s third appearance.[6]
The tournament used a round-robin system with the winners from the West, Central 1 and 2 and East Asia zones and the team from the host nation (Israel) competing for the title. 11 of the 16 nations withdrew including Iran and Japan with the result that only one zone (combined Central 1 and 2) played any qualifying matches and the 'winners' of 2 zones and host Israel qualified uncontested. In this diminished competition Israel won the title with three wins.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
Ramat Gan | Haifa |
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Tel Aviv | Jerusalem |
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Ramat Gan Stadium | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium | Bloomfield Stadium | Hebrew University Stadium | |
Capacity: 41,583 | Capacity: 17,000 | Capacity: 22,000 | Capacity: 16,000 | |
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Israel as the host nation automatically qualified for the tournament.[14]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
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3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 |
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3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
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3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
Israel ![]() | 1 – 0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Spiegler ![]() |
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Patrick Nice (Malaysia)
Israel ![]() | 2 – 0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Spiegler ![]() Aharoni ![]() |
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Li Pak Tung (Malaysia)
South Korea ![]() | 1 – 2 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Lee Soon-Myung ![]() |
Leon ![]() Tish ![]() |
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Davoud Nassiri (Iran)
Head coach: Yosef Merimovich
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1GK | Haim Levin | (1937-03-03)3 March 1937 (aged 27) | 1 | 0 | ![]() | |
1GK | Itzhak Vissoker | (1944-09-18)18 September 1944 (aged 19) | 4 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Avraham Kalmi | 1 | 0 | ![]() | ||
2DF | David Primo | (1946-05-05)5 May 1946 (aged 18) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Haim Bahar | (1943-04-10)10 April 1943 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Moshe Leon | (1944-01-09)9 January 1944 (aged 20) | 7 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Shaul Matania | (1937-03-08)8 March 1937 (aged 19) | 17 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Amatzia Levkovich | (1937-12-27)27 December 1937 (aged 18) | 36 | 1 | ![]() | |
3MF | Gideon Tish | (1939-10-13)13 October 1939 (aged 16) | 34 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Mordechai Spiegler | (1944-08-19)19 August 1944 (aged 19) | 4 | 1 | ![]() | |
3MF | Nahum Stelmach | (1936-07-19)19 July 1936 (aged 27) | 45 | 20 | ![]() | |
3MF | Yehezkel Katsav | 1945 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Yosef Mahalal | (1939-12-25)25 December 1939 (aged 24) | 4 | 2 | ![]() | |
4FW | Einstein Kalish | 1939 (aged 25) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Rahamim Talbi | (1943-05-17)17 May 1943 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
4FW | Roby Young | (1942-05-15)15 May 1942 (aged 22) | 13 | 2 | ![]() | |
4FW | Shlomo Levi | (1934-06-01)1 June 1934 (aged 29) | 11 | 6 | ![]() | |
4FW | Yohai Aharoni | (1943-06-08)8 June 1943 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
Israel competed at the 1968 AFC Asian Cup. This was the fourth AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s fourth and last appearance.[6]
After the 1968 tournament Israel did not compete in a regional football tournament for many years. Israel was expelled from the AFC in the early 1970s and eventually became a member of UEFA.[15] After joining the UEFA Israel began competing in the UEFA European Championshipin1996.
Israel qualified for the tournament by default after all other teams in their zone withdrew from the tournament.[16]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 8 |
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4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 5 |
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4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 4 |
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4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 2 |
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4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 1 |
Hong Kong ![]() | 1–6 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Yuan Kuan Yick ![]() |
Spiegler ![]() Spiegel ![]() Romano ![]() |
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Batha Chaterchi (India)
Burma ![]() | 1–0 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Suk Bahadur ![]() |
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Norman Boswell (Malaysia)
Israel ![]() | 4–1 | ![]() |
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Romano ![]() Rosenthal ![]() Spiegel ![]() |
Li Huan-wen ![]() |
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Narayan Ghosh (India)
Iran ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() |
---|---|---|
Behzadi ![]() Ghelichkhani ![]() |
Spiegel ![]() |
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Alex Joseph Vaz (India)
With 4 goals, Giora Spiegel and Moshe Romano of Israel tied with Homayoun Behzadi of Iran as the top scorers of the tournament.
Head coach: Milovan Ćirić
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1GK | Itzhak Vissoker | (1944-09-18)18 September 1944 (aged 23) | 14 | 0 | ![]() | |
1GK | Haim Levin | (1937-03-03)3 March 1937 (aged 27) | 15 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Menahem Bello | (1947-12-26)26 December 1947 (aged 20) | 14 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Dani Shmulevich | (1940-11-29)29 November 1940 (aged 27) | 23 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Itzhak Marili | (1945-05-12)12 May 1945 (aged 22) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | David Karako | (1944-02-11)11 February 1944 (aged 24) | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Itzhak Drucker | (1947-06-03)3 June 1947 (aged 20) | 6 | 0 | ![]() | |
2DF | Zvi Rosen | (1947-06-23)23 June 1947 (aged 20) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Dani Borsuk | (1944-02-16)16 February 1944 (aged 24) | 6 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Haim Nurieli | (1943-05-01)1 May 1943 (aged 25) | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
3MF | Moshe Asis | (1943-10-09)9 October 1943 (aged 24) | 13 | 1 | ![]() | |
3MF | Shmuel Rosenthal | (1947-04-22)22 April 1947 (aged 21) | 14 | 1 | ![]() | |
4FW | George Borba | (1944-07-12)12 July 1944 (aged 23) | 9 | 4 | ![]() | |
4FW | Giora Spiegel | (1947-07-27)27 July 1947 (aged 20) | 10 | 5 | ![]() | |
4FW | Mordechai Spiegler | (1944-08-19)19 August 1944 (aged 23) | 27 | 13 | ![]() | |
4FW | Moshe Romano | (1946-05-06)6 May 1946 (aged 22) | 5 | 1 | ![]() | |
4FW | Rahamim Talbi | (1943-05-17)17 May 1943 (aged 24) | 18 | 5 | ![]() | |
4FW | Roby Young | (1942-05-15)15 May 1942 (aged 25) | 37 | 5 | ![]() |
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General |
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Results |
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FIFA World Cup |
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AFC Asian Cup |
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Related teams |
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Countries at the AFC Asian Cup
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CAFA |
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EAFF |
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1 Considered a successor team by FIFA, or have competed under other name(s). 2 Israel was a member of the AFC until 1974. 3 Recognized by FIFA as defunct. |
Israel at international sports competitions
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