Israel · History

The Israel national football team represents the country in men's international competition and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA), founded in 1928, when the territory was still under British mandate. It has one of the most unusual administrative histories in world football: it played in Asia, was expelled for political reasons, spent a spell in Oceania and has been a full UEFA member since 1994. Its honours list contains the 1964 AFC Asian Cup and a single World Cup appearance, at Mexico 1970. As of September 2026 the team is coached by Ran Ben-Shimon, having been eliminated in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

Origins and the 1928 association

The federation was created in 1928 as the Eretz Israel Football Association and affiliated to FIFA the following year, which makes Israeli football one of the oldest organised structures in the Middle East. The first internationals were played under the British mandate, and after independence in 1948 the national team inherited an association that was already up and running. For decades the Ramat Gan Stadium, in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, was the team's home and the stage for its most celebrated nights, with an atmosphere that made visits from European heavyweights an uncomfortable assignment.

A nomad between confederations

Few national teams have changed sporting continent so often. Israel competed in the Asian Confederation from the start and came to dominate it, but in 1974 it was expelled from the AFC after several countries refused to face it for political reasons. What followed was a long exile: qualifying campaigns against opponents from Europe, the Americas and Oceania, a spell in the Oceania confederation between 1985 and 1989 and, finally, integration into UEFA, first as an invited participant in qualifying and from 1994 as a full member. That switch shaped its sporting destiny, turning a genuine continental contender in Asia into a mid-ranking side in the most competitive confederation on the planet.

The 1964 Asian Cup

Israel's great title arrived in 1964, when the team won the AFC Asian Cup staged on its own soil. It was the peak of a period in which Israel was an Asian power, with previous runner-up finishes and a generation able to go toe to toe with South Korea or India. More than sixty years later that trophy remains the only major honour in Israeli football and a constant reference point for a federation that would later be condemned to the margins of European qualifying.

Mexico 1970, the only World Cup

Qualifying for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico was the other landmark. Drawn in Group 2 alongside Italy, Uruguay and Sweden, Israel lost 0-2 to Uruguay, drew 1-1 with Sweden — with a goal from Mordechai Spiegler, their outstanding star, from around twenty metres in Toluca — and produced a remarkable 0-0 draw against Italy, who would go on to reach the final. Israel did not survive the group stage, but those two draws against European powers gave the country a calling card still remembered as its finest showing.

Decades of European qualifying

Since joining UEFA, Israel has settled into the continent's middle tier: capable of beating strong opposition at home and of putting together respectable campaigns, but still without qualifying for a European Championship or a World Cup. Demanding groups, a domestic league with limited resources and a geopolitical context that complicates logistics have made every cycle an uphill battle. Since 2023, moreover, the team has had to play most of its home fixtures abroad, mainly in Hungary, because of the security situation arising from the conflict in Gaza, stripping it of the home advantage that had historically been its best weapon.

The great names

Mordechai Spiegler, the scorer at the 1970 World Cup, opens any list of Israeli legends. Decades later came Yossi Benayoun, the country's most-capped footballer with 101 appearances and the name that opened Premier League doors for later generations after spells at West Ham, Liverpool and Chelsea. Eran Zahavi, a forward shaped at Hapoel and Maccabi Tel Aviv who also played for PSV Eindhoven, is the national team's all-time leading scorer. Among the current generation the standouts are winger Manor Solomon, who has played for Shakhtar Donetsk, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Villarreal, and full-back Eli Dasa, the captain.

Where the team stands in 2026

Israel tackled 2026 World Cup qualifying in European Group I, one of the toughest in the draw, and finished third on 12 points behind Norway, who won all eight matches and qualified directly, and Italy, who went into the play-offs. A record of four wins, 19 goals scored and 20 conceded captured a side able to put four past Moldova and to be swept aside by the group's heavyweights. After elimination, the project of Ran Ben-Shimon, head coach since 2024, continued: in March 2026 Israel drew 2-2 away to Georgia.