Is the Future Bright for the Israel National Soccer Team?

Figure 1 Israel’s performances have improved in recent years

Soccer has a long tradition in Israel. The earliest international match can be traced back to 1930 and the team has competed in a number of federations since the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. There have been periods of failure but the national team may now be able to look towards a bright future.

While the online betting sites of the world may not think that Israel will be winning any major competitions anytime soon, there has been a definite improvement in the last few years. Could we see Israel at a World Cup or European Championship in the near future?

Brief History Since 1948

A founding member of the Asian Football Confederation, Israel won the Asian Cup in 1964 and finished runner-up on two other occasions. But by 1974, other nations had begun to refuse to play Israel and it was excluded from AFC competitions. This led to a nomadic existence, moving between other federations.

After a brief spell in the OFC, when Israel got to one game of the 1990 World Cup, a home was found in UEFA. Israel has competed in European qualification campaigns ever since – and has made it to tournament playoff stages. But there is still only one major tournament that Israel has qualified for.

World Cup 1970

In a chaotic political time for the region, a bright spot for soccer fans in Israel was the 1970 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico. At the time there was a combined AFC and OFC group, with Israel beating both New Zealand and North Korea before qualifying ahead of Australia in the final round.

At the World Cup itself, Israel was grouped with Italy, Uruguay and Sweden. With such tough opponents, the team did well to record two draws, with the only defeat at the hands of Uruguay. Motaleh Spiegler scored the only goal in the draw with Sweden and remains the only Israeli to score at a World Cup finals.

Recent Qualification Campaigns

Since the early 1990s, Israel has spent most of its time in the mid-40s of the FIFA world rankings. There have been some real low points – in the late 1990s and mid-2000s especially. There have been some impressive results though, including beating France in Paris in 1993 – the year before Les Bleus won the World Cup.

A disappointing Euro 2020 qualifying campaign saw Israel finish fifth in its group, with only three wins from ten games. But a strong Nations League showing did mean a playoff game that was eventually lost to Scotland. A better World Cup 2022 showing ended with a third place finish in the group – unfortunately not good enough to make the finals.

Figure 2 Could we see the flag raised at a major tournament soon?

The Nations League

The formation of a new competition by UEFA in 2018 has been the main catalyst of an upturn for the Israel national team. The decision to scrap most meaningless friendlies and use the new Nations League as a potential qualification route improved the standard of many nations across the world – including Israel.

After starting off in the third tier, Israel was able to show their superiority over similar level nations and has steadily climbed up the UEFA rankings. Winning its group last year means that Israel will now be playing in the top tier against the very best national teams in Europe.

The Future of Israeli Football

The most recent qualifying campaign has only just started, with Israel hoping to finish in the top two of its group and qualify for the European Championship to be held in Germany next year. A favorable draw sees Israel face Switzerland, Romania, Kosovo, Andorra and Belarus.

There will be confidence in the players to make it through – and there is also the fall back of a guaranteed playoff place thanks to previous Nations League results. With most of the squad playing for Israeli clubs, there is a very strong team spirit within the group and there is a real hope that we will soon see the country represented at a major tournament for the first time in 54 years.