Israel
National Team Information
General Info
UEFA
הכחולים-לבנים (The Blue and Whites), הנבחרת (The Chosen Team)
- Eran Zahavi – 33 goals
- Mordechai Spiegler – 24 goals
- Ronen Harazi, Yossi Benayoun – 23 goals (tie)
- Nahum Stelmach – 19 goals
Mordechai Spiegler – The most decorated Israeli soccer player, Mordechai Spiegler won Israeli footballer of the year a record four times. A striker, Spiegler scored two goals in Israel’s 1964 AFC Asian Cup triumph. He had a highly successful career in Israel and also played for PSG and alongside Pele with the New York Cosmos.
Alon Mizrahi – The Israeli Premier League’s top all-time goal scorer is Alon Mizrahi. Mizrahi scored 206 times in the top-flight Israeli soccer league. The striker was the top scorer in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in the 1993-94 and 1998-99 seasons.
Yossi Benayoun – Perhaps Israel’s most famous soccer player, Yossi Benayoun played for Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham and QPR in England. With over 100 appearances for the Israel national team, the midfielder is the most capped player in national team history. Benayoun also played for five Israeli soccer clubs and won two league titles.
Eyal Berkovic – An attacking midfielder, Eyal Berkovic had a successful career in England, Scotland and Israel. Berkovic was the Israeli Footballer of the Year in 1994 and was a three-time Israeli State Cup winner with Maccabi Haifa.
Avi Cohen – Defender Avi Cohen was the first Israeli soccer player to play in England. Cohen won a league title and European tournaments in his short career with Liverpool and two league titles at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Cohen also made 51 appearances for the Israel national team.
Israel’s only major soccer trophy came at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, when they still played in the Asian confederation. The tournament was played as a four-team round-robin with Israel qualifying as the host nation. In their first match, the blue and whites defeated Hong Kong 1-0 from a Mordechai Spiegler goal. Spiegler also scored in the second match vs. India as Israel won 2-0. In front of 35,000 fans in Ramat Gan, Israel clinched the title with a 2-1 victory over South Korea.
The first time Israel played at a World Cup was in 1970. While their performance wasn’t awful, it was certainly uninspiring. In their first-ever World Cup match, Israel fell 2-0 to Uruguay. Spiegler scored Israel’s first and only World Cup goal in the second match vs. Sweden. A hard-fought contest ended in a 1-1 draw. Still technically alive in their last match but needing a win to advance, Israel drew 0-0 with eventual finalists Italy.
Israel National Football Team History
Palestine Football Association
Before the creation of the State of Israel, the Palestine Football Association was the only one in the region. Only Jewish played on the British Mandate of Palestine national team, with Arabs excluded. The team only played five matches before being dissolved. When the state of Israel was created in 1948, a national team was quickly created. In their first match, they lost 3-1 to the US Olympic team
1954 - 1974 History
Israel played in the Asian Football Confederation from 1954 to 1974 but were boycotted by the Arab League. This meant that Israel won the 1958 Asia and Africa World Cup, qualifying without playing a single match. They lost a playoff against Wales to miss out on the World Cup. The Blue and Whites’ only major trophy came in 1964 when they hosted and won the AFC Asian Cup.
The first time Israel played in the Olympics was 1968 and they reached the quarterfinals stage. One year later, they sealed the qualification for their first and only World Cup. Israel managed two draws and a loss and Mordechai Spiegler still has Israel’s only World Cup goal. In 1974, multiple countries refused to play against Israel and proposed excluding them from the AFC. This motion passed and Israel began to play most of their matches against European teams.
UEFA World Cup qualifiers
Israel competed in UEFA World Cup qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup and entered Oceania’s qualifiers for the next two World Cups. They finished above Australia and New Zealand in OFC qualifiers in 1989 which led to a playoff against Colombia. Israel lost 1-0 over two legs and became full UEFA members in 1994.
They had a couple of excellent results in the 90s, like beating France 3-2 in Paris and defeating Austria 5-0. However, Israel have failed to qualify for a major tournament in UEFA. However, Israel came quite close in both 2000 and 2008. They lost to Denmark in a Euro 2000 playoff and finished one point behind second-place Russia in Euro 2008 qualifiers.
2022 World Cup
Israel soccer betting has gained in popularity over the last few years as the team has done reasonably well. They finished in third place in their group in 2022 World Cup qualifiers and won their group in the 2022 UEFA Nations League B.
Israel Soccer Leagues & Clubs:
Israeli Premier League:
The top-level league in Israel is called the Israeli Premier League. It’s a popular league for domestic Israel soccer betting and has 14 teams. All teams first play a double round-robin and then the league splits into a championship round and a relegation round with points carrying over. The top six teams play another double round-robin to determine the league winner. Meanwhile, the bottom eight teams play a single round-robin and the 13th and 14th place teams are relegated to the Liga Leumit.
Israeli Premier League Clubs 2022-23:
| Team |
|---|
| Beitar Jerusalem |
| Bnei Sakhnin |
| F.C. Ashdod |
| Hapoel Be’er Sheva |
| Hapoel Hadera |
| Hapoel Haifa |
| Hapoel Jerusalem |
| Ironi Kiryat Shmona |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| Maccabi Bnei Reineh |
| Maccabi Haifa |
| Maccabi Netanya |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| Sektzia Ness Ziona |
Liga Leumit:
The second-level Israeli soccer league is called the Liga Leumit. This was the top league until the creation of the Israeli Premier League in 1999. There are 16 teams in the league and it also follows a double round-robin format with a championship and relegation round. The top eight sides participate in the championship round and contest a round-robin. Concurrently, the bottom eight teams play in a round-robin in the relegation round. The top two teams earn promotion to the Israeli Premier League and the bottom two teams are relegated to Liga Alef.
Liga Leumit Clubs 2022-23:
| Team |
|---|
| A.S. Ashdod |
| Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv |
| F.C. Kafr Qasim |
| Hapoel Acre |
| Hapoel Afula |
| Hapoel Kfar Saba |
| Hapoel Nof HaGalil |
| Hapoel Petah Tikva |
| Hapoel Ramat Gan |
| Hapoel Ramat HaSharon |
| Hapoel Rishon LeZion |
| Hapoel Umm al-Fahm |
| Ironi Tiberias |
| Maccabi Ahi Nazareth |
| Maccabi Jaffa Tel Aviv |
| Maccabi Petah Tikva |
Israel Cups & Tournaments
Israel’s soccer teams compete in the Israel State Cup each year. The knockout tournament is primarily contested through single-leg ties, except the two-legged quarterfinals. Teams on higher levels of the soccer pyramid enter the tournament at a later stage than amateur teams. Maccabi Tel Aviv have won the most Israeli State Cups, with 24 titles.
The recently-revived Israel Super Cup features the winner of the Israeli Premier League and the Israel State Cup. While the match wasn’t played from 1991 to 2014 it has been played every year since. If a team wins both the Israeli Premier League and the Israel State Cup the second team in the match is the league runner-up. Since it was reintroduced only Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Be’er Sheva have won the Super Cup.
Israel Soccer Betting Information
Betting on the Israeli Premier League
The Israeli Premier League is the first-choice league for Israel soccer betting. The league is typically very low scoring, with an emphasis on defense. 60 percent of matches had a clean sheet in the 2021-22 season. Bettors should also note that teams taking part in the championship round play three more games each than teams in the relegation round.
Since the league’s inception in 1999, six teams have won the title. They are Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ironi Kiryat Shmona. The big four clubs in Israel are known as Beitar Jerusalem, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Their dominance has also been challenged by Hapoel Be’er Sheva in recent seasons, as Hapoel have three titles since the 2015-16 season.
There are some strong trends in the league to also be aware of. Totals betting can be a good option on certain matches as 56 percent finished with under 2½ goals in 2021-22. Also, while a goal was only scored in the first ten minutes seven percent of the time, goals occurred in the last ten minutes of matches 20 percent of the time in 2021-22.
Israel National Team Betting Tips & Odds
Israel's recent success opens the door to their first European Championship, with a manageable qualifying group and promising players.
The Israel national team have done quite well over the last couple of years. With a first place finish in their Nations League B group, they’ll participate in the UEFA Nations League A for the first time in 2024-25. They also managed to finish in third place in their World Cup qualifying group over Austria. With their recent performances, Israel may have a chance to qualify for their first European Championship in 2024.
Some betting tips may even suggest picking them to get there. They’ve been placed in a manageable Euro 2024 qualifying group which also includes Switzerland, Romania, Kosovo, Belarus and Andorra. A top two finish will be enough to qualify for the tournament but there’s still a path for Israel if not. If they finish outside the top two, they’ll enter the Nations League B playoff path because of their first-place finish.
Forward Mu’nas Dabbur’s retirement hurts the team but Israel still have some good players. Fulham attacking midfielder Manor Solomon could take on more goal-scoring responsibility in the coming years. Shon Weissman is another option up top, while Eli Dasa has been a reliable defender for a while.
Summary
The Israeli Premier League is a league that emphasizes defense. That should certainly inform punters’ betting strategies. While the league isn’t widely followed outside of Israel, Maccabi Haifa did appear in the group stage of the 2022-23 Champions League. By defeating Juventus, they raised the profile of the league a fair bit.
Keep on the lookout for betting opportunities over the next few years on the Israel national team. Their Euro qualifying campaign has the potential to be a historic one based on recent results. Getting back to another World Cup may continue to be a challenge, though.
