Israel at the AFC Asian Cup
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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] In 1972 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 Games in Iran, 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]
1956 AFC Asian Cup
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Korea |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 5 |
 Israel |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 |
 Hong Kong |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 2 |
 South Vietnam |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 2 – 3 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
Au Chi Yin  12', 66' |
Glazer 37', 76' Stelmach 69' |
| Israel | 1 – 2 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Stelmach 71' |
Woo Sang-kwon 52' Sung Nak-woon 64' |
| Israel | 2 – 1 | South Vietnam |
|---|---|---|
| Stelmach 14', 27' |
Trần Văn Tổng 58' |
With four goals, Nahum Stelmach is the top scorer in the tournament.
- 4 goals
- 2 goals
Head coach: 
Jackie Gibbons
1960 AFC Asian Cup
Israel competed at the 1960 AFC Asian Cup. This was the second AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s second appearance.[6]
Qualification – Western Zone
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 8 |
 Iran |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 7 |
 Pakistan |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | –2 | 5 |
 India |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 9 | –2 | 4 |
Tournament results
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 South Korea |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 |
| Israel |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 |
 Republic of China |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| South Vietnam |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 |
| South Korea | 3 – 0 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Cho Yoon-Ok 17', 60' Woo Sang-Kwon 30' |
| South Vietnam | 1 – 5 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Trần Văn Nhung 68' (pen.) |
R. Levi 13' Stelmach 18'S. Levi 25'Menchel 32'Aharonskind 70' |
| Israel | 1 – 0 | Republic of China |
|---|---|---|
| S. Levi 72' |
Goal scorers
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
Squad
Head coach: 
Gyula Mándi
1964 AFC Asian Cup
Israel competed at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. This was the third AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s third appearance.[6]
Host nation
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]
Venues
| Ramat Gan | Haifa | Tel Aviv | Jerusalem | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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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 |
 |
 |
Qualification
Israel as the host nation automatically qualified for the tournament.[14]
Tournament results
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Israel |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
| India |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 |
| South Korea |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 |
 Hong Kong |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
Goal scorers
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
Squad
Head coach: Yosef Merimovich
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Haim Levin | 3 March 1937 (aged 27) | 1 | 0 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | |
| GK | Itzhak Vissoker | 18 September 1944 (aged 19) | 4 | 0 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | |
| DF | Avraham Kalmi | 1 | 0 | Maccabi Jaffa | ||
| DF | David Primo | 5 May 1946 (aged 18) | 2 | 0 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | |
| DF | Haim Bahar | 10 April 1943 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | |
| DF | Moshe Leon | 9 January 1944 (aged 20) | 7 | 0 | Maccabi Jaffa | |
| DF | Shaul Matania | 8 March 1937 (aged 19) | 17 | 0 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | |
| MF | Amatzia Levkovich | 27 December 1937 (aged 18) | 36 | 1 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | |
| MF | Gideon Tish | 13 October 1939 (aged 16) | 34 | 0 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | |
| MF | Mordechai Spiegler | 19 August 1944 (aged 19) | 4 | 1 | Maccabi Netanya | |
| MF | Nahum Stelmach | 19 July 1936 (aged 27) | 45 | 20 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | |
| MF | Yehezkel Katsav | 1945 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | Maccabi Jaffa | |
| MF | Yosef Mahalal | 25 December 1939 (aged 24) | 4 | 2 | Bnei Yehuda | |
| FW | Einstein Kalish | 1939 (aged 25) | 2 | 0 | Maccabi Jaffa | |
| FW | Rahamim Talbi | 17 May 1943 (aged 21) | 0 | 0 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | |
| FW | Roby Young | 15 May 1942 (aged 22) | 13 | 2 | Hapoel Haifa | |
| FW | Shlomo Levi | 1 June 1934 (aged 29) | 11 | 6 | Hapoel Ramat Gan | |
| FW | Yohai Aharoni | 8 June 1943 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Hapoel Mahane Yehuda |
