In Israeli football (soccer), the Israel national under-19 football team and the Israel national under-20 football team (נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל עד גיל 20); or simply Israel Under-19s, Israel U19s; Israel Under-20s, Israel U20s - both squads are also regarded as the feeders for the Israel national under-21 team. This team is for Israeli players aged 19 (or under) at the start of a two-year UEFA European Under-19 Championship campaign) so players may be up to 20 years old, such as in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In addition to the Israel's senior squad, there are also the Israeli squads for U-21 players, and other youth teams such as, the U-18, the U-17, and the U-16. Players are not level or nation static so can compete at any level as long as they are eligible; U19s do not relinquish level or nation association while competing and can compete on senior side, then back to U19s, and "youth level' or senior level with another nation. As of 2021, the Israel U19 home ground is the Netanya Stadium in the city of Netanya, Israel.

History

The idea to form a youth team first came about in 1957, as the IFA (Israel Football Association) considered entering a team to the 1958 UEFA European Under-18 Championship tournament. The youth team played its debut match against its England equivalent on 20 May 1962, losing 1–3. Two days later, the Israeli squad recorded its first victory, winning 2–1 in a rematch in England. In 1964, the youth team participated for its debut time in the AFC Youth Championship tournament, sharing the cup with Burma in its first tournament in 1964. The team continued to win the title five more times in the next 8 years, before Israel was boycotted by Muslim and Arab countries along with North Korea, that voted against its participation in AFC tournaments during the 1970s. Until 1992, the youth team's only official tournaments were FIFA Youth Championship qualification tournaments, twice participating in the process in the OFC U-20 Championship and once in the South American Youth Football Championship. At the same period of time, to give the youth squad its share of international matches, the IFA established an annual tournament for under-18 teams, which was held in December and January between 1974 and 1989 (after which the tournament became a tournament for under-17 teams). In 1992, as Israel was admitted to UEFA, the squad began participating in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship (an under-18 tournament until 2002), appearing in the final tournament in 1997 and 2014 and in 2022. Israel qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup by virtue of its performance at the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, finishing 2nd place after a loss to England in the final, 1–3 after extra time (1–1 at full time). Throughout the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Israel started against Colombia, which they lost 1–2. Then, they drew against Senegal 1–1. They came back from behind with 10-men to beat Japan 2–1, which secured Israel a spot in the knockout stage. Israel advanced out of the first knockout round with a 1–0 win against Uzbekistan. In the quarter-finals, they came from behind twice to defeat 5-time South American champions Brazil 3–2 in extra time. However, they lost to Uruguay in the semi-finals 0–1. Israel went on to defeat South Korea 3–1 to secure third place in their FIFA U-20 World Cup debut.

Results and fixtures – Israel U-20

2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Group stage

The top two teams of each group and the four best third-placed teams advanced to the round of 16. All times are in Israel Summer Time (Israel Daylight Time, IDT), although the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup is entirely held at Argentina.

Group C

The four best third-placed teams from the six groups advanced to the knockout stage along with the six group winners and six runners-up.

Knockout stage

Bracket

Round of 16 (Eight-finals)

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third place play-off

International records

FIFA U-20 World Cup

AFC U-19 Championship

FIFA World Youth Championship Intercontinental play-off

***** Despite both matches of Israel against Australia being hosted in the same city of Sydney, Australia – Australia still won on away goals.

OFC U-20 Championship

South American Youth Championship

UEFA European Under-18 Championship

UEFA European Under-19 Championship

Results and fixtures – Israel U-19

2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship

Qualifiers

Qualifying Round – Group 4

Elite Round – Group 1

Qualified teams for the final tournament

The following teams qualified for the final tournament of the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. Note: All appearance statistics include only U-19 era (since 2002).

2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship - Final tournament

Group stage

The final tournament schedule was announced on 28 April 2022. The group winners and runners-up advanced to the semi-finals and qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Group B

Knockout stage

Bracket

FIFA U-20 World Cup play-off

Winners qualified for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Semi-finals

Final

Coaching staff – U-19 with U-20

Players

Current squad

The following players were called for the 2025 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification matches against Albania, Northern Ireland and Denamrk, on 13, 16 and 19 November 2024; respectively. Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2024, after the match against Denamrk.

Current Under-19 squad

Honours

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Israel's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-20 World Cup.