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]
| AFC Asian Cup record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | |
 1956 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | |
| 1960 | Runners-up | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | |
 1964 | Champions | 1st | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1968 | Third Place | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | |
 1972 | Withdrew | ||||||||
| Total | Champions | 4/15 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 28 | 15 | |
Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Israel competed at the 1956 AFC Asian Cup. This was the first AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s first appearance.[6]
| Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 1 |
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With four goals, Nahum Stelmach is the top scorer in the tournament.
Head coach: Jackie Gibbons
Israel competed at the 1960 AFC Asian Cup. This was the second AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s second appearance.
| Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 8 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | –2 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 9 | –2 | 4 |
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| Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 0 |
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Head coach: 
Gyula Mándi
Israel competed at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. This was the third AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s third appearance.
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]
| 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 | |
Israel as the host nation automatically qualified for the tournament.[14]
| Team | width=25 | width=25 | width=25 | width=25 | width=25 | width=25 | width=25 | width=25 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 | |||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |||
| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | |||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
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Head coach: Yosef Merimovich
Israel competed at the 1968 AFC Asian Cup. This was the fourth AFC Asian Cup and Israel’s fourth and last appearance.
After the 1968 tournament Israel did not compete in a regional football tournament for many years. Israel was expelled from the AFC in the early 1970s and eventually became a member of UEFA.[15] After joining the UEFA Israel began competing in the UEFA European Championship in 1996.
Israel qualified for the tournament by default after all other teams in their zone withdrew from the tournament.[16]
| Team | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 8 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 5 | ||
| 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 1 |
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With 4 goals, Giora Spiegel and Moshe Romano of Israel tied with Homayoun Behzadi of Iran as the top scorers of the tournament.
Head coach: Milovan Ćirić