Israel national under-21 football team

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Israel Under-21
הנבחרת הצעירה

Nickname

Association

Israel Football Association

Coach

Guy Levi

Captain

{{{Captain}}}

Most caps

Top scorer





Home colours





Away colours

First International
Greece U-21 2-2 Israel U-21
(Greece; 1990)

Largest win
Israel U-21 6-0 Austria U-21
(Israel)

Worst defeat
Israel-U21 0-4 Spain U-21
(Israel)

UEFA U-21 Championship

Appearances

1 (First in 2007)

Best result

edit

Israel's national Under-21 team (Hebrew: הנבחרת הצעירה של ישראל בכדורגל), also known as Israel Under-21s or Israel U-21s, is considered to be the feeder team for the Israel national football team. It has recently qualified for the European Championships to be held in Holland after beating the French under-21 team 2-1 on aggregate.

This team is for Israeli players aged 21 or under at the start of a two-year European Under-21 Football Championship campaign, so players can be, and often are, up to 23 years old. Also in existence are teams for Under-20s (for non-UEFA tournaments), Under-19s and Under 17s. As long as they are eligible, players can play at any level, making it possible to play for the U-21s, senior side and again for the U-21s, as Shlomi Arbeitman has done recently. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible).

The U-21 team came into existence, following the Israel's acceptance as a full member of UEFA. A draw in a qualifier against Greece in Greece was Israel U-21s' first result.

Israel U-21s do not have a permanent home. They play in stadia dotted all around Israel in an attempt to encourage fans in all areas of the country to get behind Israel. Because of the lack of appeal compared to the senior national team, smaller grounds are used (such as Herzliya Stadium).

1 Competition History
2 Coach
3 Current and recent players
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Competition History

There is no Under-21 World Cup, although there is an Under-20 World Cup. European U-21 teams compete for the European Championship, with the finals every even-numbered year. It will be held in odd-numbered years from 2007. Israel has never fared well in European Under-21 Football Championships.

The current campaign started shortly after the 2006 finals - the qualification stage of the 2007 competition. UEFA have decided to shift the next tournament forward to avoid a clash with senior tournaments taking place in even-numbered years. The competition has therefore been reduced as qualifying must be completed in a year's less time. In their three-team qualification group, Israel finished ahead of Turkey and Wales. In the two-legged play-off against France for a place in the final stage, the team achieved a surprising 1-1 draw in France and won the home match 1-0, with Amir Taga scoring in extra time.

Note: The year of the tournament represents the year in which it ends.

[edit] Coach

The current U-21 team coach is Guy Levi.

Guy Levi is assisted by Meiri Sinai as fitness coach, Yisrael Ayani is the goalkeeping coach, Dr. David Eljam is the team doctor and Amtzia Bashan is the team physiotherapist.

[edit] Current and recent players

Players born in 1983 or later were eligible for the 2004-2006 competition. Only players born in 1985 or later will be eligible for the forthcoming campaign. The U-19 team will be the most obvious source of the next crop of Under-21s.

Goalkeepers

Yosi Shekel
Yahav Yulzeri
Tom Almadon

Defenders

Shai Maimon
Naor Peser
Muhammed Shakhbari
Yuval Shpungin
Eliran Danin
Oded Elkayam
Nitzan Damari
Dekel Keinan

Midfielders

Lior Jan
Kobi Dejani
Amir Taga
Idan Sarour
Daniel Ungar
Lior Refaelov
Maor Zohar

Forwards

Barak Yitzhaki
Itay Shechter
Omer Peretz
Roi Dayan
Ben Sahar
Eden Ben-Basat
Tomer Hemed
Ahmed Kasoum
Maor Buzaglo
Toto Tammuz
Amit Ben-Shushan
Shlomi Arbeitman

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Uefa Under-21 website Contains full results archive
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21 Championship hosts and additional statistics, such as the Group Winners table for the 1998 qualifiers.

European Under-21 Championship v • d • e
National under-21 football teams of Europe (UEFA) v • d • e
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