Israel Hosts and Wins the Asian Cup

In 1964, Israel hosted the third AFC Asian Cup and won it, taking the only major continental football title in its history. The tournament was small by modern standards, but the victory remains a landmark for Israeli sport and a reminder that the country once competed within Asian football before its later move to European competition.

The Asian Football Confederation had been founded in 1954, and the first Asian Cup was held in Hong Kong in 1956, followed by a second edition in South Korea in 1960. Israel's football association had been among the early members of the confederation, and the national team had already finished as runner-up in 1956 and 1960 before the 1964 tournament. Israel's place in Asian football was becoming increasingly awkward, however. Several Arab and Muslim-majority states refused to play against Israeli teams, and political tensions in the region shaped the sport as they did much else.

The 1964 tournament was played in Israel in the spring, with matches staged in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Only four teams took part: Israel, India, South Korea and Hong Kong. Many countries that might have competed withdrew or did not enter, and the boycott by much of the Arab world was a factor in the small field. The competition was played as a round-robin league rather than with knockout rounds. Israel won all of its matches, finishing first ahead of India, with South Korea and Hong Kong behind. Sources generally credit the Israeli side with a dominant campaign, and the team featured players such as Mordechai Spiegler, who would later become one of the country's best-known footballers, though accounts of individual contributions vary.

The result gave Israel its first and so far only Asian Cup, and it came at a time when the young state, founded in 1948, was eager for international recognition. Critics have noted that the weak field diminishes the achievement somewhat, while supporters point out that Israel had been a consistent contender in earlier editions and deserved its win.

The legacy is complicated by what followed. Pressure from Arab and other nations continued, and in the 1970s Israel was effectively excluded from Asian competition, with the AFC expelling it in 1974. After years playing in other qualifying groups, the national team was admitted to UEFA in 1994. Israel qualified for the 1970 World Cup as an Asian-Oceanian representative, its only appearance at the tournament, but the 1964 Asian Cup remains the country's sole continental title.