Israel national under-21 football team

European national under-21 football team
Name = Israel Under-21 הנבחרת הצעירה
Badge = Israel football association new.jpg
Nickname =
Association = Israel Football Association
Coach = Motti Ivanir
Captain = Ohad Levita
Most caps =
Top scorer =
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leftarm1=0043dc|body1=0043dc|rightarm1=0043dc|shorts1=0043dc|socks1=0043dc|pattern_sh1=
First game = Flagicon|GRE Greece U-21 2-2 Israel U-21 Flagicon|ISR
(Greece; 1990)
Largest win = Flagicon|ISR Israel U-21 6-0 Austria U-21 Flagicon|AUT
(Israel)
Largest loss = Flagicon|ISR Israel-U21 0-4 Spain U-21 Flagicon|ESP
(Israel)
UEFAu21Champ apps = 1
UEFAu21Champ first = 2007
UEFAu21Champ best = Group Stage|

Israel's national Under-21 team ( _he. 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).

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.

Coach

The current U-21 team coach is Eli Ohana.

Eli Ohana is assisted by Meir Sinai as fitness coach, Yisrael Ayani is the goalkeeping coach, Dr. David Eljam is the team doctor and Amtzia Bashan is the team physiotherapist.

Current and recent players

Players born in 1986 or later are eligible for the 2007-09 UEFA European U-21 Championship, players born in 1988 or later are eligible for the 2009-11 UEFA European U-21 Championship, and so on. The Under-19 team will be the most obvious source of the next crop of Under-21s.

Those players in "italics" have caps for the senior team.

European Under-21 Football Championship 2007 Squad

fbu|21|Israel

Head coach: Motti Ivanir
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See also

* European Under-21 Football Championship
* Israel (Senior) team

References

External links

* [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/Under21 Uefa Under-21 website] Contains full results archive
* [http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/europe-u21.html 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.