Why is Israel playing against Italy in the UEFA Nations League?

The final round of UEFA Nations League games begins on Monday with eight matches from the continental competition. One of the headline games sees Israel take on Italy in League A Group 2.

Israel were recently promoted to the top tier of the UEFA competition, placing them in a group with Italy, Belgium and World Cup finalists France. Israel has now been a member of European soccer’s governing body for three decades but has previously spent time in the sporting wilderness.

Here’s a look back at Israel’s history in soccer, and its route into UEFA competition...

Has Israel always been a part of UEFA?

The history of Israel as a nation is a complex and controversial one. That has been reflected in the world of soccer, where the IFA has been a member of two of the six different continental governing bodies.

When the state of Israel was founded in 1948 the Israel Football Association was created soon after, although it did not join a governing body until six years later.

In 1954 Israel was one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Since that time the AFC has grown and now covers 47 member nations across Asia, but Israel is now longer one of them. Israel spent 30 years as a part of the AFC from 1954 to 1974, even representing Asia at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, but faced significant opposition from other member nations.

Why does Israel play in European soccer?

Israel’s departure from AFC competition came shortly after that high point of the World Cup appearance. In the early 1970s many Arab and Muslim nations, including Kuwait and North Korea, refused to play against the Israeli national team.

This a stance saw Israel excluded from AFC competition. In 1974 a Kuwaiti motion to expel Israel from the AFC was adopted by members. This meant that, after three decades as an AFC member, the Israeli national team was not part of any continental governing body.

There were attempts from Israel to qualify for another World Cup by taking part in qualification alongside both European and Oceanian teams but they were unsuccessful. After years in the wilderness, Israel saw saw a major breakthrough in 1991 when it’s club sides began competing in UEFA tournaments.

The Israeli national team returned to UEFA’s World Cup qualification pathway as an associate member in 1992 and was admitted as a full member in 1994. Since then Israel has remained a part of European soccer’s governing body but found little success, competing against some of the world’s most storied international teams.

In 2018 Israel sunk to 99th in FIFA’s world soccer rankings, the lowest place since the move to UEFA in the early 1990s. However recent years have shown real improvement and the Israeli national team has now risen to 78th off the back of positive performances in the 2022/23 edition of the Nations League. Israel finished top of League B’s Group B2 and won promotion to League A, the top tier of European international soccer. Now they find themselves competing against some of most successful national teams on the planet.