The FIFA World Cup 2026, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is now into its group stage, with matches taking place across sixteen cities and generating record television and streaming audiences globally. For Israeli football fans, the tournament offers a bittersweet pleasure: the national team, which competed in UEFA qualifying Group I alongside Norway, Italy, Moldova, Estonia, and the Faroe Islands, ultimately finished third with 12 points and did not progress to the final playoff round.
Israel's campaign had its moments — most memorably a 4-1 demolition of Moldova and a hard-fought away win in Estonia — but the side struggled against the group's stronger opponents, conceding five goals in a 5-4 defeat to Italy in September 2025. Norway won the group outright and progressed directly to the finals, while Italy advanced through the playoff route. The Israeli football association has described the campaign as a learning experience and signaled its intention to submit a formal bid for a future tournament co-hosting role.
A Nation Watching
Despite missing the tournament itself, Israel is following the World Cup closely. Broadcaster rights holders report strong audience figures, with the opening matches drawing some of the highest football viewership numbers in several years. The tournament's North American setting means that many games kick off in the evening Israeli time, a favorable broadcast window that is expected to sustain audience interest through the knockout stages.
Even watching from the stands rather than the pitch, this World Cup is a reminder of what the game can be — and what we're working toward for the next cycle.
Israeli supporters have been following several clubs whose players have Israeli teammates or historical connections to the country. A small number of players with Israeli nationality or dual eligibility have appeared at the tournament in the colors of other national associations, a fact that has generated discussion about the development pathways available to talented young Israeli footballers and the federation's capacity to retain the most gifted players within the national system.
Looking Ahead
The Israel Football Association used the occasion of the World Cup to announce a new investment program in youth football infrastructure, aimed at raising participation rates and improving coaching quality at the grassroots level. The program, which is funded jointly by the association and municipal authorities in several cities, targets the age groups from under-12 to under-17 and is designed to build the pipeline that will compete in the next qualifying cycle beginning in 2027.
The association also confirmed that domestic league matches will resume in mid-August following the summer break, with several clubs having completed early transfer activity ahead of the new season. Interest in the Premier League season is expected to be heightened by the World Cup's effects on player confidence and tactical development at the elite level.