Israel’s 1970 World Cup campaign had two head-coach chapters: Emanuel Scheffer guided the qualification campaign, and Englishman Jack Mansell led the side at the finals in Mexico. The distinction corrects a common mix-up. Israel qualified by beating Australia in a two-leg playoff, then recorded two draws and a defeat in the tournament.
Scheffer and Mansell in 1970
Scheffer was in charge during the successful qualification route. Mansell took over for the World Cup finals. Israel opened with a 2–0 loss to Uruguay, drew 1–1 with Sweden, and ended with a 0–0 draw against Italy. FIFA’s retrospective describes Israel’s debut and close results; its match archive lists the fixtures.
Coaches in the UEFA era
Shlomo Scharf coached Israel from 1992 to 1999 and came close to taking the team to Euro 2000. Israel reached the qualifying playoffs, where it lost to Denmark. Richard Møller Nielsen, the Danish coach who had led Denmark to the 1992 European title, then managed Israel from 2000 to 2002. UEFA’s contemporary review of the Euro 2000 and 2002 World Cup campaigns records the transition between the two coaches.
Later appointments included Austrian Andreas Herzog, who coached Israel from 2018 to 2020. The national side has also had many Israeli coaches across eras; a complete list is best checked against the association’s match records because tenures and interim appointments can overlap. UEFA’s contemporary coaching report documents Scharf and Møller Nielsen.
For the result that defined the 1970 generation, see Israel’s World Cup qualification and finals record.