20 October 1968 - Lots May Be Fair, But They're Not As Exciting

A 1-1 Olympic quarterfinal draw between Bulgaria and Israel on 20 October 1968 resulted in FIFA's adoption of penalty shootouts.

The two teams met at the Nou Camp in León, Mexico. It was apparently a heated affair, as the official FIFA report of the match indicates that referee Michel Kitabdjian issued six cautions in the first minute (three to each team).

Despite boasting a strong attack that racked up the group stage's best tally of 11 goals, Bulgaria took an early lead with a 5th-minute goal from an unlikely source, Slavia Sofia defender Georgi Hristakiev. For the next 84 minutes, Hristakiev played a more traditional role as Bulgaria managed to stifle Israel's own prolific offense--they had scored 8 goals in the group stage, including a hat-trick from Hapoel Tel Aviv striker Yehoshua Feigenbaum against Ghana in their opening match.

But Feigenbaum eventually cracked the Bulgarian defense, drawing Israel level in the 89th minute and the match ended at 1-1 after 90 minutes. In order to determine which team would advance, the rules at the time required the drawing of lots. Bulgaria won and progressed to the semifinals where they beat Mexico, 2-3. They then moved on to the final, losing to Hungary 4-1.

After watching his team lose via lots, Israeli Yosef Dagan proposed to resolve draws with the modern penalty shootout, which FIFA adopted in 1970.

18 February 2004 - An Impressive First Impression

On 18 February 2004, Israel beat Azerbaijan 6-0 in a friendly played at Tel Aviv's Ramat Gan Stadium. It was a memorable match for Israeli forward Shlomi Arbeitman, making his international debut.

Arbeitman (right) scored a hat-trick, which set two Israeli national team records: he was the first national team player to score three goals on his debut and, at the age of 18 years, 270 days, he was the youngest person to score a hat-trick for the national team.

Unfortunately, they would prove to be Arbeitman's only international goals, as he was unable to replicate his success against Azerbaijan in his four other national team appearances. He currently plays for Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Haifa, his club since 2005.

26 September 1948 - Shalom!

On 26 September 1948, the United States beat Israel 3-1 in a friendly before a crowd of approximately 50,000 at Giants Stadium in New York. The match was the first for the Israeli national team.

The Israel Football Association is the successor to the Palestine Football Association, which was founded in 1920 and joined FIFA in 1929. When the state of Israel declared its independence in 1948, the IFA became the new governing body for the new national team.

In that first match, the US took an early lead with a goal from forward Ed Souza in the 13th minute. The lead didn't last long, however, as right midfielder Shmulik Ben-Dror scored a 20th-minute equalizer for Israel--the new national team's first ever goal. The Americans reclaimed the lead right before the break, as forward Ben McLaughlin found the net in the 44th minute. Souza finished the scoring in the 57th minute to complete his brace and secure the win.

16 June 1927 - The Real Hebrew Hammer

On 16 June 1927, Yaakov Hodorov was born in Rishon LeZion, Palestine. Remembered as one of the best goalkeepers of his generation, he played for the Israeli national team from 1949 to 1964.

Hodorov began his professional career in 1942 at the age of 15 with his hometown club Maccabi Rishon LeZion, but moved after a couple of years to local rival Hapoel Rishon LeZion. In 1947, he moved again, this time to Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he spent the majority of his club career and won his first major honors - the Israeli league championship in 1957 and the Israeli cup in 1960.

One of Hodorov's most memorable matches was a World Cup qualifier against Wales on 5 February 1958. At the time, Israel was playing in the Asian Football Confederation and almost qualified for the 1958 World Cup without playing a match. Israel's first scheduled opponent was Turkey, who refused to compete in the Asian group, allowing Israel to advance. Israel's opponent in the second round, Indonesia, withdrew from qualification after FIFA rejected their request to play Israel on neutral ground. Israel was then scheduled to play Sudan in the third round, but the Sudanese refused to play.

Israel would have qualified automatically, but FIFA ruled that, apart from the hosts and the defending champions, no team could qualify without playing a match and thus drew Wales for a special playoff against Israel. After Wales won the first leg 2-0 in Israel, the teams met in Cardiff on 5 February 1958. Wales again won 2-0, but Hodorov drew high praise for making several outstanding saves and playing after suffering a broken nose in a collision with Welsh striker John Charles.

Hadorov reportedly received numerous offers to play for European clubs including Arsenal, Dundee United, and Fenerbahçe, but chose to play his entire career in Israel.

In 2006, the Israeli government awarded him the Israel Prize for excellence and contribution to sports. He had a stroke shortly before the presentation ceremony, however, and was unable to attend. He died on 31 December 2006 at the age of 79.