Football at the 1961 Maccabiah Games

Football at the 1961 Maccabiah Games
Tournament details
Host country Israel
Dates 30 August – 6 September
Teams 6
Venue(s) 6 (in 6 host cities)
Final positions
Champions  Great Britain
Runners-up  Israel
Third place  South Africa
Fourth place   Switzerland
Tournament statistics
Matches played 11
Goals scored 49 (4.45 per match)

Football at the 1961 Maccabiah Games was held in several stadiums in Israel starting on 30 August.

The competition was open for men's teams only. Teams from 6 countries participated. For the first time since the establishment of Israel, the hosts didn't win the tournament, as Israel lost in the medals group to the team from United Kingdom, who went on to win the title.[1][2]

As part of the closing ceremony, an exhibition match was played between Israel and Juventus F.C., which resulted with a 3–3 draw.[3]

Format

The six teams were divided into two groups, each team playing the others once. The top two qualified for the medals group, while the bottom two played for the 6th-7th places.

Results

First round

Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
 Israel 2110323
 South Africa 2101522
 Brazil 2011151
30 August 1961
South Africa 4–01 BrazilMaccabi Ground, Netanya
31 August 1961
Israel 1–1 IsraelHapoel Ground, Jerusalem
1 September 1961
Israel 2–1 South AfricaMaccabi Ground, Hadera

1. The match between South Africa and Brazil was abandoned at the 80th minute, due to a brawl between the players.[4]

Group B

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
 Great Britain 1100412
  Switzerland 1100102
 Argentina 2002150
30 August 1961
Great Britain 4–1 ArgentinaMaccabi Ground, Netanya
31 August 1961
Switzerland  1–0 ArgentinaMaccabi Ground, Petah Tikva
1 September 1961
Switzerland  1 Great BritainMaccabi Ground, Rehovot

1. The match between United Kingdom and Switzerland was postponed as the pitch at Rehovot wasn't fit for matches. As both teams already qualified for the semi-finals, the re-arranged match was played as a semi-final match.

Final round

5th-6th places group

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
 Brazil 1100202
 Argentina 1001020
4 September 1961
Brazil 2–0 ArgentinaMaccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv

Medals group

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
 Great Britain 33001026
 Israel 3201834
 South Africa 31028102
  Switzerland 30034160
3 September 1961
Israel 6–1 South AfricaKiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa
Great Britain 9–2  SwitzerlandKiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa
4 September 1961
Israel 1–2 Great BritainMaccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv
South Africa 7–2  SwitzerlandMaccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv
6 September 1961
Great Britain 2–0 South Africa
Israel w/o  Switzerland

References

  1. England's Footballers Surprised by Beating Israel 2:1 Davar, 5 September 1961, Historical Jewish Press (Hebrew)
  2. England Won the Football Tournament Ma'ariv, 7 September 1961, Historical Jewish Press (Hebrew)
  3. Israel – Juventus 3:3 Herut, 6 September 1961, Historical Jewish Press (Hebrew)
  4. A Brawl at the Football Tournament Davar, 31 August 1961, Historical Jewish Press (Hebrew)


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