Football at the 1961 Maccabiah Games

Football at the 1961 Maccabiah GamesTournament 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)

International football competition

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 FC, which resulted with a 3–3 draw.[3]

## Format

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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

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### First round

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#### Group A

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Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Israel | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3
South Africa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2
Brazil | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1

|  |

|
|

30 August 1961
South Africa | 4–01 |  Brazil | Maccabi Ground, Netanya
31 August 1961
Israel | 1–1 |  Brazil | Hapoel Ground, Jerusalem
1 September 1961
Israel | 2–1 |  South Africa | Maccabi 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

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Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Great Britain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2
Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2
Argentina | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0
|  |

|
|

30 August 1961
Great Britain | 4–1 |  Argentina | Maccabi Ground, Netanya
31 August 1961
Switzerland | 1–0 |  Argentina | Maccabi Ground, Petah Tikva
1 September 1961
Switzerland | 1 |  Great Britain | Maccabi 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

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### 5th-6th places group

[edit]

Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Brazil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2
Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0
|  |

|
|

4 September 1961
Brazil | 2–0 |  Argentina | Maccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv

### Medals group

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Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Great Britain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 6
Israel | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 4
South Africa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2
Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 0
|  |

|
|

3 September 1961
Israel | 6–1 |  South Africa | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa
Great Britain | 9–2 |  Switzerland | Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa
4 September 1961
Israel | 1–2 |  Great Britain | Maccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv
South Africa | 7–2 |  Switzerland | Maccabiah Stadium, Tel Aviv
6 September 1961
Great Britain | 2–0 |  South Africa
Israel | w/o |  Switzerland

## References

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

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Football at the Maccabiah Games

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List of medalists
*[Pld]: Matches played
*[W]: Matches won
*[D]: Matches drawn
*[L]: Matches lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[Pts]: Points
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template