Football at the 1961 Maccabiah Games

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

Football at the 1961 Maccabiah Games
Tournament details
Host countryIsrael
Dates30 August – 6 September
Teams6
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 played11
Goals scored49 (4.45 per match)

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

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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)