Ilay Elmkies

Ilay Elmkies
Elmkies in 2022
Personal information
Full name Ilay Eliyahu Elmkies
Date of birth (2000-03-10) 10 March 2000 (age 26)
Place of birth Nahariya, Israel
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Maccabi Bnei Reineh
Number 8
Youth career
Beitar Nahariya
Maccabi Haifa
–2015 SV Sinsheim
2015–2019 1899 Hoffenheim
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2020 1899 Hoffenheim II 22 (1)
2020–2022 1899 Hoffenheim 1 (0)
2020–2021 → ADO Den Haag (loan) 9 (0)
2021–2022 → Admira Wacker (loan) 12 (0)
2022–2023 1899 Hoffenheim II 28 (0)
2023–2025 Bnei Sakhnin 38 (1)
2025 Ironi Tiberias 4 (0)
2025– Maccabi Bnei Reineh 25 (1)
International career
2015–2016 Israel U16 9 (0)
2016–2017 Israel U17 12 (0)
2018–2019 Israel U19 9 (0)
2019–2022 Israel U21 7 (0)
2019–2020 Israel 5 (1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 June 2026

Ilay Eliyau Elmkies (or Elmakayes, Hebrew: עילי אליהו אלמקייס; born 10 March 2000) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Bnei Reineh. He has been capped by the Israel national team.

Early and personal life

Elmkies was born and raised in Nahariya, Israel, to an Israeli family of both Mizrahi Jewish and Sephardi Jewish (French-Jewish) descent.

He also holds a French passport, on account of his Sephardi Jewish (French-Jewish) ancestors, which eases the move to certain European football leagues.

Elmkies speaks Hebrew and English and has quickly mastered German. A film looking at the Jewish experience in the German village of Hoffenheim during World War II aired in 2018 at the Sinsheimer Citydome. He played a leading role, and provided commentary in all three languages.

Club career

A 1899 Hoffenheim youth product in Germany, Elmkies was promoted to the club's senior reserve team 1899 Hoffenheim II in 2019.

International career

He also plays for the Israel national Under-21 team since 2019.

Elmkies received his first call-up to the senior Israel national team in October 2019 ahead of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers matches against Austria and Latvia. He made his senior debut on 15 October 2019 in a home match against Latvia; he was substituted in the 76' minute, as his native Israel won 3–1.

On 7 September 2020, he scored his first goal – an equalizer in the 91' minute for the senior Israeli squad in a 2020–21 UEFA Nations League home match against Slovakia, that ended in a 1–1 draw.

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Elmkies goal.
List of international goals scored by Ilay Elmkies
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
17 September 2020Netanya Stadium, Netanya, Israel Slovakia1–11–12020–21 UEFA Nations League B

See also

References

  1. ↑ "PROFIS". FC FLYERALARM ADMIRA (in German). 16 January 2022. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל - Ilay ELMAKAYES".
  3. 1 2 "Ilay Elmkies: Thiago Alcantara's heir, a budding actor, and Hoffenheim's wonderkid". Bundesliga. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  4. ↑ "הישראלי שהרשים את סיטי - ספורט 5". 3 June 2019.
  5. ↑ "Israel Hayom". Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "Israel - I. Elmkies - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  7. ↑ "Israel v Latvia game report". ESPN. 15 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "Israel vs. Slovakia - 7 September 2020 - Soccerway".