Russian_national_football_team

Russia national football team

Russia national football team

Men's national association football team representing Russia


The Russia national football team (Russian: Сборная России по футболу, romanized: Sbornaya Rossii po futbolu) represents the Russia in men's international football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Union (Russian: Российский Футбольный Союз, Rossiyskiy Futboľnyj Soyuz), the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home ground is the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and their head coach is Valery Karpin.

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

Although a member of FIFA since 1912 (as the Russian Empire before 1917, as the Russian SFSR in 1917–1924 and as the Soviet Union in 1924–1991), Russia first entered the FIFA World Cup in 1958. They have qualified for the tournament 11 times, with their best result being their fourth-place finish in 1966. Russia has been a member of UEFA since 1954. They won the first edition of the European Championship in 1960 and were runners-up in 1964, 1972 and 1988. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia's best result was in 2008, when the team finished third.

On 28 February 2022, in accordance with a "recommendation" by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA and UEFA suspended the participation of Russia in their competitions. The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the FIFA and UEFA bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the bans.[3] Since then, they have played several friendlies against nations friendly to Russia.[4]

History

After the breakup of the Soviet Union (which led to the break-up of the Soviet Union national football team), Russia played its first international match against Mexico on 16 August 1992, winning 2–0 with a team of former Soviet Union players, including some born in other former Soviet republics.[citation needed]

Beginning

Led by manager Pavel Sadyrin, Russia were in Group 5 for the qualification campaign for the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States which consisted of Greece, Iceland, Hungary and Luxembourg. The suspension of FR Yugoslavia reduced the group to five teams. Russia qualified alongside Greece with six wins and two draws. Russia went to the US as an independent country. The Russian squad consisted of veterans like goalkeeper Stanislav Cherchesov, Aleksandr Borodyuk and players like Viktor Onopko, Oleg Salenko, Dmitri Cheryshev, Aleksandr Mostovoi, Vladimir Beschastnykh, and Valery Karpin (some of these Russian players could have chosen to play for the Ukraine national football team but the Ukrainian Association of Football had not secured recognition in time to compete in the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification[5]).

In the final tournament, Russia was drawn into Group B with Cameroon, Sweden, and Brazil. Russia was eliminated from the tournament with three points. Sadyrin was sacked following what was a poor performance.[citation needed]

Euro 1996

Russia's UEFA Euro 1996 match against Italy on a stamp of Azerbaijan

After Sadyrin was sacked, Oleg Romantsev was appointed coach to lead Russia to UEFA Euro 1996. During qualifying, Russia overcame Scotland, Greece, Finland, San Marino, and the Faroe Islands to finish in first place with eight wins and two draws.

In the final tournament, Russia was in Group C with Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy. They were eliminated after losing 2–1 to Italy and 3–0 to Germany. Russia's last game against the Czech Republic ended 3–3. Germany and Czech Republic went on to meet in the final.[citation needed]

1997–99

Boris Ignatyev managed Russia in their unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

After Euro 96, Boris Ignatyev was appointed manager for the campaign to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. In the qualifying stage, Russia was in Group 5 with Bulgaria, Israel, Cyprus, and Luxembourg. Russia and Bulgaria were considered the two main contenders to qualify from the group with Israel considered a minor threat. Russia began the campaign with two victories against Cyprus and Luxembourg and two draws against Israel and Cyprus. They continued with victories against Luxembourg and Israel. Russia suffered their only defeat of the campaign with a 1–0 loss to Bulgaria. They ended the campaign with a 4–2 victory in the return game over Bulgaria and qualify for the play-off spot. In the play-offs, Russia was drawn with Italy. In the first leg Russia drew 1–1. In the away leg, Russia were defeated 1–0 and failed to qualify for the World Cup.

After failing to qualify for the World Cup in France, Russia played to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2000 co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands. Anatoliy Byshovets was appointed as Russia manager. Russia were drawn in Group 4 for the qualifying round with France, Ukraine, Iceland, Armenia, and Andorra. Russia and France were considered as favorites for the top two spots with Ukraine being an outside contender. Russia began their campaign with three straight defeats to Ukraine, France, and Iceland. Outraged by this result, the Russian Football Union immediately sacked Byshovets and reappointed Oleg Romantsev as manager. Russia went on to win their next six games including a 3–2 victory over eventual champions France at the Stade de France. In their last game against Ukraine, a win for Russia would have resulted in outright qualification as the winners of the group, having an identical head-to-head record with France (a 3–2 win and a 3–2 loss), while possessing a superior goal difference. The game finished 1–1 after a mistake by the goalkeeper Aleksandr Filimonov late in the game.[6] Russia finished third in the group, failing to qualify for their second major tournament in succession.

Revival

Oleg Romantsev remained as manager of the national team to supervise their qualification campaign to the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. In the preliminary stage, Russia was in Group 1 with Slovenia, FR Yugoslavia, and Switzerland, Faroe Islands, and Luxembourg. Russia finished in first place to qualify directly managing seven wins, two draws, and a loss.

Russia was drawn into Group H with Belgium, Tunisia, and Japan. In their first game, Russia achieved a 2–0 victory over Tunisia, but lost their next match to Japan 1–0, causing riots to erupt in Moscow.[7] For their last game against Belgium, Russia needed a draw to take them to the second round, but lost 3–2 and was eliminated.

Georgi Yartsev managed Russia at Euro 2004.

Romantsev was sacked immediately following the tournament and replaced with CSKA's Valery Gazzaev. His task looked difficult as Russia's group consisted of Switzerland, Republic of Ireland, Albania, and Georgia with the Irish considered favourites and an improving Swiss side as an increasing threat. Russia began their campaign with home victories against Ireland and Albania, but lost their next two games away to Albania and Georgia. Gazzaev was sacked after a disappointing draw with Switzerland in Basel, and Georgi Yartsev was then appointed manager. He managed to qualify Russia for a play-off against Wales after home victories to Switzerland and Georgia. In the first play-off leg, Russia drew 0–0 with Wales in Moscow, but a Vadim Evseev header gave Russia a 1–0 victory in the away leg in Cardiff to qualify for Euro 2004. The victory was overshadowed when Russian midfielder Yegor Titov tested positive for drugs; amidst calls for Russia to be disqualified, Titov was given a one-year ban on 15 February 2004.

Russia were drawn in Group A with hosts Portugal, Spain, and Greece. They were not among the favourites to progress and tournament preparations were hampered by injuries to defenders Sergei Ignashevich and Viktor Onopko.[8] Russia started their tournament against Spain but a late goal from Juan Carlos Valerón put Russia on the brink of another group stage elimination.[9] Four days later, Russia became the first team eliminated after a 0–2 defeat to Portugal.[10] The final game of the group resulted in a surprising 2–1 victory over eventual champions Greece with Dmitri Kirichenko scoring one of the fastest goals of the tournament.[11]

In the 2006 World Cup qualifying tournament, Russia was drawn into Group 3 with Portugal, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. Russia began qualification with a 1–1 draw against Slovakia on 4 September 2004 in Moscow and then beat Luxembourg 4–0, but suffered a 7–1 defeat against Portugal in Lisbon, which remains Russia's worst defeat. Victories against Estonia and Liechtenstein seemed to put them back on track, but a 1–1 draw with Estonia on 30 March 2005 in Tallinn was a major disappointment which saw the end of Georgi Yartsev's reign. Under new manager Yury Syomin, Russia were able to rekindle their hopes with a 2–0 win against Latvia before a 1–1 draw in Riga on 17 August 2005. Russia then had victories against Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and a 0–0 draw against Portugal. In their final game, Russia needed to win against Slovakia in Bratislava. After a 0–0 draw, Slovakia advanced to the play-offs above Russia on goal difference.

Euro 2008

Manager Guus Hiddink and midfielder Sergei Semak meet the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, after reaching the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2008.

Having failed to qualify Russia for the 2006 World Cup, Yury Syomin stepped down several weeks later and Russia began looking for a new manager. It was clear that a foreign manager would be needed as most of the high-profile Russian coaches were not successful with the national team. On 10 April 2006, it was announced that then-Australia manager Guus Hiddink would lead Russia in the Euro 2008 qualification campaign.[12]

For the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, Russia were drawn into Group E with England, Croatia, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia, and Andorra. For much of the campaign, it was between Russia and England to obtain the final qualifying place behind Croatia. Russia lost 3–0 away to England, and in the return game in Moscow, fell to an early goal from Wayne Rooney. During the second half Russia came from behind to win 2–1 with Roman Pavlyuchenko scoring both goals. On 17 November 2007, Russia suffered a 2–1 defeat to Israel to put qualification hopes in jeopardy, but Russia still managed to qualify one point ahead of England by beating Andorra 1–0 while England lost 3–2 to Croatia.

In the Euro 2008 tournament, Russia were drawn into Group D with Sweden and Euro 2004 group rivals Spain and Greece. In a preparation friendly against Serbia, leading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak was injured and would miss the tournament. Russia lost their opening match 4–1 to Spain in Innsbruck but then beat Greece 1–0 with a goal by Konstantin Zyryanov. The third game saw Russia defeat Sweden 2–0 through goals by Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrey Arshavin, resulting in Russia advancing to the quarter-finals in second place behind Spain. This was the first time ever since the fall of USSR, that saw Russia qualified from the group stage of a major tournament.

In the quarter-final against the Netherlands, Roman Pavlyuchenko scored a volley ten minutes after half-time. With four minutes left in the match, Ruud van Nistelrooy scored, to make it 1–1 and put the game into extra time. But Russia regained the lead when Andrey Arshavin raced down the left flank and sent a cross towards substitute Dmitri Torbinski, who tapped the ball into the net. Arshavin then beat Edwin van der Sar, ending the match 3–1, and sent Russia through to their first major semi-final since the breakup of the USSR. In the semi-finals, Russia was once again matched up against Spain, and lost 3–0.

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Russia lost 0–1 against Germany in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification in October 2009

Russia was drawn to Group 4 in qualification for 2010 FIFA World Cup, competing with Germany, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein. The team started the campaign with a 2–1 victory over Wales but on 11 October lost 2–1 to Germany. Russia's form then improved, and by winning 3–1 away to Wales on the same day as Finland drew 1–1 to Liechtenstein, guaranteed them at least a play-off spot. The match at the Luzhniki Stadium against Germany to top the group was watched by 84,500 fans. Miroslav Klose scored the only goal of the game in the 35th minute, sending the Germans to the finals in South Africa and Russia to a play-off.

On 14 November, Russia faced Slovenia in the first-leg of their two-legged play-off, where they won 2–1 with two goals from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.[13] In the return match, Russia lost 1–0 in Maribor, and Slovenia qualified for the finals on the away goals rule.[14] On 13 February 2010, it was confirmed that Hiddink would leave his position as manager, with the expiration of his contract on 30 June.[15]

Euro 2012

Russia against Poland in Euro 2012

Russia directly qualified for Euro 2012 by winning qualifying Group B, defeating Slovakia, the Republic of Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia and Andorra. Russia were drawn into Group A with Poland, the Czech Republic and Greece. Led by Dick Advocaat, Russia had been unbeaten for nearly 15 games and managed to record a 3–0 win against Italy one week before the Euro 2012's opening game kick-off. The Sbornaya started off the tournament with a 4–1 win over the Czech Republic and temporarily went top of the group with three points. Alan Dzagoev netted twice and Roman Shirokov and Roman Pavlyuchenko scored. In the second game against co-host Poland, Advocaat's side saw Dzagoev continue his fine form. He netted the opener, but Poland managed to equalise in the second half. Despite having drawn, the result wasn't seen as a bad one. A game against Greece finished with a 1–0 loss which eliminated the Russians from the tournament.[citation needed]

The group stage exit resulted in a hostile reaction from fans and media. Advocaat and most of the team, such as Andrey Arshavin, were heavily criticized for their perceived overconfidence.[citation needed]

2014 FIFA World Cup

In July 2012, the Italian Fabio Capello was named as the new Russian manager, after being sacked by England in February.[16]

Russia competed in Group F of World Cup qualification and qualified in first place after a 1–1 draw with Azerbaijan in their last game. In January 2014, Capello was rewarded with a new four-year contract to last up to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[17]

Russia played in Group H against South Korea, Belgium and Algeria. In their first group match, against South Korea, goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev fumbled a long-range shot from Lee Keun-ho, dropping it over the line to give the Koreans the lead. Russia then went on to equalise through substitute Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who drew equal to Vladimir Beschastnykh's record 26 goals for Russia, and the match finished 1–1.[18] In the second match, Russia held Belgium at 0–0 at the Maracanã until substitute Divock Origi scored the only goal in the 88th minute. The final group stage match between Algeria and Russia on 26 June ended 1–1, advancing Algeria and eliminating Russia. A win for Russia would have seen them qualify, and they led the game 1–0 after six minutes through Aleksandr Kokorin. In the 60th minute of the game, a laser was shone in Akinfeev's face while he was defending from an Algerian free kick, from which Islam Slimani scored to equalise. Both Akinfeev and Russian coach Fabio Capello blamed the laser for the decisive conceded goal.[19][20]

Euro 2016

Russia were placed in Group G of UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying alongside Sweden, Austria, Montenegro, Moldova and Liechtenstein. Russia began with a 4–0 win against Liechtenstein. This was followed by a string of shaky performances by Russia, two 1–1 draws against Sweden and Moldova and two 1–0 losses against Austria. Russia were awarded a 3–0 victory against Montenegro due to crowd violence. At this stage, Russia looked to be finishing third in their group before they bounced back by winning their remaining matches against Sweden, Liechtenstein, Moldova and Montenegro to finish second in their qualifying group above Sweden and qualify for UEFA Euro 2016.

During the group stages of the tournament, UEFA imposed a suspended disqualification on Russia for crowd riots during a group match against England.[21] Russia were knocked out of the competition in their final group match which was against Wales (a 3–0 defeat); prior to this they had only collected a single point from a 1–1 draw against England which was followed by a 2–1 loss to Slovakia.

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup

Russia qualified for the 2017 Confederations Cup as hosts, yet once again produced a dismal performance. After defeating New Zealand 2–0,[22] Russia disappointed its fans by losing 0–1 to Portugal[23] and 1–2 to Mexico, thus once again crashed out from the group stage of a major FIFA tournament.[24] Despite this dismal performance, Stanislav Cherchesov, appointed as coach of Russia after Euro 2016, was allowed to keep the job.[citation needed]

2018 FIFA World Cup

Russian team during the penalty shoot-out in the first knockout round against Spain at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

On 2 December 2010, Russia were selected to host the 2018 World Cup and automatically qualified for the tournament.[25][26] During the friendly matches prior to the tournament, Russia did not have good results. The team lost more games than it won and this made their FIFA ranking fall to 70th, the lowest among all World Cup participants.[27][28] Russia were drawn to play Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay in the group stage.

Despite a series of poor results in warm-up games, however, Russia began their World Cup campaign with a 5–0 demolition of Saudi Arabia, who were three places above them in the rankings,[29] on 14 June in the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[30] On 19 June, Russia won their second game of the group stage, beating Egypt by a scoreline of 3–1,[31] taking their goal difference to +7 with only two matches played.[32] The win over Egypt all but secured Russia's advancement into the knockout stage for the first time since 1986, when they played as the Soviet Union; and also for the first time in their history as an independent state.[33] They officially qualified for the knockout stage the next day, following Uruguay's 1–0 win over Saudi Arabia.[34] Russia's final group game was against two-time world champions (1930 and 1950) Uruguay, losing 3–0,[35] and finished second in the group.

Advancing from their group in second place, Russia faced Spain at the Round of 16 in Moscow. Spain were considered one of the tournament favorites with many accomplished players at club and international level, having won the 2010 edition. Russia managed to surprise Spain in one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history; beating them in a penalty shootout after the match ended 1–1 in regular time.[36] BBC Sport and The Guardian described this as one of the biggest tournament surprises, considering how Russia were the lowest-ranked team prior to the competition, and according to some, had one of the worst teams of the competition.[37][38] Against the Spaniards who were known for their tiki-taka, coach Stanislav Cherchesov used a defensive 5–3–1–1 formation to sit deep and defend with ten men, and conceded no goals from open play as Spain's only goal was from a free kick set piece while Russia tied the game thanks for a penalty awarded for a handball.[39] Igor Akinfeev, who saved two penalties including a foot-save to deny Spain's Iago Aspas, was voted as Budweiser Man of the Match. The win against Spain sent supporters and residents of Russia into wild celebrations, as they reached the quarter-finals for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union.[40] Match TV commentator Denis Kazansky said: "From the first day we had not been expecting much from our team. Then thoughts turned to winning the thing. What we have seen is a significant change in people's attitudes, and in the history of Russian football."[41]

Russia football supporters at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russia then played Croatia in the quarter-finals held at Sochi, on 7 July.[42][43][44] Coach Stanislav Cherchesov reverted to a four-man defense which successfully exploited Croatia offensive set-up which proved vulnerable to Russia's counter-attacking.[39] Russia scored first (a long-range strike by Denis Cheryshev which was his fourth goal of the tournament and was later nominated for the Puskás Award) and last (a header from Mário Fernandes at the 115th minute) as the match finished 2–2 after extra time, and then were eliminated 3–4 in the penalty shootout.[45] Nonetheless, this stands as Russia's best World Cup performance ever since the dissolution of the USSR. The team visited the FIFA Fan Fest in Moscow on Sunday, 8 July 2018, to thank their supporters and say goodbye.[41][46] Following the World Cup run, Russia's position in the FIFA ranking rose from 70 to 49.

2018–19 UEFA Nations League

Russia participated in the UEFA Nations League for the first time, where they were drawn with Turkey and Sweden. Russia had a promising start, with two wins over Turkey and a home draw to Sweden.[47][48] However, Russia wasted its opportunity to promote to League A after getting a 0–2 away defeat to Sweden, thus losing their first place to the Swedes instead and was forced to stay in League B.[49]

Euro 2020

In qualification, the Russian side was drawn in Group I with Belgium, Kazakhstan, San Marino, Cyprus, and Scotland. Except for their two losses to the Belgians,[50] Russia defeated four other group opponents, including beating San Marino 9–0 after the two 7–0 wins in 1995 and 2015.[51] They also defeated Scotland, Cyprus, and Kazakhstan twice and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020.[52] Russia consolidated its second place in the group despite being thrashed by number-one ranked Belgium 1–4 at home.[53]

Russia lost their first match against Belgium in a 3–0 defeat but won their second match against Finland 1–0. However, Russia was knocked out of the competition in their final group match against Denmark where they lost 4–1. Following Russia's exit from the competition, Stanislav Cherchesov was sacked as coach.[54]

2020–21 UEFA Nations League

Russia competed in the League B for the season, thereby matching up with Turkey, Serbia and Hungary. Russia began comfortably, beating Serbia and Hungary to take the first place.[55][56] In their last two games, they suffered two losses in Turkey and 0–5 in Serbia and finished the group in second place, remaining in League B.

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Russia was drawn to Group H for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, competing with Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta. After finishing second behind Croatia, Russia advanced to the play-offs.

Since 2022: suspensions and possible AFC move

In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several nations, including Albania, England, Scotland, Wales, and Russia's 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off opponents Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic, said they would refuse to play Russia.[57][58][59][60] On 27 February, FIFA initially announced a permanently ban on any international competition being played in Russia, with any "home" matches having to be played on neutral territory behind closed doors, and ordered that Russia compete under the name of the Russian Football Union (RFU) and without being allowed to display the Russian flag or play the Russian national anthem.[61] This followed a decision taken by UEFA two days prior that stripped Saint Petersburg of hosting the 2022 UEFA Champions League final, which had been due to be held at Krestovsky Stadium, in addition to banning any UEFA-sanctioned matches from occurring in Russia.[62]

The decision was criticized by many as inadequate, and the next day FIFA and UEFA relented and issued blanket permanently bans on Russian participation in international football, effectively barring them from participating in the 2022 World Cup.[63][64][65] This was in accordance with a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).[65][66] The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the FIFA and UEFA permanently bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the bans.[3] On 20 September 2022, UEFA decided to permanently ban Russia from participating in UEFA Euro 2024 and future FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Cup.[67]

In response to the disqualification and suspension of Russia from all international football activities, especially within Europe, President of the Russian Football Union, Alexander Dyukov, implied that Russia should begin to discuss about moving to the AFC in order to continue competing in higher level of football.[68] In December 2022, the RFU Executive Committee opted to vote about the matter, but their attempt to move to the AFC was not materialised; instead, the RFU opted to create a working group with the aim to bring Russia back to European competitions.[69] Still, Dyukov attended the AFC Congress in Manama in February 2023, which increased speculation about Russia's possibility to move to the AFC as Russia was initially invited to compete in the CAFA Nations Cup, held by Central Asian nations that were formerly part of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union (except Kazakhstan), which Russia later did not participate.[70] On 5 April 2023, President of the UEFA, Aleksander Čeferin, decided to uphold the ban, stating it was "very hard" to lift if Russia continues to invade Ukraine, ensuring Russia's isolation from European football process.[71]

At the same time, Russia has also increasingly pivoted football games to Asia. Since late 2022, Russia has played with six AFC opponents, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, Iraq, and Qatar.[72][73][74][75][76] In response, critics claim that the AFC doesn't offer the "same amount of power like in Europe" when compared to "lucrative European competitions".[77] Magomed Adiyev, the current head coach of Kazakhstan national football team (which Kazakhstan also moved to UEFA from AFC in 2002), also claimed that Russia shouldn't move and "wait until further development".[78] However, Australia, Japan, South Korea, three major AFC members, has urged the AFC not to allow Russia in even if they decided on doing so.[79] Still, according to Martin Lowe, the AFC has a significant number of members that are sympathetic to Russia, mainly in West and South Asia, as well as China, plus with several Central Asian countries (including Kazakhstan, despite joining UEFA, is the first UEFA nation to send a national team to play Russia since the invasion of Ukraine after Belarus),[80] which could undermine Australia, Japan and South Korea's efforts due to their limited voices against the wider pro-Russian opinions in the AFC.[81]

In December 2023, Russian Football Union decided not to apply for the transfer to AFC at the time (the application has to be made 6 months before the end of UEFA's reporting year in June), as FIFA ban from official international competitions remained in effect. RFU agreed to re-consider the transfer in the future depending on FIFA or UEFA's actions.[82]

Team image

Kits and crests

Following the break up of the Soviet Union, the Russian Football Union replaced the red and white Adidas kits with strips supplied by Reebok in red, blue and white reflecting the readopted national flag of Russia. In 1997, Nike decided on a simpler design used at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004, consisting of mainly a white base with blue trim and the opposite combination for the away kit. After failing to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Nike reintroduced red, this time as the home kit, while white being reversed as the away colour.[83][84] This trend was continued by Adidas, who took over as suppliers in 2008.[85] The 2009–10 season marked yet another change with the introduction of the maroon and gold as the primary home colours. A return to red and white was made in 2011. The edition of the kit used at Euro 2012 featured a red base with gold trim and a Russian flag positioned diagonally while the away kit was a minimalistic white with red trim. The 2014 FIFA World Cup kit made a return to the maroon and gold colour scheme, with Russian flag-coloured stripes built horizontally into the sleeves, the front includes the pattern in different shades of maroon depicting the Monument to the Conquerors of Space. The away 2014 kit was mostly white with blue trim, the top of the front below the trim shows the view of Earth from space. The sides and back of the collar were made in the colours of the Russian flag. The 2018 FIFA World Cup kit did not have much decorations in it, except for the coat of arms. Home red shirt had a very similar design to the uniform of Soviet Union Olympic football team it used at the 1988 Summer Olympics, the last major tournament as of 2018 that Russia or USSR won. The back side of the inside of the shirt had "Together to Victory" (Russian: Вместе к победе, romanized: Vmeste k pobede) slogan printed below the collar.[citation needed]

The Russian national team's official shirt supplier in 2008–22 was Adidas. The contract was unilaterally terminated by the German giant after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[86]

Jögel is currently the team's official jerseys sponsor from 2024, Jögel's deal with the Russian national team took effect in 2024 and lasts until 2026.[87]

Kit suppliers

More information Period, Supplier ...

Kit deals

More information Kit supplier, Period ...

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

12 September Friendly Qatar  1–1  Russia Al Wakrah, Qatar
18:15 UTC+3
  • Alaaeldin 70'
Report Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium
Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)
12 October Friendly Russia  1–0  Cameroon Moscow, Russia
19:00 UTC+3 Chalov 40' Report Stadium: VTB Arena
Attendance: 20,152
Referee: Khaled Saleh Al Turais (Saudi Arabia)
16 October Friendly Russia  2–2  Kenya Aksu, Turkey
19:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex
Referee: Atilla Karaoğlan (Turkey)
20 November Friendly Russia  8–0  Cuba Volgograd, Russia
19:30 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Volgograd Arena
Attendance: 40,706
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Belarus)

2024

21 March Friendly Russia  4–0  Serbia Moscow, Russia
20:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: VTB Arena
Attendance: 23,679
Referee: Arda Kardeşler (Turkey)
25 March Friendly Russia  Cancelled  Paraguay Moscow, Russia
20:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: VTB Arena
Note: Match was cancelled due to the Crocus City Hall attack.
8 June Friendly Belarus  v  Russia Minsk, Belarus
Stadium: Dinamo Stadium

Coaching staff

More information Position, Name ...

Manager history

As of 20 November 2023.[91]
More information No., Name ...

Players

Current squad

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

More information Pos., Player ...

Individual records

As of 7 September 2021.
Players in bold are still active with Russia.
This list does not include players who represented the Russian Empire (1910−1914), the Soviet Union (1924−1991) and the CIS (1992).

Most appearances

Sergei Ignashevich is the most capped player in Russian and USSR history with 127 caps.
More information Rank, Name ...

Notes

  1. Viktor Onopko also made four appearances for the CIS.
  2. Valery Karpin also made one appearance for the CIS.

Top goalscorers

Aleksandr Kerzhakov (left) and Artem Dzyuba are Russia's joint top scorers with 30 goals each, behind Oleg Blokhin who scored 42 goals for the USSR.
More information Rank, Name ...

Notes

  1. Oleg Blokhin, who scored 42 goals for the Soviet Union, is recognized by FIFA as Russia's top scorer,[citation needed] as the statistics of the Soviet Union were inherited by its successor state Russia.[1]
  2. Igor Kolyvanov also made 19 appearances and scored 2 goals for the USSR, as well as 5 appearances and 1 goal for the CIS.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

More information FIFA World Cup record, Qualification record ...

UEFA European Championship

More information UEFA European Championship record, Qualifying record ...

UEFA Nations League

More information UEFA Nations League record, Season ...

FIFA Confederations Cup

More information FIFA Confederations Cup record, Year ...

Head-to-head record

Russian Empire, USSR, CIS and Russia national football team's all opponents

Include the records of  Russian Empire,  Soviet Union and  CIS before 1992.

As of 21 March 2024 after the match against  Serbia.

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

More information Opponents, Pld ...
  1. Monaco is a Monégasque club playing in the French football league system.
  2. Includes matches against  Czechoslovakia.
  3. Includes matches against  West Germany.
  4. Includes matches against  Yugoslavia and  Serbia and Montenegro.

Total

723M 382W 190D 158L 1,271GF 657GA +622GD

Honours

As  Soviet Union

Major

Minor

As  Russia

Major

Home venues record

More information Venue, City ...

See also


References

  1. Appleman, Marc (11 December 1985). "'Curious' Soviets Set for Soccer Exhibition". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  2. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  3. "Russia World Cup ban appeal rejected by CAS". ESPN.com. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  4. Ukraine's forgotten World Cup pedigree Archived 16 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Business Ukraine (4 August 2010)
  5. "Two die in Moscow World Cup rioting". The Guardian. London. 10 June 2002. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
  6. "Russian Onopko ruled out". BBC Sport. London. 2 June 2004. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  7. "Mostovoi blames coach". BBC Sport. London. 12 June 2004. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
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