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Russia national football team facts for kids

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Russia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) Сборная / Sbornaya (The [National] Team)
Наши парни / Nashi parni (Our Boys)
Association Russian Football Union (RFU)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Valeri Karpin
Captain Daler Kuzyayev
Most caps Sergei Ignashevich (127)
Top scorer Artem Dzyuba
Aleksandr Kerzhakov (30)
Home stadium Various
FIFA code RUS
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 50 Decrease 2 (7 February 2019)
Highest 3 (April 1996)
Lowest 70 (June 2018)
Elo ranking
Current 33 Increase 10 (3 March 2019)
Highest 7 (August 2009)
Lowest 50 (29 March 2017)
First international
As Russian Empire:
Russian Empire Finland 2–1 Russia 
(Stockholm, Sweden; 30 June 1912)
As Russian Federation:
 Russia 2–0 Mexico 
(Moscow, Russia; 16 August 1992)
Biggest win
As Soviet Union:
 Soviet Union 11–1 India 
(Moscow, Soviet Union; 16 September 1955)
 Finland 0–10 Soviet Union 
(Helsinki, Finland; 15 August 1957)
As Russian Federation:
 Russia 9–0 San Marino 
(Saransk, Russia; 8 June 2019)
Biggest defeat
As Russian Empire:
 Germany 16–0 Russia 
(Stockholm, Sweden; 1 July 1912)
As Russian Federation:
 Portugal 7–1 Russia 
(Lisbon, Portugal; 13 October 2004)
World Cup
Appearances 11 (first in 1958)
Best result Fourth place (1966)
European Championship
Appearances 12 (first in 1960)
Best result Champions (1960)
Confederations Cup
Appearances 1 (first in 2017)
Best result Group stage (2017)
Website rfs.ru

The Russia national football team (Russian: Сборная России по футболу, romanized: Sbornaya Rossii po futbolu) represents the Russian Federation in men's international association 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.

Although a member of FIFA since 1912 (as the Russian Empire before 1917 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.

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.

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 Valeri 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).

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.

Euro 1996

Stamp of Azerbaijan 426
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.

1997–99

Boris Ignatiev
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. 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. 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 2011
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. Russia started their tournament against Spain but a late goal from Juan Carlos Valerón put Russia on the brink of another group stage elimination. Four days later, Russia became the first team eliminated after a 0–2 defeat to Portugal. 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.

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

Dmitry Medvedev 2 July 2008-1
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.

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

Heiko Westermann
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. In the return match, Russia lost 1–0 in Maribor, and Slovenia qualified for the finals on the away goals rule. On 13 February 2010, it was confirmed that Hiddink would leave his position as manager, with the expiration of his contract on 30 June.

Euro 2012

Reprezentacja Rosji2
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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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. 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, Russia disappointed its fans by losing 0–1 to Portugal and 1–2 to Mexico, thus once again crashed out from the group stage of a major FIFA tournament. Despite this dismal performance, Stanislav Cherchesov, appointed as coach of Russia after Euro 2016, was allowed to keep the job.

2018 FIFA World Cup

ESP-RUS (22)
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. 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. 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, on 14 June in the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 19 June, Russia won their second game of the group stage, beating Egypt by a scoreline of 3–1, taking their goal difference to +7 with only two matches played. 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. They officially qualified for the knockout stage the next day, following Uruguay's 1–0 win over Saudi Arabia. Russia's final group game was against two-time world champions (1930 and 1950) Uruguay, losing 3–0, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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."

Russian fans FIFA 2018
Russia football supporters at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russia then played Croatia in the quarter-finals held at Sochi, on 7 July. Coach Stanislav Cherchesov reverted to a four-man defense which successfully exploited Croatia offensive set-up which proved vulnerable to Russia's counter-attacking. 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. 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. Following the World Cup run, Russia's position in the FIFA ranking rose from 70 to 40.

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. 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.

Euro 2020

In qualification, the Russian side was drawn in Group I with Belgium, Kazakhstan, San Marino, Cyprus and Scotland. With the exception of its 1–3 loss to the Belgians away, Russia defeated other group opponents. The Russian team defeated San Marino 9–0 after the two 7–0 wins in 1995 and in 2015. Russia also defeated Scotland, Cyprus and Kazakhstan twice and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020. Russia consolidated its second place in the group despite being thrashed by number-one ranked Belgium 1–4 at home.

Russia lost their first match against Belgium in a 3–0 defeat, but won their second match against Finland 1–0. However, Russia were 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.

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. 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.

2022: suspensions

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. On 27 February, FIFA initially announced a 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. 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.

The decision was harshly criticized by many as inadequate, and the next day FIFA and UEFA relented and issued blanket bans on Russian participation in international football, effectively barring them from participating in the 2022 World Cup. This was in accordance with a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the FIFA and UEFA bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the bans. On 20 September 2022, UEFA decided to ban Russia from participating in UEFA Euro 2024. Whether or not they will be able to participate in the qualification for the 2026 World Cup remains to be seen.

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. This trend was continued by Adidas, who took over as suppliers in 2008. 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.

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.

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier Period Notes
Germany Adidas 1992–1993
United Kingdom Reebok 1993–1996
United States Nike 1997–2008
Germany Adidas 2008–2022

Kit deals

Kit supplier Period Contract
announcement
Contract
duration
Value Notes
Germany Adidas 2008–2022 2008-09-08 2008–2018 Undisclosed
2018-05-31 2018–2022 Undisclosed

Results and fixtures

2022

2023

Coaching staff

Position Name
Head Coach Russia Valeri Karpin
Assistant Coaches Russia Nikolai Pisarev
Russia Yuriy Nikiforov
Russia Viktor Onopko
Goalkeeping Coach Turkmenistan Vitaly Kafanov
Fitness Coach Spain Luis Martínez
Analyst Spain Jonatan Alba

Manager history


Name Start End Matches Won Drawn Lost Win % Competitions
1 Russia Sadyrin, PavelPavel Sadyrin 16 July 1992 28 July 1994 23 12 6 5 52,1 1994 World Cup – Group stage
2 Russia Romantsev, OlegOleg Romantsev 28 July 1994 11 July 1996 25 17 4 4 68,0 UEFA Euro 1996 – Group stage
3 Russia Ignatyev, BorisBoris Ignatyev 11 July 1996 19 June 1998 20 8 8 4 40,0
4 Russia Byshovets, AnatoliyAnatoliy Byshovets 24 July 1998 20 December 1998 6 0 0 6 0
5 Russia Romantsev, OlegOleg Romantsev 28 December 1998 8 July 2002 35 19 10 6 54,2 2002 World Cup – Group stage
6 Russia Gazzaev, ValeryValery Gazzaev 8 July 2002 25 August 2003 9 4 2 3 44,4
7 Russia Yartsev, GeorgiGeorgi Yartsev 25 August 2003 5 April 2005 19 8 6 5 42,1 UEFA Euro 2004 – Group stage
8 Russia Semin, YuriYuri Semin 18 April 2005 31 December 2005 7 3 4 0 42,8
Russia Borodyuk, AleksandrAleksandr Borodyuk 1 January 2006 9 July 2006 2 0 1 1 0
9 Netherlands Hiddink, GuusGuus Hiddink 9 July 2006 30 June 2010 39 22 7 10 56,4 UEFA Euro 2008 – Semi-finals
10 Netherlands Advocaat, DickDick Advocaat 15 July 2010 16 June 2012 23 12 7 4 52,2 UEFA Euro 2012 – Group stage
11 Italy Capello, FabioFabio Capello 26 July 2012 14 July 2015 33 17 11 5 51,5 2014 World Cup – Group stage
12 Russia Slutsky, LeonidLeonid Slutsky 7 August 2015 30 June 2016 13 6 2 5 46,2 UEFA Euro 2016 – Group stage
13 Russia Cherchesov, StanislavStanislav Cherchesov 11 August 2016 8 July 2021 57 24 13 20 42,1 2017 Confederations Cup – Group stage
2018 World Cup – Quarter-finals
UEFA Euro 2020 – Group stage
14 Russia Karpin, ValeriValeri Karpin 26 July 2021 10 6 3 1 60,0

Players

Current squad

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Anton Shunin (1987-01-27) 27 January 1987 (age 37) 15 0 Russia Dynamo Moscow
16 1GK Sergei Pesyakov (1988-12-16) 16 December 1988 (age 35) 1 0 Russia Rostov
12 1GK Aleksandr Selikhov (1994-04-07) 7 April 1994 (age 29) 1 0 Russia Spartak Moscow

14 2DF Georgi Dzhikiya (1993-11-21) 21 November 1993 (age 30) 43 2 Russia Spartak Moscow
4 2DF Vyacheslav Karavayev (1995-05-20) 20 May 1995 (age 28) 22 2 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg
5 2DF Maksim Osipenko (1994-05-16) 16 May 1994 (age 29) 6 0 Russia Rostov
27 2DF Aleksandr Silyanov (2001-02-17) 17 February 2001 (age 23) 2 0 Russia Rostov
26 2DF Daniil Khlusevich (2001-02-26) 26 February 2001 (age 23) 2 0 Russia Spartak Moscow
3 2DF Aleksandr Soldatenkov (1996-12-28) 28 December 1996 (age 27) 1 0 Russia Krylia Sovetov Samara
22 2DF Ruslan Litvinov (2001-08-18) 18 August 2001 (age 22) 1 0 Russia Spartak Moscow
2 2DF Ilya Agapov (2001-01-21) 21 January 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Russia Pari Nizhny Novgorod

23 3MF Daler Kuzyayev (1993-01-15) 15 January 1993 (age 31) 44 2 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg
19 3MF Anton Miranchuk (1995-10-17) 17 October 1995 (age 28) 21 3 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow
6 3MF Dmitri Barinov (1996-09-11) 11 September 1996 (age 27) 15 0 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow
17 3MF Andrei Mostovoy (1997-11-05) 5 November 1997 (age 26) 13 1 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg
8 3MF Daniil Fomin (1997-03-02) 2 March 1997 (age 27) 11 0 Russia Dynamo Moscow
10 3MF Arsen Zakharyan (2003-05-26) 26 May 2003 (age 20) 6 0 Russia Dynamo Moscow
15 3MF Danil Glebov (1999-11-03) 3 November 1999 (age 24) 4 0 Russia Rostov
24 3MF Artyom Makarchuk (1995-11-09) 9 November 1995 (age 28) 3 0 Russia Sochi
18 3MF Daniil Utkin (1999-10-12) 12 October 1999 (age 24) 2 1 Russia Rostov
20 2DF Sergei Pinyayev (2004-11-02) 2 November 2004 (age 19) 2 0 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow
25 3MF Lechi Sadulayev (2000-01-08) 8 January 2000 (age 24) 1 0 Russia Akhmat Grozny
13 3MF Artyom Karpukas (2002-06-13) 13 June 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow

7 4FW Aleksandr Sobolev (1997-03-07) 7 March 1997 (age 27) 10 4 Russia Spartak Moscow
11 4FW Nikolay Komlichenko (1995-06-29) 29 June 1995 (age 28) 5 1 Russia Rostov
31 4FW Vladimir Pisarsky (1996-02-27) 27 February 1996 (age 28) 1 0 Russia Krylia Sovetov Samara

Recent call-ups

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


Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Matvei Safonov (1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 (age 25) 8 0 Russia Krasnodar v.  Tajikistan, 17 November 2022INJ
GK Mikhail Kerzhakov (1987-01-28) 28 January 1987 (age 37) 0 0 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022
GK Ivan Lomaev (1999-01-21) 21 January 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Russia Krylia Sovetov Samara v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022PRE

DF Igor Diveyev (1999-09-27) 27 September 1999 (age 24) 14 1 Russia CSKA Moscow v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022INJ
DF Danil Krugovoy (1998-05-28) 28 May 1998 (age 25) 1 0 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022
DF Sergei Borodin (1999-01-30) 30 January 1999 (age 25) 1 0 Russia Krasnodar v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022
DF Stanislav Magkeyev (1999-03-27) 27 March 1999 (age 25) 0 0 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022

MF Anton Zinkovsky (1996-04-04) 4 April 1996 (age 27) 0 0 Russia Spartak Moscow v.  Tajikistan, 17 November 2022INJ
MF Zelimkhan Bakayev (1996-07-01) 1 July 1996 (age 27) 13 1 Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022
MF Roman Yezhov (1997-09-02) 2 September 1997 (age 26) 1 0 Russia Krylia Sovetov Samara v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022
MF Aleksandr Kovalenko (2003-08-08) 8 August 2003 (age 20) 1 0 Russia Krylia Sovetov Samara v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022
MF Nikita Krivtsov (2002-08-18) 18 August 2002 (age 21) 0 0 Russia Krasnodar v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022INJ

FW Fyodor Chalov (1998-04-10) 10 April 1998 (age 25) 4 0 Russia CSKA Moscow v.  Tajikistan, 17 November 2022
FW Maksim Glushenkov (1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 (age 24) 1 0 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow v.  Kyrgyzstan, 24 September 2022

Notes
  • INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury.
  • PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.

Individual records

Player records

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 capped players

Ros-che 6
Sergei Ignashevich is the most capped player in Russian and USSR history with 127 caps.
Rank Name Caps Goals Period
1 Sergei Ignashevich 127 8 2002–2018
2 Igor Akinfeev 111 0 2004–2018
3 Viktor Onopko 109 7 1992–2004
4 Yuri Zhirkov 105 2 2005–2021
5 Vasili Berezutskiy 101 5 2003–2016
6 Aleksandr Kerzhakov 90 30 2002–2016
7 Aleksandr Anyukov 76 1 2004–2013
8 Andrey Arshavin 74 17 2002–2012
9 Valeri Karpin 72 17 1992–2003
10 Vladimir Beschastnykh 71 26 1992–2003

Notes

Top goalscorers

Artem Dzyuba (left) and Aleksandr Kerzhakov are Russia's joint top scorers with 30 goals each, behind Oleg Blokhin who scored 42 goals for the Soviet Union.
Rank Name Goals Caps Average Period
1 Artem Dzyuba 30 55 0.55 2011–2021
Aleksandr Kerzhakov 30 90 0.33 2002–2016
3 Vladimir Beschastnykh 26 71 0.37 1992–2003
4 Roman Pavlyuchenko 21 50 0.42 2003–2012
5 Valeri Karpin 17 72 0.24 1992–2003
Andrey Arshavin 17 74 0.23 2002–2012
7 Fyodor Smolov 16 44 0.36 2012–2021
8 Dmitri Sychev 15 47 0.32 2002–2010
9 Roman Shirokov 13 56 0.23 2008–2016
10 Denis Cheryshev 12 33 0.36 2012–2021
Igor Kolyvanov 12 35 0.34 1992–1998
Aleksandr Kokorin 12 47 0.26 2011–2017

Notes

Manager records

Oleg Romantsev: 60

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA Campaign
as  Soviet Union as  Soviet Union
Uruguay 1930 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member 1930
Italy 1934 1934
France 1938 1938
Brazil 1950 Did not enter Did not enter 1950
Switzerland 1954 1954
Sweden 1958 Quarter-finals 6th 5 2 1 2 5 6 Squad 5 4 0 1 18 3 1958
Chile 1962 4 2 1 1 9 7 Squad 4 4 0 0 11 3 1962
England 1966 Fourth place 4th 6 4 0 2 10 6 Squad 6 5 0 1 19 6 1966
Mexico 1970 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 6 2 Squad 4 3 1 0 8 1 1970
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify 6 3 1 2 5 4 1974
Argentina 1978 4 2 0 2 5 3 1978
Spain 1982 Second group stage 7th 5 2 2 1 7 4 Squad 8 6 2 0 20 2 1982
Mexico 1986 Round of 16 10th 4 2 1 1 12 5 Squad 8 4 2 2 13 8 1986
Italy 1990 Group stage 17th 3 1 0 2 4 4 Squad 8 4 3 1 11 4 1990
as  Russia as  Russia
United States 1994 Group stage 17th 3 1 0 2 7 6 Squad 8 5 2 1 15 4 1994
France 1998 Did not qualify 10 5 3 2 20 7 1998
South Korea Japan 2002 Group stage 22nd 3 1 0 2 4 4 Squad 10 7 2 1 18 5 2002
Germany 2006 Did not qualify 12 6 5 1 23 12 2006
South Africa 2010 12 8 1 3 21 8 2010
Brazil 2014 Group stage 24th 3 0 2 1 2 3 Squad 10 7 1 2 20 5 2014
Russia 2018 Quarter-finals 8th 5 2 2 1 11 7 Squad Qualified as hosts 2018
Qatar 2022 Disqualified from play-offs by FIFA and UEFA 10 7 1 2 19 6 2022
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined 2026
Total Fourth place 11/22 45 19 10 16 77 54 125 80 24 21 246 81 Total

UEFA European Championship

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place  

UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA Campaign
as  Soviet Union as  Soviet Union
France 1960 Champions 1st 2 2 0 0 5 1 2 2 0 0 4 1 1960
Spain 1964 Runners-up 2nd 2 1 0 1 4 2 4 2 2 0 7 3 1964
Italy 1968 Fourth place 4th 2 0 1 1 0 2 8 6 0 2 19 8 1968
Belgium 1972 Runners-up 2nd 2 1 0 1 1 3 8 5 3 0 16 4 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976 Did not qualify 8 4 1 3 12 10 1976
Italy 1980 6 1 3 2 7 8 1980
France 1984 6 4 1 1 11 2 1984
West Germany 1988 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 7 4 8 5 3 0 14 3 1988
as  CIS as  Soviet Union
Sweden 1992 Group stage 8th 3 0 2 1 1 4 8 5 3 0 13 2 1992
as  Russia as  Russia
England 1996 Group stage 14th 3 0 1 2 4 8 10 8 2 0 34 5 1996
Belgium Netherlands 2000 Did not qualify 10 6 1 3 22 12 2000
Portugal 2004 Group stage 10th 3 1 0 2 2 4 10 5 3 2 20 12 2004
Austria Switzerland 2008 Semi-finals 3rd 5 3 0 2 7 8 12 7 3 2 18 7 2008
Poland Ukraine 2012 Group stage 9th 3 1 1 1 5 3 10 7 2 1 17 4 2012
France 2016 23rd 3 0 1 2 2 6 10 6 2 2 21 5 2016
Europe 2020 19th 3 1 0 2 2 7 10 8 0 2 33 8 2020
Germany 2024 Banned Banned 2024
Total 1 Title 12/17 36 13 7 16 40 52 128 80 29 19 262 89 Total

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 B 2 4 2 1 1 4 3 Same position 17th
2020–21 B 3 6 2 2 2 9 12 Same position 24th
2022–23 B 2 Disqualified Fall 32nd
2024–25 C To be determined
Total 10 4 3 3 13 15 17th

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Saudi Arabia 1992 Did not qualify
Saudi Arabia 1995
Saudi Arabia 1997
Mexico 1999
South Korea Japan 2001
France 2003
Germany 2005
South Africa 2009
Brazil 2013
Russia 2017 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 3 3 Squad
Total Group stage 1/10 3 1 0 2 3 3

Head-to-head record

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

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

As of 20 November 2022 after the match against  Uzbekistan.

      Positive Record       Neutral Record       Negative Record

Home venues record

Venue City First match Last match Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA Average attendance
Lokomotiv Moscow 16 August 1992 6 June 2014 28 16 8 4 56 20 20,592
Luzhniki Moscow 14 October 1992 10 October 2019 33 20 8 5 55 21 41,881
Dynamo Moscow 29 May 1996 14 October 2020 18 11 7 0 36 11 15,556
Petrovsky Saint Petersburg 20 August 1997 26 May 2014 9 8 0 1 19 3 18,119
Arsenal Tula 19 May 1999 19 May 1999 1 0 1 0 1 1 13,000
Tsentralny Volgograd 16 October 2002 16 October 2002 1 1 0 0 4 1 16,000
Kuban Krasnodar 17 November 2004 14 November 2015 4 3 1 0 9 2 26,800
Tsentralny Profsoyuz Voronezh 17 November 2010 17 November 2010 1 0 0 1 0 2 34,000
Tsentralny Kazan 6 September 2013 6 September 2013 1 1 0 0 4 1 22,000
Arena Khimki Khimki 3 September 2014 7 June 2015 4 3 1 0 12 2 6,109
Otkrytie Arena Moscow 12 October 2014 21 June 2017 6 3 1 2 7 3 38,204
Olimp-2 Rostov-on-Don 17 November 2015 17 November 2015 1 0 0 1 1 3 15,000
Krasnodar Stadium Krasnodar 9 October 2016 24 March 2017 5 0 2 3 6 7 30,100
Akhmat-Arena Grozny 15 November 2016 15 November 2016 1 1 0 0 1 0 30,000
Fisht Olympic Stadium Sochi 28 March 2017 27 October 2021 3 1 2 0 5 5 42,144
VEB Arena Moscow 9 June 2017 8 October 2020 3 1 2 0 6 4 21,742
Krestovsky Stadium Saint Petersburg 17 June 2017 16 November 2019 4 2 1 1 9 7 52,843
Kazan Arena Kazan 24 June 2017 10 October 2017 2 0 1 1 2 3 37,428
Cosmos Arena Samara 25 June 2018 25 June 2018 1 0 0 1 0 3 41,970
Rostov Arena Rostov-on-Don 10 September 2018 10 September 2018 1 1 0 0 5 1 42,200
Kaliningrad Stadium Kaliningrad 11 October 2018 9 September 2019 2 1 1 0 0 0 31,698

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Rusia para niños

kids search engine
Russia national football team Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.