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^[4]).

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

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 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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7] Russia started their tournament against Spain but a late goal from Juan Carlos Valerón put Russia on the brink of another group stage elimination.^[8] Four days later, Russia became the first team eliminated after a 0–2 defeat to Portugal.^[9] 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.^[10]

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

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• Euro 2008: Netherlands vs. Russia

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.^[11]

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.^[12] In the return match, Russia lost 1–0 in Maribor, and Slovenia qualified for the finals on the away goals rule.^[13] On 13 February 2010, it was confirmed that Hiddink would leave his position as manager, with the expiration of his contract on 30 June.^[14]

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.

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.^[15]

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.^[16]

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.^[17] 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.^[18][19]

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.^[20] 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,^[21] Russia disappointed its fans by losing 0–1 to Portugal^[22] and 1–2 to Mexico, thus once again crashed out from the group stage of a major FIFA tournament.^[23] Despite this dismal performance, Stanislav Cherchesov, appointed as coach of Russia after Euro 2016, was allowed to keep the job.

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.^[24][25] 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.^[26][27] 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,^[28] on 14 June in the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[29] On 19 June, Russia won their second game of the group stage, beating Egypt by a scoreline of 3–1,^[30] taking their goal difference to +7 with only two matches played.^[31] 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.^[32] They officially qualified for the knockout stage the next day, following Uruguay's 1–0 win over Saudi Arabia.^[33] Russia's final group game was against two-time world champions (1930 and 1950) Uruguay, losing 3–0,^[34] 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.^[35] 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.^[36][37] 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.^[38] 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.^[39] 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."^[40]

Russia football supporters at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russia then played Croatia in the quarter-finals held at Sochi, on 7 July.^[41][42][43] Coach Stanislav Cherchesov reverted to a four-man defense which successfully exploited Croatia offensive set-up which proved vulnerable to Russia's counter-attacking.^[38] 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.^[44] 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.^[40][45] 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.^[46][47] 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.^[48]

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,^[49] Russia defeated four other group opponents, including beating San Marino 9–0 after the two 7–0 wins in 1995 and 2015.^[50] They also defeated Scotland, Cyprus, and Kazakhstan twice and qualified for the UEFA Euro 2020.^[51] Russia consolidated its second place in the group despite being thrashed by number-one ranked Belgium 1–4 at home.^[52]

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.^[53]

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.^[54][55] 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.^{[56][57][58][59]} 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.^[60] 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.^[61]

The decision was 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.^[62][63][64] This was in accordance with a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).^[64][65] The Russian Football Union unsuccessfully appealed the FIFA and UEFA bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which upheld the bans.^[2] On 20 September 2022, UEFA decided to ban Russia from participating in UEFA Euro 2024.^[66]

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.^[67] 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.^[68] 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 not participate.^[69] 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.^[70]

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.^{[71][72][73][74][75]} In response, critics claim that the AFC doesn't offer the "same amount of power like in Europe" when compared to "lucrative European competitions".^[76] 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".^[77] 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.^[78] 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),^[79] which could undermine Australia, Japan and South Korea's efforts due to their limited voices against the wider pro-Russian opinions in the AFC.^[80]

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.^[81]

Kits and crests

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Russia national football team kits.

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.^[82][83] This trend was continued by Adidas, who took over as suppliers in 2008.^[84] 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.^[85]

Kit suppliers

Period	Supplier
1992–1993	Adidas
1993–1996	Reebok
1997–2008	Nike
2008–2022	Adidas
2024–2026	Jögel

Kit deals

Kit supplier	Period	Contract announcement	Contract duration	Value
Adidas	2008–2022	2008-09-08	2008–2018	Undisclosed[86]
		2018-05-31	2018–2022	Undisclosed[87]

2023

Iran  v  Russia

23 March Friendly	Iran	1–1	Russia	Tehran, Iran
20:30 UTC+3:30	Taremi 49' (pen.)	Report	An. Miranchuk 28' (pen.)	Stadium: Azadi Stadium Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Russia  v  Iraq

26 March Friendly	Russia	2–0	Iraq	Saint Petersburg, Russia
18:00 UTC+3	An. Miranchuk 50' Pinyayev 58'	Report		Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium Attendance: 23,818 Referee: Akhrol Riskullaev (Uzbekistan)

Qatar  v  Russia

12 September Friendly	Qatar	1–1	Russia	Al Wakrah, Qatar
18:15 UTC+3	Alaaeldin 70'	Report	Soldatenkov 90'	Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Russia  v  Cameroon

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)

Russia  v  Kenya

16 October Friendly	Russia	2–2	Kenya	Aksu, Turkey
19:00 UTC+3	Sobolev 8' Oblyakov 89'	Report	Akumu 16' Juma 36'	Stadium: Mardan Sports Complex Referee: Atilla Karaoğlan (Turkey)

Russia  v  Cuba

20 November Friendly	Russia	8–0	Cuba	Volgograd, Russia
19:30 UTC+3	Oblyakov 22' Golovin 30' An. Miranchuk 34' Silyanov 55' Sobolev 66' Prutsev 68' Krivtsov 74' Mostovoy 78'	Report		Stadium: Volgograd Arena Attendance: 40,706 Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Belarus)

2024

Russia  v  Serbia

21 March Friendly	Russia	v	Serbia	Moscow, Russia
				Stadium: VTB Arena

Manager history

As of 20 November 2023^[89]

No.	Name	Start	End	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	Competitions
1	Pavel Sadyrin	16 July 1992	28 July 1994	23	12	6	5	52	1994 World Cup – Group stage
2	Oleg Romantsev	28 July 1994	11 July 1996	25	17	4	4	68	UEFA Euro 1996 – Group stage
3	Boris Ignatyev	11 July 1996	19 June 1998	20	8	8	4	40
4	Anatoliy Byshovets	24 July 1998	20 December 1998	6	0	0	6	0
5	Oleg Romantsev	28 December 1998	8 July 2002	35	19	10	6	54	2002 World Cup – Group stage
6	Valery Gazzaev	8 July 2002	25 August 2003	9	4	2	3	44
7	Georgi Yartsev	25 August 2003	5 April 2005	19	8	6	5	42	UEFA Euro 2004 – Group stage
8	Yuri Semin	18 April 2005	31 December 2005	7	3	4	0	43
C	Aleksandr Borodyuk	1 January 2006	9 July 2006	2	0	1	1	0
9	Guus Hiddink	9 July 2006	30 June 2010	39	22	7	10	56	UEFA Euro 2008 – Semi-finals
10	Dick Advocaat	15 July 2010	16 June 2012	23	12	7	4	52	UEFA Euro 2012 – Group stage
11	Fabio Capello	26 July 2012	14 July 2015	33	17	11	5	52	2014 World Cup – Group stage
12	Leonid Slutsky	7 August 2015	30 June 2016	13	6	2	5	46	UEFA Euro 2016 – Group stage
13	Stanislav Cherchesov	11 August 2016	8 July 2021	57	24	13	20	42	2017 Confederations Cup – Group stage 2018 World Cup – Quarter-finals UEFA Euro 2020 – Group stage
14	Valeri Karpin	26 July 2021		16	9	6	1	56

Current squad

• The following players were called up for the friendly match against Cuba in Volgograd on 20 November 2023.^[90]

• Caps and goals are correct as of 20 November 2023 after the match against Cuba.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Matvei Safonov	(1999-02-25) 25 February 1999	12	0	Krasnodar
	1GK	Ilya Lantratov	(1995-11-11) 11 November 1995	1	0	Lokomotiv Moscow
	1GK	Artur Nigmatullin	(1991-05-17) 17 May 1991	0	0	Pari Nizhny Novgorod
	2DF	Maksim Osipenko	(1994-05-16) 16 May 1994	10	0	Rostov
	2DF	Aleksandr Silyanov	(2001-02-17) 17 February 2001	7	1	Lokomotiv Moscow
	2DF	Daniil Khlusevich	(2001-02-26) 26 February 2001	5	0	Spartak Moscow
	2DF	Aleksandr Soldatenkov	(1996-12-28) 28 December 1996	4	1	Krylia Sovetov Samara
	2DF	Sergei Volkov	(2002-09-09) 9 September 2002	3	0	Krasnodar
	2DF	Arsen Adamov	(1999-10-20) 20 October 1999	1	0	Orenburg
	2DF	Yuri Gorshkov	(1999-03-13) 13 March 1999	1	0	Krylia Sovetov Samara
	2DF	Yevgeni Kharin	(1995-06-11) 11 June 1995	1	0	Akhmat Grozny
	3MF	Daler Kuzyayev	(1993-01-15) 15 January 1993	49	2	Le Havre
	3MF	Aleksandr Golovin (captain)	(1996-05-30) 30 May 1996	47	6	Monaco[lower-alpha 1]
	3MF	Anton Miranchuk	(1995-10-17) 17 October 1995	27	6	Lokomotiv Moscow
	3MF	Andrei Mostovoy	(1997-11-05) 5 November 1997	14	2	Zenit Saint Petersburg
	3MF	Danil Glebov	(1999-11-03) 3 November 1999	10	0	Rostov
	3MF	Ivan Oblyakov	(1998-07-05) 5 July 1998	8	2	CSKA Moscow
	3MF	Sergei Pinyayev	(2004-11-02) 2 November 2004	6	1	Lokomotiv Moscow
	3MF	Danil Prutsev	(2000-03-25) 25 March 2000	3	1	Spartak Moscow
	3MF	Nikita Krivtsov	(2002-08-18) 18 August 2002	1	1	Krasnodar
	3MF	Aleksandr Chernikov	(2000-02-01) 1 February 2000	1	0	Krasnodar
	4FW	Aleksandr Sobolev	(1997-03-07) 7 March 1997	15	6	Spartak Moscow
	4FW	Fyodor Chalov	(1998-04-10) 10 April 1998	7	1	CSKA Moscow
	4FW	Ivan Sergeyev	(1995-05-11) 11 May 1995	1	0	Zenit Saint Petersburg

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	Ilya Pomazun	(1996-08-16) 16 August 1996	1	0	Ural Yekaterinburg	v.  Kenya, 16 October 2023
GK	Mikhail Kerzhakov	(1987-01-28) 28 January 1987	0	0	Zenit Saint Petersburg	v.  Qatar, 12 September 2023
GK	Sergei Pesyakov	(1988-12-16) 16 December 1988	2	0	Rostov	v.  Iraq, 26 March 2023
GK	Aleksandr Selikhov	(1994-04-07) 7 April 1994	1	0	Spartak Moscow	v.  Iraq, 26 March 2023
DF	Ruslan Litvinov	(2001-08-18) 18 August 2001	4	0	Spartak Moscow	v.  Cuba, 20 November 2023 INJ
DF	Georgi Dzhikiya	(1993-11-21) 21 November 1993	45	2	Spartak Moscow	v.  Kenya, 16 October 2023
DF	Artyom Makarchuk	(1995-11-09) 9 November 1995	4	0	Sochi	v.  Kenya, 16 October 2023
DF	Roman Yevgenyev	(1999-02-23) 23 February 1999	2	0	Krylia Sovetov Samara	v.  Kenya, 16 October 2023
DF	Dmitri Skopintsev	(1997-03-02) 2 March 1997	1	0	Dynamo Moscow	v.  Qatar, 12 September 2023
DF	Vyacheslav Karavayev	(1995-05-20) 20 May 1995	24	2	Zenit Saint Petersburg	v.  Qatar, 12 September 2023 INJ
DF	Daniil Denisov	(2002-10-21) 21 October 2002	1	0	Spartak Moscow	v.  Qatar, 12 September 2023 PRE
MF	Dmitri Barinov	(1996-09-11) 11 September 1996	18	0	Lokomotiv Moscow	v.  Cuba, 20 November 2023 INJ
MF	Anton Zinkovsky	(1996-04-04) 4 April 1996	3	0	Spartak Moscow	v.  Cuba, 20 November 2023 INJ
MF	Aleksei Miranchuk	(1995-10-17) 17 October 1995	43	6	Atalanta	v.  Kenya, 16 October 2023
MF	Daniil Fomin	(1997-03-02) 2 March 1997	16	0	Dynamo Moscow	v.  Kenya, 16 October 2023
MF	Maksim Mukhin	(2001-11-04) 4 November 2001	8	0	CSKA Moscow	v.  Kenya, 16 October 2023
MF	Maksim Glushenkov	(1999-07-28) 28 July 1999	2	0	Lokomotiv Moscow	v.  Cameroon, 12 October 2023 INJ
MF	Artyom Karpukas	(2002-06-13) 13 June 2002	1	0	Lokomotiv Moscow	v.  Cameroon, 12 October 2023 INJ
MF	Aleksandr Yushin	(1995-04-04) 4 April 1995	1	0	Ural Yekaterinburg	v.  Qatar, 12 September 2023
MF	Ilzat Akhmetov	(1997-12-31) 31 December 1997	9	0	Zenit Saint Petersburg	v.  Iraq, 26 March 2023
MF	Arsen Zakharyan	(2003-05-26) 26 May 2003	7	0	Real Sociedad	v.  Iraq, 26 March 2023
FW	Nikolay Komlichenko	(1995-06-29) 29 June 1995	7	1	Rostov	v.  Qatar, 12 September 2023
FW	Konstantin Tyukavin	(2002-06-22) 22 June 2002	3	0	Dynamo Moscow	v.  Qatar, 12 September 2023 INJ
Notes INJ = Not part of the current squad due to injury. PRE = Preliminary squad/standby.

Most appearances

Sergei Ignashevich is the most capped player in Russian and USSR history with 127 caps.

Notes

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.

Notes

FIFA World Cup

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place  

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	—
as  Soviet Union											as  Soviet Union
1930	Not a FIFA member										Not a FIFA member						1930
1934																	1934
1938																	1938
1950	Did not enter										Did not enter						1950
1954																	1954
1958	Quarter-finals	6th	5	2	1	2	5	6	Squad		5	4	0	1	18	3	1958
1962			4	2	1	1	9	7	Squad		4	4	0	0	11	3	1962
1966	Fourth place	4th	6	4	0	2	10	6	Squad		6	5	0	1	19	6	1966
1970	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	6	2	Squad		4	3	1	0	8	1	1970
1974	Did not qualify										6	3	1	2	5	4	1974
1978											4	2	0	2	5	3	1978
1982	Second group stage	7th	5	2	2	1	7	4	Squad		8	6	2	0	20	2	1982
1986	Round of 16	10th	4	2	1	1	12	5	Squad		8	4	2	2	13	8	1986
1990	Group stage	17th	3	1	0	2	4	4	Squad		8	4	3	1	11	4	1990
as  Russia											as  Russia
1994	Group stage	17th	3	1	0	2	7	6	Squad		8	5	2	1	15	4	1994
1998	Did not qualify										10	5	3	2	20	7	1998
2002	Group stage	22nd	3	1	0	2	4	4	Squad		10	7	2	1	18	5	2002
2006	Did not qualify										12	6	5	1	23	12	2006
2010											12	8	1	3	21	8	2010
2014	Group stage	24th	3	0	2	1	2	3	Squad		10	7	1	2	20	5	2014
2018	Quarter-finals	8th	5	2	2	1	11	7	Squad		Qualified as hosts
2022	Disqualified from qualification play-offs by FIFA and UEFA										10	7	1	2	19	6	2022
2026	To be determined										To be determined						2026
2030																	2030
2034																	2034
Total	Fourth place	11/25	45	19	10	16	77	54	—		125	80	24	21	246	81	—

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	—
as  Soviet Union											as  Soviet Union
1960	Champions	1st	2	2	0	0	5	1	Squad		2	2	0	0	4	1	1960
1964	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	4	2	Squad		4	2	2	0	7	3	1964
1968	Fourth place	4th	2	0	1	1	0	2	Squad		8	6	0	2	19	8	1968
1972	Runners-up	2nd	2	1	0	1	1	3	Squad		8	5	3	0	16	4	1972
1976	Did not qualify										8	4	1	3	12	10	1976
1980											6	1	3	2	7	8	1980
1984											6	4	1	1	11	2	1984
1988	Runners-up	2nd	5	3	1	1	7	4	Squad		8	5	3	0	14	3	1988
as  CIS											as  Soviet Union
1992	Group stage	8th	3	0	2	1	1	4	Squad		8	5	3	0	13	2	1992
as  Russia											as  Russia
1996	Group stage	14th	3	0	1	2	4	8	Squad		10	8	2	0	34	5	1996
2000	Did not qualify										10	6	1	3	22	12	2000
2004	Group stage	10th	3	1	0	2	2	4	Squad		10	5	3	2	20	12	2004
2008	Semi-finals	3rd	5	3	0	2	7	8	Squad		12	7	3	2	18	7	2008
2012	Group stage	9th	3	1	1	1	5	3	Squad		10	7	2	1	17	4	2012
2016		23rd	3	0	1	2	2	6	Squad		10	6	2	2	21	5	2016
2020		19th	3	1	0	2	2	7	Squad		10	8	0	2	33	8	2020
2024	Banned										Banned
2028	To be determined										To be determined						2028
2032																	2032
Total	1 Title	12/17	36	13	7	16	40	52	—		128	80	29	19	262	89	—

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		17th
2020–21	B	3	6	2	2	2	9	12		24th
2022–23	B	2	Disqualified							32nd
2024–25	Banned
Total			10	4	3	3	13	15	17th

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1992	Did not qualify
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2009
2013
2017	Group stage	5th	3	1	0	2	3	3	Squad
Total	Group stage	1/10	3	1	0	2	3	3	—