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Soviet Union
Nickname(s)	Red Army
Association	Football Federation of USSR
Most caps	Oleg Blokhin (112)
Top scorer	Oleg Blokhin (42)
FIFA code	URS
Highest Elo ranking	1 (1963, 1966, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88)
Home colours 　 Away colours
First international
USSR 3 - 0 Turkey (Moscow, USSR; 16 November 1924) Last International Cyprus 0 - 3 USSR (Larnaca, Cyprus; 13 November 1991)
Biggest win
USSR 11 - 1 India (Moscow, USSR; 16 September 1955) Finland 0 - 10 USSR (Helsinki, Finland; 15 August 1957)
Biggest defeat
England 5 - 0 USSR (London, England; 22 October 1958)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (First in 1958)
Best result	Fourth place, 1966
European Championship
Appearances	5 (First in 1960)
Best result	Winners, 1960

Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
Gold	1956 Melbourne	Team
Bronze	1972 Munich	Team
Bronze	1976 Montreal	Team
Bronze	1980 Moscow	Team
Gold	1988 Seoul	Team

The USSR national football team was the national football team of the Soviet Union. It ceased to exist on the break up of the Union. FIFA considers the CIS national football team (and ultimately, Russia national football team) as its successor team[1] allocating its former records to them; nevertheless, a large percentage of the team's former players came from outside Russian SFSR, mainly from Ukrainian SSR, and following the break up of the Soviet Union, some such as Oleg Salenko and Andrei Kanchelskis from the former Ukrainian SSR continued to serve in the new Russia national football team.

The Soviet Union failed to qualify for the World Cup only once, in 1978, and attended seven finals tournaments in total. Their best finish was fourth in 1966, when they lost to West Germany in the semifinals, 2-1. The USSR qualified for five European Championships, winning the inaugural competition in 1960 when they beat Yugoslavia in the final, 2-1. They finished second three times (1964, 1972, 1988), and fourth once (1968), when, having drawn with Italy in the semi-final, they were sent to the third place playoff match by the loss of a coin toss. The Soviet Union also won the gold medal in the 1956 and 1988 Summer Olympics, the inaugural World Youth Championship in 1977, and the Under-16 World Championship in 1987.

Contents 1 History 2 Famous players 3 Notable players 4 National teams of the former Soviet republics 5 World Cup record 6 European Championship record 7 Notes 8 See also 9 External links 10 Titles

The first international match played by a Soviet team came in August 1923, nine months after the establishment of the Soviet Union, when a Russian SFSR team beat Sweden 2-1 in Stockholm.^[1] The first formally recognised match played by the Soviet Union took place a year later, a 3-0 win over Turkey. This and a return match in Ankara were the only officially recognised international matches played by the USSR prior to the 1952 Summer Olympics, though several unofficial friendlies against Turkey took place in the 1930s. The 1952 Olympics was the first competitive tournament entered by the USSR. In the preliminary round, Bulgaria were defeated 2-1, earning a first round tie against Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia led 5-1, but a Soviet comeback in the last 15 minutes resulted in a 5-5 draw. The match was replayed, Yugoslavia winning 3-1.^[2]

The USSR entered the World Cup for the first time at the 1958 tournament, following a qualification playoff against Poland.^[3] Drawn in a group with Brazil, England and Austria. They collected three points in total, one from England and two from Austria. USSR and England went to a playoff game, in which Anatoli Ilyin scored in the 67th minute to knock England out. The USSR were then eliminated by the hosts of the tournament, Sweden, in the quarter finals.

The inaugural European Championships in 1960 marked the pinnacle of Soviet footballing achievement. Easily progressing to the quarter-finals, the team were scheduled to face Spain, but due to the tensions of the Cold War, Spain refused to travel to the Soviet Union, resulting in a walkover. In the semi-final, the Soviet team defeated Czechoslovakia 3-0 and reached the Final, where they faced Yugoslavia. In the final, Yugoslavia scored first, but the Soviet Union, led by legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin, equalized in the 49th minute. After 90 minutes the score was 1-1, and Viktor Ponedelnik scored with seven minutes left in extra time to give the Soviets the inaugural European Championship.

In the 1962 FIFA World Cup, the Soviet team was in Group 1 with Yugoslavia, Colombia and Uruguay. The match between USSR and Colombia was a goal duel (ended 4- 4) which Colombia managed to avoid a huge defeat against the Soviet side with a series of goals (68’, 72’, 86’). Star goalkeeper Lev Yashin was in poor form both against Colombia and Chile. His form was considered as one of the main reasons why USSR team couldn’t manage to gain more success in the tournament.

In 1964, the USSR attempted to defend their European Championship title, defeating Italy in the Eighth-finals (2-0, 1-1) and to reach the Quarter Finals. After two matches against Sweden, Soviet side became victorious by an aggregate win (1-1, 3-1). Then USSR team went to Spain where the Final Leg of the tournament was held. Four years earlier, Spain had rejected to go to the Soviet Union but Soviets didn’t do the same thing to Spain. In the semi-finals, the Soviet Union defeated the Danes 3-0 in Barcelona but their dreams about winning the title consecutively were all gone when they lost the Final against Spain, the hosts.

The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the tournament which the USSR team reached their best result by finishing the cup as the fourth. USSR was in the Group 4 with North Korea, Italy and Chile. In all three matches, USSR team managed to defeat their rivals. The Soviet team then defeated Hungary in the quarter finals thanks to the effective performance of their star, Lev Yashin but their success shadowed by the two defeats they had in 25th and 28th of July, against West Germany in the semi finals and against Portugal in the third place play off match, respectively. The 1966 squad was the second best scoring Soviet team in the World Cup history, by scoring 10 goals.

For the 1968 European Championships, the qualification competition was played in two stages; a group stage (taking place from 1966 until 1968) and the quarter-finals (played in 1968). Again, only four teams could reach to the Finals which were held in Italy. The Semi Final match between USSR and Italy ended 0-0. It was decided to toss a coin to see who reached the final, rather than play a replay. Italy won, and went on to become European champions. On 8 June, Soviets were defeated by England in the Third Place match which made Soviet Union the worst team in the final series.

The 1970 FIFA World Cup started with the opening match between Mexico and USSR. The Soviet team became the first team to make a substitution in the World Cup history in this match. Other opponents of USSR in their group were Belgium and El Salvador. Soviet team easily qualified to the quarter final where they lost against Uruguay at extra time. This was the last time that USSR could reach to the quarter finals.

The final tournament of the 1972 European Championships took place between June 14 and June 18, 1972. Again, only four teams were in the finals. Soviets defeated Hungary 1-0, a second half goal. The Final would be between West Germany and USSR. The match ended with a clear victory of the German side thanks to the effective football of Gerd Müller. This tournament was one of the two tournaments which USSR finished as runner-up. The rest of the 1970s were bleak for the Soviets, who were disqualified from the 1974 FIFA World Cup as a result of refusal to play Chile in the aftermath of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, and failed to qualify for the 1978 FIFA World Cup or the 1976 and 1980 European Championships.

The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the USSR's first major tournament appearance for a decade. The USSR was in Group 6 with Brazil, Scotland and New Zealand. Goals by Socrates and Eder marked the defeat of the Soviet side against Brazil in the first group match, and they were eventually eliminated in the Second Round by finishing the group in second place. In 1984 the Soviets again failed to qualify for the European Championships, but succeeded in qualifying for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. USSR were in Group C with Hungary, France and Canada. Soviet team enjoyed a successful group stage by scoring nine goals and finishing the group in the first place. It seemed like the Soviet side managed to forget their unsuccessful performance in 1982 but they defeated Belgium only 1-0 and drew Poland, 0-0, in the round of 16. Despite their poor performance in the cup, USSR team was the best scoring Soviet team in the World Cup history, by scoring 12 goals.

After failing to qualify for the tournament for three consecutive times (1976, 1980, 1984), the Soviets managed to qualify for the 1988 competition, the last time the USSR national football team took part in the European Football Championship. The Finals were held in West Germany. Eight teams were participating in the Final Round this time. USSR finished Group B as leaders above the Netherlands and reached the Semi Finals. There, the Soviets defeated Italy 2-0 and gained the final ticket. The match was between USSR and Netherlands, rival of USSR from Group B. Netherlands won the match with a clear score and became the European champions.

The final major championship contested by Soviet team was the 1990 FIFA World Cup, where they were drawn in Group B with Argentina, Romania and Cameroon. The only success of USSR in the whole tournament came when they managed to beat the group leaders, Cameroon by 4-0. The Soviet team lost their other matches and couldn’t qualify from the group. The USSR qualified for Euro 92, but the breakup of the Soviet Union meant that the finals place was instead taken by the CIS national football team. After the tournament, the former Soviet Republics competed as separate independent nations, with FIFA allocating the Soviet team's record to Russia.

Russia Vsevolod Bobrov Anatoli Byshovets Fedor Cherenkov Lev Yashin Igor Chislenko Rinat Dasaev Grigori Fedotov Yuri Gavrilov Dmitri Kharine Galimzyan Hussainov Anatoli Ilyin Valentin Ivanov Vagiz Khidiatullin Evgeni Lovchev Igor Netto Alexei Paramonov Viktor Ponedelnik Albert Shesternev Eduard Streltsov Valeri Voronin

Ukraine Sergei Baltacha Igor Belanov Vladimir Bessonov Oleg Blokhin Evhen Rudakov Leonid Buryak Alexei Mikhailichenko Viktor Kolotov Anatoly Konjkov Gennadiy Litovchenko Oleg Protasov Vassili Rats Aleksandr Zavarov Vladimir Veremeev Vladimir Muntyan Anatoly Demyanenko Viktor Serebrianikov Yozhef Sabo Vladimir Onischenko Vladimir Kaplichniy

Georgia Alexandre Chivadze David Kipiani Murtaz Khurtsilava Mikheil Meskhi Slava Metreveli Ramaz Shengelia Armenia Khoren Oganesyan Nikita Simonyan Belarus Sergei Aleinikov Azerbaijan Anatoli Banishevski

Armenia	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Azerbaijan	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Belarus	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Estonia	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Georgia	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Kazakhstan	National team	U-21 team	UEFA (AFC:1992-2002)
Kyrgyzstan	National team	U-23 team	AFC
Latvia	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Lithuania	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Moldova	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Russia	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Tajikistan	National team	U-23 team	AFC
Turkmenistan	National team	U-23 team	AFC
Ukraine	National team	U-21 team	UEFA
Uzbekistan	National team	U-23 team	AFC

Year	Round	Position	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Scorers
1930	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1934	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1938	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1950	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1954	Did not enter	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1958	Quarter-finals	6th	5	2	1	2	5	6	Simonyan, A. Ivanov, Ilyin (2), V. Ivanov
1962	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	1	1	9	7	V. Ivanov (4), Ponedelnik (2), Chislenko (2), Mamykin,
1966	Fourth place	4th	6	4	0	2	10	6	Porkuyan (4), Malofeev (2), Chislenko (2), Banishevskiy, Metreveli
1970	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	6	2	Byshovets (4), Asatiani, Khmelnitsky
1974	Disqualified[4]	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1978	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982	Round 2	7th	5	2	2	1	7	4	Bal, Gavrilov, Blokhin, Baltacha, Chivadze, Shengelia, Oganesian
1986	Round 2	10th	4	2	1	1	12	5	Belanov (4), Yaremchuk (2), Yakovenko, Aleinikov, Rodionov, Rats, Blokhin, Zavarov
1990	Round 1	17th	3	1	0	2	4	4	Protasov, Zygmantovich, Zavarov, Dobrovolski
1994	Succeeded by Russia	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	Best: Semi-finals	Best: 4th	30	14	6	10	52	34	Top scorer: V. Ivanov (5)

• 1960 - Champions
• 1964 - Runners-up (lost to Spain)
• 1968 - Fourth place (lost to Italy in semifinals (note: on coin toss), lost to England in 3rd place match)
• 1972 - Runners-up (lost to West Germany)
• 1976 - Did not qualify - Quarterfinals (lost to Czechoslovakia)
• 1980 - Did not qualify
• 1984 - Did not qualify
• 1988 - Runners-up (lost to Netherlands)
• 1992 - succeeded by CIS

• USSR national under-21 football team

• RSSSF archive of results 1912-
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Football in USSR
• Russia Team Profile including old USSR World Cup qualifications
• Russia (USSR) National Football Team
• Team history

Preceded by Inaugural Champions

European Champions 1960 (First title)

Succeeded by 1964 Spain

Soviet football (soccer) competitions v • d • e
Leagues Soviet Top League | Soviet First League | Soviet Second League | Soviet Second League B Cups Soviet Cup | USSR Super Cup | USSR Federation Cup Miscellaneous USSR National team | USSR Under-21 National team | CIS National team
International football v • d • e
FIFA | World Cup | Confederations Cup | U-20 World Cup | U-17 World Cup | Olympics | Asian Games | All-Africa Games | Pan American Games | Island Games | World Rankings | Player of the Year | Teams | Codes
Asia: AFC – Asian Cup      Africa: CAF – African Cup of Nations      North America: CONCACAF – Gold Cup      South America: CONMEBOL – Copa América      Oceania: OFC – Nations Cup      Europe: UEFA – European Championship      Non-FIFA: NF-Board – VIVA World Cup
National football teams of Europe (UEFA) v • d • e
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