National football team of the USSR / World Championships

USSR
Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (CCCP)

World Cup record goalscorer:	Valentin Ivanov (5)
World Cup record players:	Lev Yashin (13)
Rank :	no longer placed, results are now counted for Russia
Balance sheet
31 World Cup games 15 wins 6 draws 10 losses 53:34 goals
statistics
First World Cup game USSR 2-2 England Gothenburg ( SWE ); June 8, 1958
Last World Cup game USSR 4: 0 Cameroon Bari ( ITA ); June 18, 1990
Biggest World Cup victory in the USSR 6: 0 Hungary Irapuato ( MEX ); June 2, 1986
Biggest World Cup defeats USSR 0: 2 Brazil Gothenburg ( SWE ); June 15, 1958 USSR 0-2 Sweden Solna ( SWE ); June 19, 1958 USSR 0-2 Romania Bari ( ITA ); June 9, 1990 USSR 0-2 Argentina Napoli ( ITA ); June 13, 1990
successes
World Championship
Participation in the finals	7 ( first : 1958 )
Best results	Fourth place in 1966
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
(As of July 2014 )

The article contains a detailed account of the national football team of the USSR at world championships . The team took part in seven World Cup tournaments from 1958 to 1990. After the dissolution of the USSR , the Russian team is seen by FIFA as the successor to the national football team of the USSR and their successes are attributed to Russia. In the all-time ranking , Russia is therefore in 11th place.

overview

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	not participated				not a FIFA member
1934	Italy	not participated				not a FIFA member
1938	France	not participated				not a FIFA member
1950	Brazil	not participated
1954	Switzerland	not participated
1958	Sweden	Quarter finals	Sweden	7th	Gavriil Kachalin	Qualified for the quarter-finals after the play-off (1-0) against England.
1962	Chile	Quarter finals	Chile	6th	Gavriil Kachalin	Another failure in the quarterfinals against the hosts
1966	England	3rd place match	Portugal	4th Place	Nikolai Morozov	Best placement at a World Cup. Semi-final defeat against Germany
1970	Mexico	Quarter finals	Uruguay	5.	Gavriil Kachalin
1974	Germany	not qualified				After the Soviet Union did not play for the playoff second leg in Chile , this was counted for Chile.
1978	Argentina	not qualified				In the qualification of Hungary failed
1982	Spain	Intermediate round	Poland , Belgium	7th	Konstantin Beskov	Eliminated due to the worse goal difference.
1986	Mexico	Round of 16	Belgium	10.	Valery Lobanovsky	Defeat (3: 4) in extra time
1990	Italy	Preliminary round	Romania , Argentina , Cameroon	17th	Valery Lobanovsky	After two defeats against Romania and world champion Argentina and a win against Cameroon in fourth place with a better goal difference (4: 4) than the group winners Cameroon (3: 5), they were eliminated.

Statistics (data including 2018: 21 World Championships; percentages are rounded)

• Participation waiver: 2 × (10%; 1950, 1954)
• Not permitted: 3 × (14%; 1930, 1934 and 1938)
• Unqualified: 2 × (10%; 1974 and 1978)
• No longer existent: 7 × (33%; since 1994)
• Sports qualification: 7 × (33% or 78% of the attempts)
  • Preliminary round: 1 × (5%; 1990)
  • Round of 16: 1 × (5%; 1986)
  • 2nd final round with 12 teams: 1 × (5%; 1982)
  • Quarter-finals: 3 × (14%; 1958, 1962 and 1970)
  • Fourth: 1 × (5%, 1966)

1930 to 1954

After the establishment of the USSR, FIFA banned its members from international matches against them. Therefore, the USSR could not take part in the first three World Cup tournaments. Despite the USSR's inclusion in FIFA in 1946, it was not until 1952 that the USSR played their first international match. Stalin hoped for propaganda success from the participation of the Soviet team in the soccer competition of the Olympic Games in 1952. When this did not materialize, the national team was put on hold until 1954. Therefore, the team did not take part in the first two World Cup tournaments after the Second World War.

1958 in Sweden

Soviet postage stamp for the 1958 World Cup

After the Olympic victory in 1956 , the USSR was able to qualify for the 1958 World Cup for the first time . In the qualification she had to play against the neighbors Poland and Finland . Poland and the USSR both won their home games as well as in Finland and therefore both had 6-2 points. Since the better goal difference of the USSR did not count, there was a play-off in Leipzig , which the USSR won 2-0.

In Sweden, the USSR, which still had eight Olympic champions, was drawn into a group with the eventual world champion Brazil , the World Cup third Austria and England . In their first World Cup game against England they had to accept the 2-2 after a 2-0 lead. The realized Nikita Simonyan the first World Cup goal for the USSR in the 13th minute. In the second game they got their first World Cup victory: Austria was defeated 2-0. But they lost against Brazil 2-0. Since the USSR and England were tied on points and goals, there was a playoff for second place between the two, which the USSR won 1-0. In the quarter-finals, they met hosts Sweden two days later , who had two more days off, and lost 2-0. They felt like two other teams that had only reached the quarter-finals via the playoffs and therefore had less recovery time. This regulation was therefore abolished for the next World Cup.

1962 in Chile

The qualification for the soccer world championship in 1962 was successful again. After winning the European Championship in 1960 , the USSR was able to qualify with four wins in four games against Norway and Turkey .

In Chile, the USSR was drawn into a group with EM final opponent Yugoslavia , ex-world champion Uruguay and World Cup newcomer Colombia . In the first group game, Yugoslavia was defeated 2-0. This was followed by a memorable 4-4 win against Colombia - the only international game in which Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin had to concede four goals. With a 2-1 win against Uruguay, the USSR then secured group victory and met host Chile in the quarter-finals . The USSR was eliminated again against the hosts with 1: 2.

1966 in England

Postage stamp from the USSR for the 1966 World Cup

The 1966 World Cup took place in England and for Wales , group opponents of the USSR in the qualification, this was a special incentive to qualify. In a group of four, both also met Greece and Denmark . Vice European champions USSR won all games, except for the game in the home-strong Welsh team, and qualified again with ease.

In England the USSR was drawn into a group with ex-world champions Italy , Chile and World Cup newcomer North Korea . The Soviet players won the first game against the newcomer 3-0. After a 1-0 win against Italy, the USSR had already qualified for the quarter-finals and, by beating Chile 2-1 in the last game, was able to take revenge on the one hand for the quarter-finals four years earlier and on the other hand to make the group victory perfect. In the quarter-finals, they met the Hungarians who, together with Portugal , had eliminated defending champions Brazil . This hurdle was overcome with 2-1, which meant that the USSR was in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time. Here the team met Germany and lost after Igor Tschislenko was sent off with 1: 2. The small final against World Cup newcomers Portugal was also lost 2-1. However, fourth place is the best result of the USSR in World Cup tournaments. The German soccer fans remembered the Soviet linesman Tofiq Bəhramov , who recognized the Wembley goal .

1970 in Mexico

The USSR was also able to qualify again for the first World Cup in Central America . Again Turkey and Northern Ireland were the group opponents and a point was only given in the 0-0 in Northern Ireland.

In Mexico, the USSR was drawn to the group hosted by Mexico and was allowed to play the opening game, which ended goalless. Other group opponents were the Belgians , who won 4-1, and World Cup newcomer El Salvador , who won 2-0. Since the Mexicans also won against the other two group opponents, the USSR and Mexico were tied and had the same goal difference. So the lot had to decide who was the group winner, as the number of goals played no role. The lot determined the USSR as the group winner, whereby they met former world champions Uruguay. Since no goal was scored in the regular playing time, the game had to be extended and remained without a goal until the 117th minute. Then Víctor Espárrago, who had been substituted 14 minutes earlier, scored the winning goal for the South Americans. The USSR was eliminated for the third time in the quarter-finals and said goodbye to the World Cup for 12 years.

1974 World Cup

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Germany, the Irish and France were the opponents. The USSR lost the first game in France, but was able to win all games afterwards and thus became group winners. The USSR had to play against Chile in the intercontinental playoffs . The first game in Moscow ended goalless. Thereafter, the USSR refused to compete in the Estadio Nacional , because in the first days of the Pinochet Putsch several thousand opposition activists had been detained, tortured and murdered in the stadium . Since FIFA refused to postpone the game, the USSR team did not compete. The game was rated 2-0 for Chile, which qualified with it. The USSR was thus not qualified for the first time.

1978 in Argentina

The USSR also failed to qualify for the World Cup in Argentina . In the qualification, only the second place was taken behind Hungary and before Greece . Hungary then had to knock out the South American team from Bolivia in the first and second leg. The South Americans were defeated 6-0 in Budapest - the highest win in an intercontinental playoff game - and a 3-2 win at La Paz . Hungary was qualified again for the first time since 1966.

1982 in Spain

The USSR could then qualify again for the World Cup on the Iberian Peninsula . In a group with Czechoslovakia , Wales , Iceland and Turkey , the first place was taken.

In Spain, the USSR met record world champions and title favorites Brazil in their first game and lost 2-1. In the second game against World Cup newcomers New Zealand a 3-0 was achieved. A 2-2 win against Scotland was enough to qualify for the second final round because of the better goal difference. This was the only time this World Cup was played in groups of three. With a 1-0 win against Belgium and a 0-0 win against Poland , the USSR was eliminated, as the Poles had won 3-0 against Belgium.

1986 in Mexico

Postage stamp from the USSR for the 1986 World Cup

The qualification for the second World Cup in Mexico was finally successful again. In a group with Denmark, which surprisingly reached the semi-finals at the 1984 European Championship , Switzerland , Ireland and Norway were only second behind Denmark, but this was enough for qualification.

In Mexico, the USSR met Hungary , European champions France and World Cup newcomers Canada in a group . The Hungarians were defeated 6-0, the highest World Cup victory in their history. A 1-1 draw against France followed and a 2-0 win against Canada. The USSR won the group over France due to the better goal difference and met the Belgians in the round of 16, who had only qualified for the knockout round as the best third in the group and to whom the USSR had never lost. The USSR took the lead twice through Igor Belanov , but had to accept the equalizer twice, so that after 90 minutes it was 2-2. In extra time the Belgians won the game and won 4: 3, although they had two days less break.

1990 in Italy

USSR postage stamp for the 1990 World Cup

The qualification for the second World Cup in Italy was successful again. Austria , which also qualified, Turkey , the GDR , which took part in the qualification for the last time, and Iceland were relegated to the places. The qualification was only secured on the last day of the match with a 2-0 win against Turkey.

In Italy, the USSR entered the squad for the first time with legionnaires and also offered four players who had won the Olympic gold medal in 1988 . In the first game, however, they lost 2-0 to Romania . With this result they lost against defending champions Argentina . The last game against the Cameroonians who had already qualified for the knockout round , who surprisingly defeated Argentina 1-0 in the opening game, was won 4-0, but Argentina and Romania separated 1: 1, the USSR took last place and thus finally said goodbye to the World Cup stage. With the final score of 4-0, Igor Dobrowolski had scored the last World Cup goal for the USSR.

1994 in the United States

→ Main article : Russian national soccer team / World Cups

In qualifying for the World Cup in the USA, which was drawn on December 8, 1991, the USSR should compete in a group of six against Greece , Iceland , Hungary , Luxembourg and Yugoslavia . After the collapse of the Soviet Union , the Russian team took over from the USSR and qualified for the World Cup finals.

Ranking of the Soviet World Cup players with the most appearances

Lev Yashin , player with the most World Cup games for the USSR

01. Lev Yashin 13 in 3 tournaments

02. Volodymyr Bessonov - 10 in 3 tournaments

03. Rinat Dassajew , Anatolij Demjanenko , Valentin Ivanov , Albert Schesternjow and Valeri Voronin 9 in 2 and 3 (Dassajew and Demjanenko) tournaments respectively

08. Oleh Blochin *, Oleh Kuznetsov *, Oleksandr Sawarow and Igor Tschislenko - 7 each in 2 tournaments

12. Andrij Bal *, Valeri Karpin , Yuri Nikiforow and Sergei Rodionow - 6 each in 2 tournaments

16. Sergei Baltatscha , Galimsjan Chussainow , Sergei Gorlukowitsch (2 games for Russia), Anatoli Ilyin , Ivan Yaremchuk , Vladimir Kessarew , Konstantin Krischewski , Boris Kuznetsov , Eduard Malofejew ***, Igor Netto , Viktor Onopko , Vladimir * Pandrejow , Aleksandr Tschevad *, Juri Woinow and Viktor Zarjow - 5 each in 1 and 2 (Chussainow, Gorlukowitsch, Yaremchuk, Netto and Onopko) tournaments

Remarks:

• The player in italics also played for Russia at World Cups.
• The FIFA statistics list the players marked with "*" for Ukraine, the player marked with "**" for Georgia and the player marked with "***" for Belarus.

Ranking of the Soviet World Cup players with the most goals

01. Valentin Ivanov 5 goals

02. Igor Belanov , Anatoli Byschowez , Valeri Porkujan and Igor Chislenko - 4 goals each

06. Eduard Malofejew *** - 3 goals

07. Oleh Blochin *, Anatoli Ilyin , Viktor Ponedelnik and Oleksandr Savarov - 2 goals each

Annotation:

• The FIFA statistics list the player marked with "*" for Ukraine and the player marked with "***" for Belarus.

World Cup captains

• 1958: Nikita Simonjan , Igor Netto (3rd group game)
• 1962: Igor Netto
• 1966, 1970: Albert Schesternjow , Lev Jashin (game for 3rd place 1966)
• 1982: Aleksandre Tschivadze
• 1986: Anatolij Demjanenko , Oleh Blochin (3rd group game)
• 1990: Rinat Dassajew (1st game), Oleh Kuznetsov (2nd game), Anatolij Demjanenko (3rd game)

Players banned from World Championships

• 1966: Igor Tschislenko was sent off in the semi-finals against Germany and was suspended for the third place match.
• 1990: In the second group game, Wladimir Bessonow received the red card and was banned from the last group game.

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

At the time of communism , the state amateurs could not switch to a professional team in the West and there were no changes within the Eastern Bloc either. There were therefore no legionaries in the squad until 1990. There were then some players in the squad who were allowed to switch to Western European professional clubs at the age of 27 or older.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1958 to 1986	0
1990 (3)	7 (3 in Germany, 1 in France, 2 in Italy, 1 in Spain)	Alexander Borodjuk (1), Sergei Gorlukowitsch (3), Volodymyr Lyutyj (1); Wagis Chidijatullin (3); Sjarhej Alejnikau (3), Oleksandr Zavarov (3); Rinat Dassayev (3)

Games

• The USSR played 31 World Cup games. Of these, 15 were won, 10 lost and 6 ended in a draw. Two games had to be extended and were lost in overtime.
• The USSR took part in the opening game against the hosts once and also played twice against the hosts: in 1958 and 1962 in the quarter-finals.
• The USSR lost once (1958) to the eventual world champion.
• The USSR played once against the defending champions and met six times newcomers to the World Cup: 1962 / Colombia, 1966 / North Korea and Portugal, 1970 / El Salvador, 1982 / New Zealand and 1986 / Canada.
• The most frequent opponents are Belgium, who have been played three times.
• The USSR played in 16 World Cup cities, most often in Arica and Mexico City (four times each).

All World Cup games
No.	date	Result	opponent		venue	occasion	Remarks
01.	0June 8, 1958	2: 2	England	*	Gothenburg ( SWE )	Group game
02.	June 11, 1958	2-0	Austria	*	Borås ( SWE )	Group game	First game against Austria
03.	June 15, 1958	0: 2	Brazil	*	Gothenburg ( SWE )	Group game	First game against Brazil
04th	June 17, 1958	1-0	England	*	Gothenburg ( SWE )	Group playoff	The USSR and England were tied on points and goals
05.	June 19, 1958	0: 2	Sweden	A.	Solna ( SWE )	Quarter finals
06th	May 31, 1962	2-0	Yugoslavia	*	Arica ( CHI )	Group game
07th	0June 3, 1962	4: 4	Colombia	*	Arica ( CHI )	Group game	First game of a European team against Colombia
08th.	0June 6, 1962	2: 1	Uruguay	*	Arica ( CHI )	Group game
09.	June 10, 1962	1: 2	Chile	A.	Arica ( CHI )	Quarter finals
10.	July 12, 1966	3-0	North Korea	*	Middlesbrough ( ENG )	Group game	First game of a European team against North Korea
11.	July 16, 1966	1-0	Italy	*	Sunderland ( ENG )	Group game
12.	July 20, 1966	2: 1	Chile	*	Sunderland ( ENG )	Group game
13.	July 23, 1966	2: 1	Hungary	*	Liverpool ( ENG )	Quarter finals
14th	July 25, 1966	1: 2	BR Germany	*	Sunderland ( ENG )	Semifinals
15th	July 28, 1966	1: 2	Portugal	*	London ( ENG )	3rd place match	First game against Portugal
16.	May 31, 1970	0-0	Mexico	A.	Mexico City ( MEX )	Group game	Opening game
17th	0June 6, 1970	4: 1	Belgium	*	Mexico City ( MEX )	Group game
18th	June 10, 1970	2-0	El Salvador	*	Mexico City ( MEX )	Group game
19th	June 14, 1970	0: 1 a.d.	Uruguay	*	Mexico City ( MEX )	Quarter finals
20th	June 14, 1982	1: 2	Brazil	*	Seville ( ESP )	First final round
21st	June 19, 1982	3-0	New Zealand	*	Málaga ( ESP )	First final round	First game against New Zealand
22nd	June 22, 1982	2: 2	Scotland	*	Málaga ( ESP )	First final round
23.	0July 1, 1982	1-0	Belgium	*	Barcelona ( ESP )	Second final round
24.	04th July 1982	0-0	Poland	*	Barcelona ( ESP )	Second final round
25th	0June 2, 1986	6-0	Hungary	*	Irapuato ( MEX )	Group game
26th	0June 5, 1986	1: 1	France	*	Leon ( MEX )	Group game
27.	0June 9, 1986	2-0	Canada	*	Irapuato ( MEX )	Group game	First game against Canada
28.	June 15, 1986	3: 4 a.d.	Belgium	*	Leon ( MEX )	Round of 16
29	0June 9, 1990	0: 2	Romania	*	Bari ( ITA )	Group game
30th	June 13, 1990	0: 2	Argentina	*	Naples ( ITA )	Group game
31.	June 18, 1990	4-0	Cameroon	*	Bari ( ITA )	Group game	First game against Cameroon

Highest victories and defeats

The USSR achieved its highest victories against the following countries in World Cup tournaments:

•  Belgium : preliminary round 1970 4-1
•  El Salvador : Preliminary round 1970 2-0 (also a 2-0 in a friendly game, the CIS - successor to the USSR - also won 3-0 against El Salvador in a friendly game)
•  Cameroon : Preliminary round 1990 4-0 (only game against Cameroon)
•  Canada : 1986 2-0 preliminary round (only game against Canada)
•  New Zealand : 1st final round 1982 3-0 (only game against New Zealand)
•  North Korea : 1966 3-0 preliminary round (only game against North Korea)
•  Austria : Preliminary round 1958 2-0 (also a 3-1 and a 2-0 in friendly matches and 2-0 in the 1990 World Cup qualification)
•  Hungary : preliminary round 1986 6-0 (highest World Cup victory of the USSR)

The USSR suffered its highest defeats in World Cup tournaments against the following countries:

•  Argentina : preliminary round 1990 0-2
•  Belgium : Round of 16 1986 3-4 a.s. (only defeat against Belgium)
•  Chile : quarter-finals 1962 1: 2 (also a 0: 2 at the green table)
•  Portugal : Game for 3rd place in 1966 1: 2 (also a 0: 1 in the European Championship qualification 1984)
•  Romania : preliminary round 1990 - 0-2
•  Sweden : quarter-finals 1958 - 2-0 (also 0-2 in the four-country tournament in 1988 and 1-3 in a friendly match)
•  Uruguay : quarter-finals 1970 - 1-0 (only loss to Uruguay)

Records

• The highest-scoring draws: USSR - Colombia 4: 4 (1962 / preliminary round) and England - Belgium 4: 4 a.s. (3: 3, 2: 1) (1954 / preliminary round)
• Biggest victory in a tournament: 1986 USSR - Hungary 6-0 in the preliminary round
• A player from the USSR scored an anniversary tour: Sergei Baltatscha scored the 1100th World Cup goal on June 19, 1982 with the goal of the 3-0 final against New Zealand.

See also

• National football team of the USSR / European championships

Web links

• Football world - statistics - Russia on fifa.com (also contains the data of the USSR and its players, if they have not been assigned to Georgia or Ukraine by FIFA)
• fifa.com: "Statistical overview: records and milestones"

References and footnotes

1. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930-2010 (PDF; 200 kB)
2. ↑ ^{a b} fifa.com: Football World - Statistics - Ukraine
3. ↑ fifa.com: Football World - Statistics - Georgia
4. ↑ ^{a b} fifa.com: Football World - Statistics - Belarus