TheSoviet Union national football team (Russian:сбо́рная СССР по футбо́лу,romanized: sbórnaya SSSR po futbólu) was the nationalfootball team who represented theSoviet Union from 1922 to 1992.
After thebreakup of the Union the team was transformed into theCIS national football team.FIFA andUEFA considers the CIS national football team (and ultimately, theRussia national football team) as the Soviet successor team allocating its former records to them (except for the Olympic records which are not combined due to the IOC policy); nevertheless, a large percentage of the team's former players came from outside theRussian SFSR, mainly from theUkrainian SSR, and following the breakup of the Soviet Union, some such asAndrei Kanchelskis from the former Ukrainian SSR, continued to play in the new Russia national football team.[1]
The Soviet Union failed to qualify for theWorld Cup only twice, in 1974 and 1978, and attended seven finals tournaments in total. Their best finish was fourth in1966, when they lost toWest Germany in the semifinals, 2–1. The Soviet Union qualified for fiveEuropean Championships, winning the inaugural competition in1960 when they beatYugoslavia in the final, 2–1. They finished second three times (1964,1972,1988), and fourth once (1968), when, having drawn withItaly in the semi-final, they were sent to the third-place playoff match by the loss of acoin toss. The Soviet Union national team also participated in a number of Olympic tournaments earning the gold medal in1956 and1988. The Soviet team continued to field its national team players in Olympic tournaments despite the prohibition of FIFA in 1958 to field any national team players in Olympics (players in the Olympics were required to be amateurs at the time, the Soviets effectively bent the rules by listing their best players in the military).[2][3]
Because of the circumstances, surroundingOctober Revolution and later the 1917–1922Russian Civil War,Soviet Russia was internationally diplomatically isolated, making it unable to participate in the international competitions. In 1922, founded the Bolshevik state of theSoviet Union. After the civil war, the Soviet Union managed to establish international communication with politically similar factions in Europe and around the globe. The Soviet Union joined theRed Sport International proclaiming any sports events outside of the RSI to be "part of the bourgeoisie".[4]
The first match as the actual Soviet Union football team took place a year later, a 3–0 win overTurkey. This and a return match inAnkara were the only officially recognised international matches played by the Soviet Union prior to the1952 Summer Olympics, though several unofficial friendlies against Turkey took place in the 1930s. The 1952 Olympics was the first competitive tournament entered by the Soviet Union. In the preliminary round,Bulgaria were defeated 2–1, earning a first-round tie againstYugoslavia. Before the match, bothTito andStalin sent telegrams to their national teams, which showed just how important it was for the two heads of state.[8] 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.[9] The defeat to the archrivals hit Soviet football hard, and after just three games played in the season,CSKA Moscow, who had made up most of the USSR squad, was forced to withdraw from theleague and later disbanded. Furthermore,Boris Arkadiev, who coached both USSR and CSKA, was stripped of hisMerited Master of Sports of the USSR title.[8]
The Soviet Union, coached by Gavriil Khachalin, entered theWorld Cup for the first time at the1958 tournament, following a qualification playoff againstPoland.[10] Drawn in a group with Brazil, England, and Austria, they collected three points in total, one from England and two from Austria. The Soviet Union and England went to a playoff game, in whichAnatoli Ilyin scored in the 67th minute to knock England out. The Soviet Union was then eliminated by the hosts of the tournament, Sweden, in the quarter-finals.[11]
The inauguralEuropean Championships in 1960 marked the pinnacle of Soviet footballing achievement. Easily progressing to the quarter-finals, the team were scheduled to faceSpain, but due to the tensions of theCold War, Spain refused to travel to the Soviet Union, resulting in awalkover. In the semi-final, the Soviet team defeated Czechoslovakia 3–0 and reached the final, where they faced Yugoslavia.[12]
In the final, Yugoslavia scored first, but the Soviet Union, led by legendary goalkeeperLev Yashin, equalized in the 49th minute. After 90 minutes the score was 1–1, andViktor Ponedelnik scored with seven minutes left in extra time to give the Soviets the inaugural European Championship.[13]
Lev Yashin trying to stop the shot by Argentine striker José Sanfilippo, during the match played at Buenos Aires in 1961. The Soviet Union won 2–1
In the1962 World Cup, the Soviet team was in Group 1 with Yugoslavia, Colombia, andUruguay. The match between the Soviet Union and Colombia ended 4–4; Colombia scored a series of goals (68', 72', 86').[14] The Soviets topped the group, but again were knocked out by the hosts on the quarter finals. Star goalkeeper Lev Yashin was in poor form both against Colombia and Chile. His form was considered one of the main reasons why the Soviet Union team did not gain more success in the tournament.[15]
In 1964, the Soviet Union attempted to defend their European Championship title, defeating Italy in the last 16 (2–0, 1–1) and to reach the quarter-finals. After two matches against Sweden, the Soviet side won on aggregate (1–1, 3–1).[16] The Soviet Union team went to Spain where the finals were held. In the semi-finals, the Soviet Union defeated Denmark 3–0 inBarcelona but their dreams of winning the title again were dashed in the final when Spain, the host, scored a late goal, winning 2–1.[17][18]
The late 1960s: Semi-finals at World Cup and European Championships
The1966 FIFA World Cup was the tournament in which the Soviet Union team reached their best result by finishing in fourth place. The Soviet Union was in Group 4 withNorth Korea,Italy andChile.[19][20][21] In all three matches, the Soviet Union 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 was ended by two defeats on 25 and 28 July, against West Germany in the semi-finals and Portugal in the third-place playoff match, respectively. The 1966 squad was the second-best scoring Soviet team in World Cup history, with 10 goals.[22][23][24]
For theEuro 1968, 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 the finals which were held in Italy. The semi-final match between the Soviet Union and Italy ended 0–0. It was decided to toss a coin to see who reached the final, rather than play a replay.[25] Italy won, and went on to become European champions. On 8 June 1968, the Soviets were defeated by England in the third-place match.[26]
The1970 World Cup started with the match betweenMexico and the Soviet Union.[27] The Soviet team became the first team to make a substitution in World Cup history in this match.[28] Other opponents in their group were Belgium and El Salvador. The Soviet team easily qualified to the quarter-final where they lost against Uruguay in extra time. This was the last time the Soviet Union reached the quarter-finals.[29]
The final tournament of the1972 European Championships took place between 14 and 18 June 1972. Again, only four teams were in the finals. The Soviets defeated Hungary 1–0, with a second-half goal.[30] The final was between West Germany and the Soviet Union. The match ended with a victory of the German side thanks to the effective football ofGerd Müller. This tournament was one of the two tournaments in which the Soviet Union finished as runner-up.[31]
After being runners up at Euro 1972, the rest of the 1970s were bleak for the Soviets, who were disqualified from the1974 World Cup as a result of a refusal to playChile in the aftermath of the1973 Chilean coup d'état and failed to qualify for the1978 World Cup or the 1976 and 1980 European Championships.[32]
The1982 World Cup was the Soviet Union's first major tournament appearance for a decade. The Soviet Union was in Group 6 with Brazil, Scotland, and New Zealand. Goals bySócrates andÉder Aleixo 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 when they defeated Belgium only 1–0 and drew against Poland with an 0–0 results.[33][34][35] In 1984, the Soviets again failed to qualify for the European Championships, but succeeded in qualifying for the1986 World Cup. The Soviet Union was in Group C with Hungary, France, and Canada. The Soviets usedIrapuato, Guanajuato as their training ground in the World Cup.[36]
The Soviet team enjoyed a successful group stage by scoring nine goals and finishing the group in first place. Ultimately, however, they lost to Belgium 3–4 after extra time in the round of 16. Despite their poor performance in the cup, this team was the best scoring Soviet team in World Cup history, with 12 goals.[37]
After failing to qualify for three consecutive European Cups (1976, 1980, 1984), the Soviets managed to qualify for the 1988 competition, the last time the Soviet Union national football team took part in the European Football Championship. The finals were held in West Germany, with eight teams participating. Soviet Union finished Group B as leaders above the Netherlands and defeated Italy 2–0 in the semi-final.[38] In the final against the Netherlands, another team from Group B, the Netherlands avenged their group stage defeat, winning by a score of 2–0 to be crowned European champions.[39]
The final major championship contested by the Soviet team was the1990 FIFA World Cup, where they were drawn in Group B withArgentina,Romania andCameroon. The only success for the Soviets came when they defeated group leaders Cameroon 4–0.[40] The Soviets lost their other matches and failed to qualify from the group, the only time in their World Cup history this happened. The Soviet Union qualified forEuro 1992, but the breakup of the Soviet Union meant that their place was instead taken by theCIS national football team, composed of newly independent Soviet republics. After the tournament, the former Soviet republics competed as separate independent nations, with FIFA allocating the Soviet team's record toRussia.[41]
For teams that have undergone name changes but no border alterations seehere For teams that have undergone border changes but no name alterations seehere
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