They walloped Brunei and Syria, but what next? Russia’s national football team finishes the year without defeats
Valery Karpin's team has not either missed a ball or lost a match in 2024
The Russian national football team finished its performance in 2024. After crushing Brunei (11-0) in Krasnodar, the Russians defeated Syria (4-0) in Volgograd. Read about how Valery Karpin's team played their last match of the year and what awaits the Russians next in a report of Realnoe Vremya.
Crushing Brunei and Syria
The November break for national team matches ended successfully for the Russian football players. The team finished its performance in 2024 with two crushing defeats. The record victory in the history of the national team over Brunei with a score of 11-0 continued with a confident game against Syria — 4-0. However, all this was only in friendly matches.
The match with Syria was dictated by the Russian team. Valery Karpin's players repeatedly found themselves near the penalty area but were able to open the scoring only in the 33rd minute. Ilya Samoshnikov threw the ball out of bounds, Daniil Fomin successfully passed it to Maxim Osipenko who sent the ball into the goal — 1-0.
The Syrian team made their first shot on target against the Russians only in the 50th minute of the game. Valery Karpin's team responded to this “trick” of the guests with a second goal. Ilya Samoshnikov received a pass from Alexey Miranchuk and parachuted the ball over the Syrian goalkeeper — 2-0. The opponent then scored two more goals. Miranchuk first brought the score to a big 3-0, and then Osipenko scored a double from the penalty spot — 4-0.
The Syrians missed their only real chance to score in the 77th minute hitting the post. Thus, the Russian team hasn’t lost throughout 2024. And it’s even a pity that such a result was achieved exclusively in friendly matches.
Technically, there is still a chance to lift the sanctions before the 2026 World Cup
Russian teams and clubs have been suspended from international competitions since the spring of 2022 due to the situation around Ukraine. The sanctions were imposed for an indefinite period and will be lifted after a special order from the football authorities. Since the suspension, the Russian national team has been playing only friendly matches.
On Monday, it became known that the Russian team may miss the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The official circular on the website of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) does not mention Russia among the participants in the draw for the qualifying round of the tournament. But there is Israel whose presence with the simultaneous absence of Russians caused a huge wave of criticism on global social media.
The draw will take place on 13 December when the participants in the qualifying round will be divided into 12 groups of four or five teams. The exact number of reduced groups is not yet in the UEFA document, which leaves some hope for the inclusion of the Russian team “retroactively.”
Technically, this is possible, emphasised Secretary General of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Maxim Mitrofanov.
“It is wrong to say that we will not take part in the qualification. When holding any draw, given that the number of teams in the groups is unequal, there is always the opportunity to complete one of the groups. There is a technical possibility for this, so we are continuing negotiations on this matter. Once the games start, there will already be a stable competition, and it will be impossible to register anyone else,” Mitrofanov told Match TV.
What's next?
The 2026 World Cup in America risks becoming the third major tournament that Russian footballers will miss. Before that, the Russian national team lost the opportunity to play in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship due to the sanctions imposed. The Russians are also not participating in the League of Nations, the second most important tournament for national teams.
In Russia, people continue to hope to return to international competitions as soon as possible. Some hopes are pinned on Donald Trump becoming president of the United States, a country that will host the 2026 World Cup. However, it is foolish to expect the immediate lifting of sports sanctions, which the Russian football authorities also understand
Meanwhile, the RFU is already having a hard time finding opponents for friendly matches for the national team. Thus, in October, Karpin's team was left without game practice, and in November they only agreed with Brunei and Syria — not at all top teams.
Recently, information appeared that next year the Russians will play with Nigeria, Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, and agreements with Uruguay, Colombia and a “top African team” are also possible. However, the RFU has already denied these rumours, calling them journalists’ speculations.