Soviet Union national under-21 football team
# Soviet Union national under-21 football team

The Soviet national youth football team was the under-21 football team of the Soviet Union. Before 1978 it was known as under-23 team. It ceased to exist on the breakup of the Union.

Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the USSR Under-21 team was formed. The team had a good record, winning the competition twice, reaching the last four once, but failing to qualify for the last eight on five occasions.

After the dissolution of the USSR (on 26 December 1991), the senior team played out its remaining fixtures, which were the finals of Euro 92. Because the USSR U-21s had, by 26 December, already failed to qualify for their version of the 1992 European Championship, the former Soviet states didn't play as a combined team at U-21 level ever again.

Of the former Soviet states, only Russia entered the 1992–1994 competition. A total of 15 former Soviet states play international football today; 11 in Europe under UEFA, 4 in Asia under the AFC.

Since the under-21 competition rules insist that players must be 21 or under at the start of a two-year competition, technically it is an U-23 competition. USSR's unparalleled record in U-23 competitions is also shown.

## UEFA U-23 championship record

Started in Balkans as the Under-23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970, the Soviet Union did not participate.

| UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-23 Championship Group stage |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1972 | Final | Runners-up | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 1974 | Semifinals | Third place | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 1976 | Final | Champions | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |

## UEFA U-21 championship record

| UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Knockout stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage | UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group stage |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
| 1978 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 1980 | Final | Champions | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 1982 | Semifinals | Third place | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 6 |
| 1986 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 8 |
| 1988 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| 1990 | Final | Champions | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 |
| 1992 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 |

## Managers

* In 1992 it also competed as the CIS national under-21 football team coached by Boris Ignatyev. Since August of 1992 Boris Ignatyev continued already with the Russia national under-21 football team.

## 1990 European Championship squad

The last Soviet U-21 team

### Head coach

    Vladimir Radionov

| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1GK | Andriy Kovtun | (1968-02-28)28 February 1968 (aged 23) | 6 | Shakhtar Donetsk / Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1GK | Dmitriy Kharine | (1968-08-16)16 August 1968 (aged 23) | 10 | Dynamo Moscow / CSKA Moscow |
| 1GK | Mikhail Yeremin | (1968-06-17)17 June 1968 (aged 23) | 2 | CSKA Moscow / deceased* |
| 2DF | Dmitriy Chugunov | (1968-06-09)9 June 1968 (aged 23) | 6 | Shinnik Yaroslavl / Torpedo Moscow |
| 2DF | Andriy Bal | (1958-01-16)16 January 1958 (aged 33) | 8 | Maccabi Tel Aviv / Bnei Yehuda |
| 2DF | Vadim Rogovskoi | (1962-02-06)6 February 1962 (aged 29) | 1 | Torpedo Moscow |
| 2DF | Andriy Sydelnykov | (1967-09-27)27 September 1967 (aged 24) | 6 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |
| 2DF | Andrei Chernyshov | (1968-01-07)7 January 1968 (aged 23) | 5 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 2DF | Oleh Luzhnyi | (1968-08-05)5 August 1968 (aged 23) | 4 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 2DF | Ravil Sabitov | (1968-03-08)8 March 1968 (aged 23) | 4 | Lokomotiv Moscow |
| 2DF | Serhiy Zayets | (1969-08-18)18 August 1969 (aged 22) | 3 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 2DF | Boris Pozdnyakov | (1962-05-31)31 May 1962 (aged 29) | 2 | Spartak Moscow |
| 2DF | Andrei Solovtsov | (1967-10-17)17 October 1967 (aged 24) | 2 | Lokomotiv Moscow |
| 2DF | Mikhail Solovyov | (1968-12-23)23 December 1968 (aged 23) | 2 | Torpedo Moscow |
| 2DF | Gennadi Nagornykh | (1968-05-20)20 May 1968 (aged 23) | 1 | Rostselmash Rostov |
| 2DF | Gela Ketashvili | (1965-09-27)September 27, 1965 (aged 26) | 1 | Guria Lanchkhuti |
| 2DF | Kakhaber Tskhadadze | (1968-09-07)7 September 1968 (aged 23) | 5 | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| 3MF | Igor Shalimov | (1969-02-02)2 February 1969 (aged 22) | 11 | Spartak Moscow |
| 3MF | Serhiy Shmatovalenko | (1967-01-20)20 January 1967 (aged 24) | 11 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 3MF | Andrei Kobelev | (1968-10-22)22 October 1968 (aged 23) | 10 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 3MF | Andrei Kanchelskis | (1969-01-23)23 January 1969 (aged 22) | 8 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| 3MF | Aleksandr Mostovoi | (1968-08-22)22 August 1968 (aged 23) | 7 | Spartak Moscow |
| 3MF | Andrei Pyatnitskiy | (1967-09-27)27 September 1967 (aged 24) | 6 | Pakhtakor Tashkent |
| 3MF | Yevgeniy Smertin | (1969-01-17)17 January 1969 (aged 22) | 4 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 3MF | Igor Dobrovolskiy | (1967-08-27)27 August 1967 (aged 24) | 2 | CD Castellón |
| 3MF | Zaza Revishvili | (1968-05-23)23 May 1968 (aged 23) | 2 | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| 3MF | Gia Dzhishkariani | (1967-11-30)30 November 1967 (aged 24) | 1 | Dinamo Tbilisi |
| 3MF | Serhiy Pohodin | (1968-04-29)29 April 1968 (aged 23) | 1 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| 4FW | Igor Kolyvanov | (1968-03-06)6 March 1968 (aged 23) | 11 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 4FW | Sergei Kiriakov | (1970-01-01)1 January 1970 (aged 21) | 6 | Dynamo Moscow |
| 4FW | Nikolai Pisarev | (1968-11-23)23 November 1968 (aged 23) | 2 | FC Winterthur |
| 4FW | Oleg Salenko | (1969-10-25)25 October 1969 (aged 22) | 1 | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 4FW | Sergei Yuran | (1969-06-11)11 June 1969 (aged 22) | 1 | Dynamo Kyiv |

Notes:

* All data through 31 December 1991.
* Mikhail Yeremin died on 30 June 1991 from injuries he sustained in an auto accident on 23 June, less than a week after his birthday.
* Rogovskoi moved to Poland (Zagłębie Lubin), Sydelnykov - Germany (SG Wattenscheid 09), Pozdnyakov - Austria (FC Stahl Linz), Tskhadadze - Sweden (GIF Sundsvall), Shalimov - Italy (U.S. Foggia), Kanchelskis - England (Manchester United F.C.), Pyatnitskiy - Russia (Spartak Moscow), Mostovoi - Portugal (S.L. Benfica), Dobrovolskiy - Switzerland (Servette FC), Kolyvanov - Italy (U.S. Foggia), Yuran - Portugal (S.L. Benfica).

## National teams of the former Soviet republics

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