Soviet Union national under-21 football team
| Nickname(s) | - | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Federation of USSR | ||
| Head coach | - | ||
| Most caps | ? | ||
| Top scorer | ? | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Spain 1-2 USSR  Málaga, March 30, 1971 Last International USSR 1-1 Italy  Simferopol, October 16, 1991 | |||
| Biggest win | |||
USSR 6-0 Czechoslovakia  Yerevan, April 10, 1974 | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 West Germany 5-0 USSR Aachen, March 30, 1982 | |||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 1980) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1976 (as U-23), 1980 & 1990 | ||
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 December 26, 1991), the senior team played out its remaining fixtures, which were the finals of Euro 92. Because the USSR U-21s had, by December 26, 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. However, the Russian U-21 team should not be considered as a continuation of this team; a large percentage of the team's players came from outside Russia (Russia still provided the most). 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
- 1972: Runners-up.
- 1974: Losing semi-finalists.
- 1976: Winners.
UEFA U-21 Championship Record
- 1978: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 3 in qualification group.
- 1980: Winners.
- 1982: Losing semi-finalists.
- 1984: Did not qualify. Finished 2nd of 4 in qualification group.
- 1986: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 4 in qualification group.
- 1988: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 4 in qualification group.
- 1990: Winners.
- 1992: Did not qualify. Finished 3rd of 4 in qualification group.
1990 European Championship squad
The last Soviet U-21 team
- Head coach
- Vladimir Radionov
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Andriy Kovtun | 28 February 1968 (aged 23) | 6 |  Shakhtar Donetsk / Dynamo Kyiv
| |
| GK | Dmitriy Kharine | 16 August 1968 (aged 23) | 10 |  Dynamo Moscow / CSKA Moscow
| |
| GK | 17 June 1968 (aged 23) | 2 | CSKA Moscow / deceased*
| ||
| DF | Dmitriy Chugunov | 9 June 1968 (aged 23) | 6 | Shinnik Yaroslavl / Torpedo Moscow
| |
| DF | Andriy Bal | 16 January 1958 (aged 33) | 8 |  Maccabi Tel Aviv / Bnei Yehuda
| |
| DF | Vadim Rogovskoi | 6 February 1962 (aged 29) | 1 | Torpedo Moscow
| |
| DF | Andriy Sydelnykov | 27 September 1967 (aged 24) | 6 | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
| |
| DF | Andrei Chernyshov | 7 January 1968 (aged 23) | 5 | Dynamo Moscow
| |
| DF | Oleh Luzhny | 5 August 1968 (aged 23) | 4 | Dynamo Kyiv
| |
| DF | Ravil Sabitov | 8 March 1968 (aged 23) | 4 | Lokomotiv Moscow
| |
| DF | Serhiy Zayets | 18 August 1969 (aged 22) | 3 | Dynamo Kyiv
| |
| DF | Boris Pozdnyakov | 31 May 1962 (aged 29) | 2 | Spartak Moscow
| |
| DF | Andrei Solovtsov | 17 October 1967 (aged 24) | 2 | Lokomotiv Moscow
| |
| DF | Mikhail Solovyov | 23 December 1968 (aged 23) | 2 | Torpedo Moscow
| |
| DF | Gennadi Nagornykh | 20 May 1968 (aged 23) | 1 | Rostselmash Rostov
| |
| DF | Gela Ketashvili | 27 September 1965 (aged 26) | 1 |  Guria Lanchkhuti
| |
| DF | Kakhaber Tskhadadze | 7 September 1968 (aged 23) | 5 | Dinamo Tbilisi
| |
| MF | Igor Shalimov | 2 February 1969 (aged 22) | 11 | Spartak Moscow
| |
| MF | Serhiy Shmatovalenko | 20 January 1967 (aged 24) | 11 | Dynamo Kyiv
| |
| MF | Andrei Kobelev | 22 October 1968 (aged 23) | 10 | Dynamo Moscow
| |
| MF | Andrei Kanchelskis | 23 January 1969 (aged 22) | 8 | Shakhtar Donetsk
| |
| MF | Aleksandr Mostovoi | 22 August 1968 (aged 23) | 7 | Spartak Moscow
| |
| MF | Andrei Pyatnitskiy | 27 September 1967 (aged 24) | 6 |  Pakhtakor Tashkent
| |
| MF | Yevgeniy Smertin | 17 January 1969 (aged 22) | 4 | Dynamo Moscow
| |
| MF | Igor Dobrovolskiy | 27 August 1967 (aged 24) | 2 | CD Castellón
| |
| MF | Zaza Revishvili | 23 May 1968 (aged 23) | 2 | Dinamo Tbilisi
| |
| MF | Gia Dzhishkariani | 30 November 1967 (aged 24) | 1 | Dinamo Tbilisi
| |
| MF | Serhiy Pohodin | 29 April 1968 (aged 23) | 1 | Shakhtar Donetsk
| |
| FW | Igor Kolyvanov | 6 March 1968 (aged 23) | 11 | Dynamo Moscow
| |
| FW | Sergei Kiriakov | 1 January 1970 (aged 21) | 6 | Dynamo Moscow
| |
| FW | Nikolai Pisarev | 23 November 1968 (aged 23) | 2 |  FC Winterthur
| |
| FW | Oleg Salenko | 25 October 1969 (aged 22) | 1 | Dynamo Kyiv
| |
| FW | Sergei Yuran | 11 June 1969 (aged 22) | 1 | Dynamo Kyiv |
Notes:
- All data through December 31, 1991.
- Mikhail Yeremin died on June 30, 1991 from injuries he sustain in auto accident June 23, 1991, 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
See also
External links
- UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
- The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.
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