National team
The Russia national team attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup via European qualifying group 3. A scoreless draw in Bratislava against Slovakia on 12 October, the final group match for both teams, ended Russia's hopes of qualifying for Germany. Portugal won the group and automatically qualified for the finals. Russia and Slovakia finished level on points for second place and a place in the UEFA playoffs; Slovakia won the tiebreaker on overall goal difference in the group. A Russia win in the final match would have sent Russia to the playoffs at Slovakia's expense. [4]
| Date | Venue | Opponents | Score1 | Competition | Russia scorers | Match Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 February 2005 | Stadio Sant'Elia, Cagliari (A) |  Italy | 0–2 | F | Sport-Express | |
| 26 March 2005 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz (A) |  Liechtenstein | 2–1 | WCQ | Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Andrey Karyaka | FIFA |
| 30 March 2005 | A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn (A) |  Estonia | 1–1 | WCQ | Andrei Arshavin | FIFA |
| 4 June 2005 | Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg (H) |  Latvia | 2–0 | WCQ | Andrei Arshavin, Dmitri Loskov | FIFA |
| 8 June 2005 | Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach (A) |  Germany | 2–2 | F | Aleksandr Anyukov, Andrei Arshavin | Sport-Express |
| 17 August 2005 | Skonto stadions, Riga (A) | Latvia | 1–1 | WCQ | Andrei Arshavin | FIFA |
| 3 September 2005 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (H) | Liechtenstein | 2–0 | WCQ | Aleksandr Kerzhakov (2) | FIFA |
| 7 September 2005 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (H) |  Portugal | 0–0 | WCQ | FIFA | |
| 8 October 2005 | Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow (H) |  Luxembourg | 5–1 | WCQ | Marat Izmailov, Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Dmitri Kirichenko (2) | FIFA |
| 12 October 2005 | Tehelné Pole, Bratislava (A) |  Slovakia | 0–0 | WCQ | FIFA |
- Russia score given first
- Key
- H = Home match
- A = Away match
- F = Friendly
- WCQ = 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, Group 3
U-21 team
The U-21 team contested the qualification for the 2006 U-21 Championship. They finished second in the group, overcoming Slovakia on head-to-head results, while Portugal were first. This allowed Russia to qualify for the play-off against Denmark.
Russia lost both play-off matches, 0–1 in Moscow on 12 November and 1–3 in Brøndby on 18 November. In the second-leg match, five Russia players were sent off. [5]
Women's U-19 team
The women's under-19 team won the European Championship in Hungary. They have finished second in the group stage after matches against France, England, and Scotland. In the semifinal they overcame Germany 3–1, thanks to the hat-trick by captain Elena Danilova, and the final match against France ended 2–2 after extra time and 6–5 on penalties. [6]