Russia U19

Three appearances in the European Under-19 Championship since the age group changed from under-18 in 2002 tell most of the story: group-stage exits in 2002 and 2007, then a run to the final in 2015, where Spain beat Russia 0-2. That final remains the best finish the side has managed at this level, a step beyond the semi-final reached in 2023 under Dmitri Khomukha, who had taken charge in 2019 and left the post afterward.

The squad trains at the Novogorsk centre in Khimki, a facility large enough to house more than 500 athletes, coaches and staff alongside two full-size grass pitches, and it plays some of its qualifiers and friendlies a short distance away at Arena Khimki. The national federation traces the team's international history back to 1994, three years after the Soviet Union's dissolution and two after the Russian Football Union itself was formed.

Among those who wore the shirt in the 2015 final run, Ramil Sheydayev played up front. The generation below him, born in 1996, never reached an under-19 final; Alexander Golovin came through that group before his career took him to CSKA Moscow, Monaco and Sevilla, while Dmitry Barinov went on to captain both Lokomotiv Moscow and the senior national side. Neither achievement belongs to the under-19 team itself, but both mark the ceiling reached by players who once wore its colours.