Nickname(s) Lads (Юноши) Top scorer ? Location Soviet Union | Most caps ? Appearances 20 (first in 1962) | |
Best result Winners, 1966 (shared), 1967, 1976, 1978, 1988 & 1990 Association Football Federation of the Soviet Union | ||
The Soviet national lads football team was the under-18 football team of the Soviet Union. For world competitions it was reorganized into under-20 team. It ceased to exist on the breakup of the Union.
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Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1962, the USSR Under-18 team was formed. The competition has been held since 1948. It was originally called the FIFA junior tournament, until it was taken over by UEFA in 1955 (UEFA Junior Tournament). In 1980, it was restyled the European Under 18 Football Championship, and as changes were made to player eligibility dates in 2001, the championship received its current name UEFA European U-19 Championship. The team had a good record, winning the competition sixth times, reaching the final once, but failing to qualify for the last five on 26 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-18s 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-19 level ever again.
Of the former Soviet states, only Russia entered the 1992–1993 competition. However, the Russian U-18 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.