Can Russia play at the 2026 World Cup? FIFA, UEFA bans on national team explained

The Russian national team has been on the outside of competitive action for a number of years now.

Due to the country’s early 2022 invasion of Ukraine, they have been at odds with both FIFA and UEFA who have forced them to the periphery of European and global football.

This has led to a significant migration of national team calibre players to domestic clubs, with many Russian players electing to play in their own country’s top flight.

The Sporting News explains the situation and where they currently stand on the global stage.

MORE: All you need to know about December’s World Cup draw

Is Russia banned for 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Due to their military aggression in Ukraine, UEFA have barred Russia from all continental competitions, including qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Because of that, Russia have been banned from World Cup competition because they cannot contest qualifying.

It will be the second straight World Cup that they cannot compete in, following their removal from the 2022 World Cup for the same reason. The last World Cup they competed in was the 2018 tournament, which Russia hosted. They also contested the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, eliminated in the group stage, while failing to qualify for 2010 and 2006.

When did FIFA ban Russia?

StartFragment FIFA and UEFA issued a ban on all Russian national teams and club sides from competing in those governing bodies’ tournaments on February 28, 2022.

Playing under coach Valeri Karpin, Russia reached the UEFA playoffs for a place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, following the initial military strikes on Ukraine, several UEFA member nations put pressure on football’s governing bodies to ban Russia.

This was not initially forthcoming, with FIFA initially decreeing that Russia must play under the banner of the Russian Football Union without national flags and with all games taking place behind closed doors. UEFA stripped St Petersburg of the hosting rights to the 2022 Champions League final and ruled that none of its official matches would be played in Russia.

A consensus emerged that this action did not go far enough, with a focus on Poland, Sweden and Czechia, who had been drawn in the same playoff route as Russia and did not want to play against them. On February 28, FIFA and UEFA banned Russia from all international competitions with immediate effect.

In November 2024, after the conclusion of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League group stage, it was confirmed Russia’s ban remained in place for 2026 World Cup qualification.

Since its ban, Russia has played international friendlies, predominantly against AFC and CAF nations. Serbia and Belarus have been their only UEFA-affiliated opponents.

In the October 2025 international break, Karpin’s side played Iran and Bolivia, winning those games 2-1 and 3-0 respectively. 

Russia are unbeaten in 21 friendlies since their ban, winning 14. However, an 8-0 win over Cuba and 11-0 thrashing of Brunei shows the level of opposition has sometimes left something to be desired.

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Russia history at the FIFA World Cup

Russia have competed in 11 different World Cup competitions, including seven as the Soviet Union, plus four as Russia. Their first tournament came in 1958 — Russia have been a FIFA member since 1912, but only entered the World Cup for the first time after over 40 years of waiting.

Their best finish was in 1966 in England, when they reached the semifinals, finishing fourth after defeat to Portugal in the third-place match.