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.

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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.

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.