FIFA Ranking: 19
History: Russia has competed at two World Cups since it became independent from the USSR in 1991. They have failed to progress beyond the group stage in both those tournaments. Despite a perceived fearsome reputation the USSR flattered to deceive on the world stage and, akin to England, enjoyed their best tournament in 1966 when they finished fourth.
Qualifying Report: Russia had a direct qualification after topping their Group. They didn`t get off to a great start after back-to-back defeats by Portugal and Northern Ireland. But they edged the former to win Group F by a point. They conceded just five times in 10 games.
Star Players: Sergei Ignashevich is a stalwart of Russia. He plays for CSKA Moscow (Russia) at club level. He made his national team debut in 2002 against Sweden. Ignashevich missed the 2004 European Championship because of injury but played in four of the five matches at Euro 2008, when Russia made the semifinals. He played in all 10 qualifying matches for the World Cup in Brazil.
Roman Shirokov is Fabio Capello`s key playmaker. He plays for FC Krasnodar (Russia). He was called up by former Russia coach Guus Hiddink in 2008 but then dropped during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Shirokov was back in the national team under Dick Advocaat and played in all 10 World Cup qualifying match under Capello, scoring three goals.
Top Scorer during WC Qualification 2014: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (4)
Top scorer at the Cup: Oleg Salenko (6)
Most World Cup caps: Lev Yashin (13)
Team record at the Cup: M: 37, W: 17, D: 6, L: 14
Coach: Fabio Capello, the former England boss inherited a side that had been meekly eliminated from Euro 2012. He quickly instilled a greater mental fortitude into the team and dropped fading star Andrey Arshavin. The Italian`s authoritarian style divided opinion in England, but has earned approval in Russia. His contract extension sees him with Russia contract until 2018.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Lodygin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Sergey Ryzhikov (Rubin Kazan).
Defenders: Vasili Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat (Dynamo Moscow), Andrey Eshchenko (Anzhi Makhachkala), Sergey Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexey Kozlov (Dynamo Moscow), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Terek Grozny), Georgi Schennikov (CSKA Moscow).
Midfielders: Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Zhirkov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexey Ionov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Victor Faizulin (Zenit St Petersburg), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Krasnodar).
Forwards: Maxim Kanunnikov (Amkar Perm), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexander Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow)
Group listing: Group H - Belgium, South Korea and Algeria.
Fixtures:
June 17 Cuiaba, 2300: Russia v South Korea
June 22 Rio de Janeiro, 2300: Belgium v Russia
June 26 Curitiba, 2100: Algeria v Russia