Russian national soccer team to play Nigeria and Belarus in June

The Russian national soccer team will play friendly matches with teams from Zambia, Nigeria and Belarus in the first half of 2025. This was announced by the Russian Football Union (RFU) on February 13.

"In March, the team of [Russian national soccer team head coach] Valery Karpin will play against Zambia. The game will be held in Moscow. <...> On June 6, the Russian national team will play a home match against Nigeria, and on June 10 will play away against the national team of Belarus," the organization said on its website.

The exact time and places of all three meetings will be known later.

Last Syria: how the Russian national team played its final match of the year

Our players won a difficult victory over a team from the Middle East

Thelast match between the national teams of Russia and Belarus was held in June 2024. The Russian team then won with a score of 4:0.

The national teams of Nigeria and Zambia are ranked 44th and 87th in the International Football Federation (FIFA) rankings respectively. Last year, the Nigerians reached the final of the African Cup of Nations, the main competition for African national teams.

On December 25, 2024, Russian Football Union president Alexander Dyukov said that the Russian national soccer team could play matches against European rivals in the first half of 2025.