The key facts

  • November 12 — friendly match Russia vs Uzbekistan in Tashkent; November 17 — against Venezuela in Krasnodar
  • In 2026, Valery Karpin's team played eight matches: five wins, two draws and a 0:1 defeat to Egypt
  • Dmitry Bulykin called the opponents good and urged beating them for the sake of the fans

November match schedule

The Russian national football team will play two friendly matches in November: on November 12, Valery Karpin's side will play away in Tashkent against the Uzbekistan national team, and on November 17, at Krasnodar's stadium, they will host the national team of Venezuela. This is reported by Gazeta.Ru.

Bulykin's assessment

Former Russia striker Dmitry Bulykin, commenting for Gazeta.Ru, assessed the level of the opponents: “The opponents are good. You always want better, but the situation right now is such that we have to make do with what we have. We need to beat them and delight all the fans in the absence of big European matches.”

Yearly statistics and the level of opponents

This year, the Russian team has played eight matches, recording five wins, two draws and a single defeat — 0:1 to Egypt, who, like Uzbekistan, will take part in the final stage of the 2026 World Cup. Uzbekistan played at the world championship in the summer, while Venezuela came close to reaching the intercontinental playoffs via the South American qualifiers. Earlier, as reported in October, it was already said that the Russian team would face a 2026 World Cup participant — the November match in Tashkent became the realization of that plan.