Its suspension by UEFA and FIFA, decided in February 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine and still in effect, does not prevent the Russian national team from completing its schedule. According to information from the Russian Football Federation (RFU), it must play a friendly match on November 15 in Krasnodar against the team of Brunei, before facing Syria four days later in Volgograd. More surprisingly, the president of the RFU, Alexander Dyukov, assured the agencyTASS that discussions were underway with European countries for the organization of friendly matches in the coming months. "I had meetings with leaders of European federations, we discussed the possibility of organizing matches, he explained. But it all depends on the calendar. If the opportunity arises, we will play." According to the RFU, the two friendly matches next month will be officially registered by FIFA. They will therefore count towards the world rankings, where Russia currently occupies 34th place. Russia has never met Brunei before. As for the last match against Syria, it dates back to 1988, during the Soviet Union era.
