Outcasts in world of football: Tajikistan and Pakistan refuse to play with Russian team

The national football teams of Tajikistan and Pakistan refused to play in friendly matches with Russia.

Source: Russian media

Details: The match against Tajikistan was set to take place in December, but the federation declined, citing the fact that they already had matches booked for those days.

Pakistan also cancelled the October game against Russia due to a lack of preparation time. However, the Pakistanis stated that they were ready to play in December.

Following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian teams were barred from competing in any FIFA or UEFA championships. As a result, the team will have to settle for friendly matches. In 2024, the Russians played only three matches. Their opponents included the national teams of Belarus, Serbia, and Vietnam.

As previously stated, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin expressed interest in restoring Russia's youth teams to UEFA tournaments.

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