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Belarus national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belarus women's national football team.

The Belarus national football team (Belarusian: Нацыянальная зборная Беларусі па футболе / Nacyjanalnaja zbornaja Biełarusi pa futbole) represents Belarus in international football matches and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belarus, the governing body for football in Belarus. Belarus' home ground is Borisov Arena in Borisov. Belarus has not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship.

Belarus
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Белыя крылы / Biełyja kryły
(The White Wings)
AssociationFootball Federation of Belarus
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachMikhail Markhel[1]
CaptainAlyaksandr Martynovich
Most capsAlyaksandr Kulchy (102)
Top scorerMaksim Romaschenko (20)
Home stadiumDinamo Stadium, Minsk
FIFA codeBLR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 84 Decrease 2 (25 July 2019)[2]
Highest36 (February 2011)
Lowest142 (March 1994)
Elo ranking
Current 79 Decrease 3 (30 July 2019)[3]
Highest47 (17 November 2010)
Lowest122 (1997–1998)
First international
Unofficial:
 Lithuania 1–1 Belarus 
(Vilnius, Lithuania; 20 July 1992)
Official:
 Belarus 1–1 Ukraine 
(Minsk, Belarus; 28 October 1992)
Biggest win
 Belarus 5–0 Lithuania 
(Minsk, Belarus; 7 June 1998)
 Belarus 6–1 Tajikistan 
(Borisov, Belarus; 4 September 2014)
 Belarus 5–0 San Marino 
(Minsk, Belarus; 8 September 2018)
Biggest defeat
 Austria 5–0 Belarus 
(Innsbruck, Austria; 11 June 2003)

Contents

HistoryEdit

After the split of the Soviet Union, Belarus played their first match against Lithuania on 20 July 1992.[4] Before that, several Belarusian players played for the Soviet Union national team. The first FIFA-recognized international was a friendly against Ukraine on 28 October 1992, and their first win came in a match against Luxembourg on 12 October 1994.

Belarus have never qualified for either the FIFA World Cup, or the UEFA European Championship. Despite the lack of any significant success during the 1990s, some notable results were still achieved, like a home win against the Netherlands in the qualifiers for Euro 1996, and two draws against Italy during Euro 2000 qualifiers.

Under coach Eduard Malofeyev, the team came very close to playing Germany in a play-off round to qualify for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, but were defeated by Wales in the last group stage match, missing the chance to overtake Ukraine, who drew their last game, finishing the group second behind Poland.

Their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign was very unsuccessful as Belarus lost seven of their eight games. Around the same time, a generational change occurred and a number of players from the U-21 team (which qualified for the 2004 European U-21 Championship) joined the senior national team. With each subsequent head coach (Anatoly Baidachny, Yuri Puntus and Bernd Stange) the team improved their attacking skills. As a result, in each subsequent qualifying tournament starting with the 2006 World Cup, Belarus scored more goals (total and average per game) than in previous campaigns. However, problems in defense and a lot of missed goals prevented them from finishing higher than fourth in the group. Some notable results during this period, included a high-scoring 3–4 away loss to Italy in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers (the first time Italy conceded 3 goals in a home qualifying game since 1983), another home victory against the Netherlands during the Euro 2008 qualifiers as well as an away win and a home draw against France in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Belarusians achieved some success in minor tournaments. In 2002, the team defeated Russia and Ukraine to win the LG Cup. In 2004 and 2008, they won the 12th and 14th editions of the Malta International Tournament respectively. The first with its Olympic Squad, and the later with the first team (many starters were only available for the last game against Malta).

Home venueEdit

 
Dinamo Stadium in Minsk is the venue for most Belarus international matches

The team played the majority of its home matches at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk.

Occasionally other venues are also used: Molodechno City Stadium in May 1996 (friendly against Azerbaijan), Vitebsky Central Sport Complex in Vitebsk in November 2005 (friendly against Latvia), Central Stadium in Gomel in October 2007 (Euro 2008 qualifying match against Luxembourg), Neman Stadium in Grodno June 2009 (2010 World Cup qualifier against Andorra), Borisov City Stadium just a few days later (friendly against Moldova) and Regional Sport Complex Brestskiy in Brest in October 2009 (another 2010 World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan).

In late 2012 Dinamo Stadium was closed for renovation and the team started alternating between different home venues: Central Stadium in Gomel (2014 World Cup qualifiers against Finland and France), Borisov City Stadium (friendly against Kyrgyzstan) and Torpedo Stadium in Zhodino (friendlies against Montenegro and Japan).

From 2014 till 2017 and in 2019 (UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying against Germany and Northern Ireland) Belarus played at Borisov Arena. In 2018 they returned to Dinamo Stadium, which was re-opened after major renovation.

ColorsEdit

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s Belarus played home games in all white, occasionally changing shorts to green. All green uniform or green jerseys/white shorts were used as away kits. Since qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2004 Belarus changed their primary colors to red jerseys and green shorts, and away kits to all white. In 2011 home colors were changed to all red. All-White became the home colour a short time later and now appears with the pattern on the Belarus flag, with the away kit being in Black in 2016, also using an adidas template and placing the flag pattern on it.

NicknameEdit

In August 2016, the Football Federation announced that the national team's nickname would be the "White Wings".[5] The name was influenced by the book The Land Beneath White Wings (1977) by famous Belarusian writer Uladzimir Karatkevich. The BFF's new marketing and communications director, Uladzimir Berezhkov, said: "We are looking at various ways of establishing links with our literary heritage and cultural traditions", commenting that "If the Belarusian people opt to associate the team with Karatkevich, almost every phrase in the book can be used as a hashtag!"[6]

Kit suppliersEdit

Kit provider Period
  Umbro 2002–2004
  Puma 2004–2012
  Adidas 2012–2018
  Macron 2018–present

FIFA World Cup recordEdit

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Pos Pld W D L GF GA GD
1930–1990 Part of   Soviet Union
  1994 Did not enter
  1998 Did not qualify 6 10 1 1 8 5 21 −16
    2002 3 10 4 3 3 12 11 +1
  2006 5 10 2 4 4 12 14 −2
  2010 4 10 4 1 5 19 14 +5
  2014 5 8 1 1 6 7 16 −9
  2018 6 10 1 2 7 6 21 −15
  2022 To be determined
    2026
Total 0/23  – 58 13 12 33 61 97 -36

2018 FIFA World Cup qualificationEdit

Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A
Pos Team
[ ]
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   France 10 7 2 1 18 6 +12 23 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–1 4–0 4–1 0–0 2–1
2   Sweden 10 6 1 3 26 9 +17 19 Advance to second round 2–1 — 1–1 3–0 8–0 4–0
3   Netherlands 10 6 1 3 21 12 +9 19 0–1 2–0 — 3–1 5–0 4–1
4   Bulgaria 10 4 1 5 14 19 −5 13 0–1 3–2 2–0 — 4–3 1–0
5   Luxembourg 10 1 3 6 8 26 −18 6 1–3 0–1 1–3 1–1 — 1–0
6   Belarus 10 1 2 7 6 21 −15 5 0–0 0–4 1–3 2–1 1–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

UEFA European Championship recordEdit

UEFA Euro record Qualification record
Year Result Pos Pld W D L GF GA GD
1960–1992 Part of   Soviet Union
  1996 Did not qualify 4 10 3 2 5 8 13 −5
    2000 5 8 0 3 5 4 10 −6
  2004 5 8 1 0 7 4 20 −16
    2008 4 12 4 1 7 17 23 −6
    2012 4 10 3 4 3 8 7 +1
  2016 4 10 3 2 5 8 14 −6
  2020 To Be Determined
  2024
Total 0/15  – 58 14 12 32 49 87 −38

UEFA Euro 2020 qualificationEdit

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group C
Pos Team
[ ]
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Northern Ireland 4 4 0 0 7 2 +5 12 Qualify for final tournament — 9 Sep 16 Nov 2–1 2–0
2   Germany 3 3 0 0 13 2 +11 9 19 Nov — 6 Sep 16 Nov 8–0
3   Netherlands (X) 2 1 0 1 6 3 +3 3 10 Oct 2–3 — 4–0 19 Nov
4   Belarus (X) 4 0 0 4 1 9 −8 0 0–1 0–2 13 Oct — 10 Oct
5   Estonia 3 0 0 3 1 12 −11 0 1–2 13 Oct 9 Sep 6 Sep —
Updated to match(es) played on 11 June 2019. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(X) Assured of at least play-offs.

UEFA Nations League recordEdit

2018–19 UEFA Nations LeagueEdit

Main article: 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D
Pos Team
[ ]
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion        
1   Belarus 6 4 2 0 10 0 +10 14 Promotion to League C — 1–0 0–0 5–0
2   Luxembourg 6 3 1 2 11 4 +7 10 0–2 — 4–0 3–0
3   Moldova 6 2 3 1 4 5 −1 9 0–0 1–1 — 2–0
4   San Marino 6 0 0 6 0 16 −16 0 0–2 0–3 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Fixtures and resultsEdit

Main article: Belarus national football team results (2010–29)

Recent resultsEdit

Upcoming fixturesEdit

Record versus different opponentsEdit

As of 11 June 2019

Tournament Pld W D L Goals
World Cup Qualifying 58 13 12 33 61–97
Euro Qualifying 62 14 12 36 50–96
UEFA Nations League 6 4 2 0 10–0
Friendly 105 39 34 32 148–129
Opponent Pld W D L Goals
  Luxembourg 12 6 4 2 13–5
  Ukraine 9 1 3 5 5–12
  Netherlands 9 2 0 7 5–21
  Lithuania 8 4 3 1 15–5
  Moldova 8 2 4 2 9–7
  Armenia 7 3 2 2 9–9
  Norway 7 2 2 3 5–9
  Bulgaria 7 2 0 5 6–12
  Latvia 6 4 1 1 13–7
  Poland 6 2 2 2 10–9
  France 6 1 2 3 6–10
  Albania 5 2 2 1 8–5
  Slovenia 5 2 2 1 8–5
  Israel 5 2 0 3 8–9
  Estonia 5 2 0 3 4–5
  Finland 5 0 3 2 4–7
  Romania 5 0 2 3 4–10
  Sweden 5 0 0 5 2–16
  Andorra 4 3 0 1 11–4
  Turkey 4 1 1 2 7–8
  Scotland 4 1 1 2 2–5
  Wales 4 1 0 3 5–7
  Italy 4 0 2 2 5–9
  Russia 4 0 2 2 4–8
  Czech Republic 4 0 0 4 3–11
  Spain 4 0 0 4 1–10
  Austria 4 0 0 4 0–12
  Kazakhstan 3 2 1 0 10–2
  Malta 3 2 1 0 4–1
  Hungary 3 1 2 0 7–4
  Iran 3 1 2 0 4–3
  Georgia 3 1 1 1 4–3
  Macedonia 3 1 1 1 2–4
  Slovakia 3 1 0 2 2–7
  Montenegro 3 0 2 1 1–2
   Switzerland 3 0 0 3 0–4
  Northern Ireland 3 0 0 3 1–6
  San Marino 2 2 0 0 7–0
  Uzbekistan 2 1 1 0 4–3
  Azerbaijan 2 1 1 0 3–2
  Cyprus 2 1 0 1 3–2
  Canada 2 1 0 1 2–1
  United Arab Emirates 2 1 0 1 3–3
  Greece 2 1 0 1 1–1
  Libya 2 0 2 0 2–2
  Denmark 2 0 1 1 0–1
  Germany 2 0 1 1 2–4
  Croatia 2 0 0 2 1–4
  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 0 0 2 0–3
  England 2 0 0 2 1–6
  Tajikistan 1 1 0 0 6–1
  Liechtenstein 1 1 0 0 5–1
  Oman 1 1 0 0 4–0
  Kyrgyzstan 1 1 0 0 3–1
  Iceland 1 1 0 0 2–0
  Mexico 1 1 0 0 3–2
  Republic of Ireland 1 1 0 0 2–1
  South Korea 1 1 0 0 1–0
  Japan 1 1 0 0 1–0
  New Zealand 1 1 0 0 1–0
  Honduras 1 0 1 0 2–2
  Peru 1 0 1 0 1–1
  Ecuador 1 0 1 0 1–1
  Saudi Arabia 1 0 1 0 1–1
  Argentina 1 0 1 0 0–0
  Gabon 1 0 1 0 0–0
  Jordan 1 0 0 1 0–1
  Egypt 1 0 0 1 0–2
  Tunisia 1 0 0 1 0–3
Total: 231 70 60 101 269–322

PlayersEdit

Current squadEdit

The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Germany and Northern Ireland on 8 and 11 June 2019.
Caps and goals are correct as of 11 June 2019, after the game against Northern Ireland .

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Alyaksandr Hutar (1989-04-18) 18 April 1989 (age 30) 12 0   Dinamo Brest
12 1GK Andrey Klimovich (1988-08-27) 27 August 1988 (age 30) 2 0   Shakhtyor Soligorsk
16 1GK Pavel Pavlyuchenko (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 21) 1 0   Dinamo Brest
3 2DF Alyaksandr Martynovich (1987-08-26) 26 August 1987 (age 31) 67 2   Krasnodar
4 2DF Igor Shitov (1986-10-24) 24 October 1986 (age 32) 66 1   Dinamo Minsk
5 2DF Dzyanis Palyakow (1991-04-17) 17 April 1991 (age 28) 37 1   Ural Yekaterinburg
19 2DF Maksim Valadzko (1992-11-10) 10 November 1992 (age 26) 32 2   Arsenal Tula
20 2DF Aleh Veratsila (1988-07-10) 10 July 1988 (age 31) 18 0   Dinamo Brest
17 2DF Nikita Naumov (1989-11-15) 15 November 1989 (age 29) 3 0   Zhetysu
6 2DF Zakhar Volkov (1997-08-12) 12 August 1997 (age 22) 0 0   BATE Borisov
21 2DF Kiryl Pyachenin (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 22) 0 0   Vitebsk
15 3MF Syarhey Kislyak (1987-08-06) 6 August 1987 (age 32) 70 9   Dinamo Brest
2 3MF Stanislaw Drahun (1988-06-04) 4 June 1988 (age 31) 59 10   BATE Borisov
22 3MF Ihar Stasevich (1985-10-21) 21 October 1985 (age 33) 47 5   BATE Borisov
23 3MF Pavel Nyakhaychyk (1988-05-17) 17 May 1988 (age 31) 31 2   Dinamo Brest
18 3MF Ivan Mayewski (1988-05-05) 5 May 1988 (age 31) 29 0   Astana
8 3MF Nikita Korzun (1995-03-06) 6 March 1995 (age 24) 14 0   Al-Fateh
7 3MF Yury Kavalyow (1993-01-27) 27 January 1993 (age 26) 12 1   Shakhtyor Soligorsk
10 3MF Valeriy Gromyko (1997-01-23) 23 January 1997 (age 22) 1 0   Shakhtyor Soligorsk
11 4FW Mikhail Gordeichuk (1989-10-23) 23 October 1989 (age 29) 26 4   Dinamo Brest
9 4FW Dzyanis Laptsew (1991-08-01) 1 August 1991 (age 28) 19 0   Dinamo Brest
13 4FW Maksim Skavysh (1989-11-13) 13 November 1989 (age 29) 13 1   BATE Borisov
14 4FW Yevgeniy Shikavka (1992-10-15) 15 October 1992 (age 26) 2 0   Larissa

Recent call-upsEdit

The following players have also been called up to the Belarus squad during last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Denis Scherbitskiy (1996-04-14) 14 April 1996 (age 23) 1 0   BATE Borisov v.   Germany, 8 June 2019 INJ
GK Andrey Harbunow (1983-05-29) 29 May 1983 (age 36) 19 0   Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
GK Anton Chichkan (1995-07-10) 10 July 1995 (age 24) 0 0   BATE Borisov v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
GK Syarhey Chernik (1988-07-20) 20 July 1988 (age 31) 18 0   BATE Borisov v.   San Marino, 18 November 2018
DF Mikhail Sivakow (1988-01-16) 16 January 1988 (age 31) 25 1   Orenburg v.   Germany, 8 June 2019 PRE
DF Syarhey Matsveychyk (1988-06-05) 5 June 1988 (age 31) 11 0   Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.   Germany, 8 June 2019 PRE
DF Syarhey Palitsevich (1990-04-09) 9 April 1990 (age 29) 28 1   Kairat v.   Netherlands, 21 March 2019 PRE
DF Aleksandr Pavlovets (1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 (age 22) 4 0   Dinamo Brest v.   Netherlands, 21 March 2019 PRE
DF Ihar Burko (1988-09-08) 8 September 1988 (age 30) 5 0   Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.   Moldova, 15 October 2018
MF Syarhey Balanovich (1987-08-29) 29 August 1987 (age 31) 33 2   Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.   Germany, 8 June 2019 PRE
MF Pavel Savitski (1994-07-12) 12 July 1994 (age 25) 18 4   Dinamo Brest v.   Germany, 8 June 2019 PRE
MF Alexander Hleb (1981-05-01) 1 May 1981 (age 38) 80 6   Isloch Minsk Raion v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
MF Anton Putsila (1987-06-23) 23 June 1987 (age 32) 56 6   Altay v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
MF Alexei Rios (1987-05-14) 14 May 1987 (age 32) 10 1   BATE Borisov v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
MF Yury Kendysh (1990-06-10) 10 June 1990 (age 29) 8 0   Sheriff Tiraspol v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
MF Dzmitry Baha (1990-01-04) 4 January 1990 (age 29) 2 0   BATE Borisov v.   Netherlands, 21 March 2019 PRE
MF Renan Bressan (1988-11-03) 3 November 1988 (age 30) 28 3   Chaves v.   Moldova, 11 September 2018
MF Alyaksandr Karnitsky (1989-02-14) 14 February 1989 (age 30) 6 0   Mezőkövesd v.   San Marino, 8 September 2018 PRE
FW Alyaksandr Makas (1991-10-08) 8 October 1991 (age 27) 1 0   Isloch Minsk Raion v.   Germany, 8 June 2019 PRE
FW Anton Saroka (1992-03-05) 5 March 1992 (age 27) 15 7   BATE Borisov v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
FW Mikalay Signevich (1992-02-20) 20 February 1992 (age 27) 15 1   Ferencváros v.   Northern Ireland, 24 March 2019
  • INJ Withdrew due to an injury
  • PRE Preliminary squad
  • RET Retired from national team

B-teamEdit

Belarus B national team has been assembled a number of times throughout the history to participate in occasional minor friendly matches and tournaments. The team typically consists of domestic league players who are considered a potential backup for the main senior team. The team was most recently assembled for participation in 2017 King's Cup in Thailand on 14–16 July 2017.

RecordsEdit

As of 11 June 2019

 
Alyaksandr Kulchy is the most capped player in the history of Belarus
 
Maksim Romaschenko is the top scorer in the history of Belarus with 20 goals

Most capped playersEdit

Currently active players are listed in bold

Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Alyaksandr Kulchy 102 5 1996–2012
2 Alexander Hleb 80 6 2001–
Sergei Gurenko 80 3 1994–2006
4 Sergei Kornilenko 78 17 2003–2016
5 Timofei Kalachev 76 10 2004–2016
6 Syarhey Amelyanchuk 74 1 2002–2011
7 Syarhey Shtanyuk 71 3 1995–2007
8 Syarhey Kislyak 70 9 2009–
9 Alyaksandr Martynovich 67 2 2009–
10 Igor Shitov 66 1 2008–

Sergei Aleinikov has reached combined 81 caps and 6 goals for Soviet Union, CIS and Belarus during 1984–1994.

Top scorersEdit

Currently active players are listed in bold.

Rank Player Goals Caps Years
1 Maksim Romaschenko 20 64 1998–2008
2 Sergei Kornilenko 17 78 2003–2016
3 Vitali Kutuzov 13 52 2002–2011
4 Vyacheslav Hleb 12 45 2004–2011
5 Raman Vasilyuk 10 24 2000–2008
Vitali Rodionov 10 48 2007–2017
Valyantsin Byalkevich 10 56 1992–2005
Stanislaw Drahun 10 59 2011–
Timofei Kalachev 10 76 2004–2016
10 Syarhey Kislyak 9 70 2009–

ManagersEdit

As of 20 June 2019

Manager Career Games Managed Wins Draws Loses Goals
  Mikhail Vergeyenko 1992–1994, 1997–1999 24 2 6 16 22–40
  Sergei Borovsky 1994–1996, 1999–2000 26 4 9 13 21–43
  Eduard Malofeyev 2000–2003 22 10 5 7 31–31
  Valery Streltsov (caretaker) 2002 1 0 0 1 0–3
  Anatoly Baidachny 2003–2005 22 10 4 8 34–29
  Yuri Puntus 2006–2007 14 3 4 7 19–26
  Bernd Stange 2007–2011 49 17 14 18 65–54
  Georgi Kondratiev 2011–2014 28 9 8 11 37–35
  Andrei Zygmantovich (caretaker) 2014 2 1 0 1 3–5
  Alyaksandr Khatskevich 2014–2016 18 6 6 6 14–19
  Igor Kriushenko 2017–2019 25 8 4 13 23–37
  Mikhail Markhel since 2019 0 0 0 0 0–0
Total: 1992–Present 231 70 60 101 269–322

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ "Мархель возглавил сборную Беларуси" [Markhel in now the coach of Belarus national team]. Tribuna.com (in Russian). 20 June 2019.
  2. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  3. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Lithuania v Belarus". eu.football. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  5. ^ Владимир Бережков: "3 сентября приглашаем всех на открытую тренировку сборной". abff.by (in Russian). 11 August 2016.
  6. ^ "UEFA Direct – August/September 2016" (pdf). 3 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Northern Ireland vs. Belarus - 24 March 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.

External linksEdit

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