Belarus national football team

Belarus
Nickname(s)Белыя крылы / Bielyia kryly
(The White Wings)
AssociationFootball Federation of Belarus
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachGeorgi Kondratiev
Most capsAlyaksandr Kulchy (102)
Top scorerMaksim Romaschenko (20)
Home stadiumDinamo Stadium, Minsk
FIFA codeBLR
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 93 1 (31 March 2022)[1]
Highest36 (February 2011)
Lowest142 (March 1994)
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
 Belgium 8–0 Belarus 
(Leuven, Belgium; 30 March 2021)
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: Зборная Беларусі па футболе, romanized: Zbornaja Biełarusi pa futbole; Russian: Сборная Беларуси по футболу, romanized: Sbornaya Belarusi po futbolu) represents Belarus in international football and is controlled by the Football Federation of Belarus, the governing body for football in Belarus. Belarus' home ground is Dinamo Stadium in Minsk. Since independence in 1991, Belarus has not yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship.

History

After the split of the Soviet Union, Belarus played their first match against Lithuania on 20 July 1992.[2] Before that, a number of 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. The team were defeated by Wales in the last 2002 group stage match, missing the chance to overtake Ukraine, who drew their last game, finishing the group second.

Their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign was very unsuccessful as Belarus lost seven of their eight games.

Belarus 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.

During UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, Belarus finished fourth in their group. With Belarus managing to top their group in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League D, it qualified for the country's first ever play-offs, and the team was scheduled to play against Georgia. However, they lost 1–0, the team missed out on a place at Euro 2020.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, UEFA, the European governing body for football, banned Belarusian national and club teams from hosting international matches and competitions.[3][4]

Team image

Nickname

In August 2016, the Football Federation announced that the team's nickname would be the "White Wings".[5] The name was influenced by the book The Land Beneath White Wings (1977) by Belarusian writer Uladzimir Karatkevich. The BFF's marketing and communications director 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]

Home venue
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. In late 2012 Dinamo Stadium was closed for renovation and the team started alternating between different home venues.

Since September 2021 Central Stadium in Kazan, Russia is the home venue because of travel sanctions imposed after a Ryanair Flight 4978.

Kit

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.

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

Recent results and upcoming fixtures
Main article: Belarus national football team results (2010–present)

  Win   Draw   Loss

2021
30 March 2022 WCQ Belgium  8–0  Belarus Leuven, Belgium
20:45
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Den Dreef
Attendance: 0
Referee: Donatas Rumšas (Lithuania)
2 June Friendly Belarus  1–2  Azerbaijan Minsk, Belarus
19:00 MST Skavysh 56' Report B. Huseynov 73'
Sheydayev 90+1'		 Stadium: Dinamo Stadium
Attendance: 4,120
Referee: Dumitru Muntean (Moldova)
2 September 2022 WCQ Czech Republic  1–0  Belarus Ostrava, Czech Republic
20:45
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Městský stadion v Ostravě-Vítkovicích
Attendance: 7,218
Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia)
5 September 2022 WCQ Belarus  2–3  Wales Kazan, Russia
15:00
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Bale 6' (pen.), 69' (pen.), 90+3' Stadium: Central Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)
8 September 2022 WCQ Belarus  0–1  Belgium Kazan, Russia
20:45 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Central Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)
8 October 2022 WCQ Estonia  2–0  Belarus Tallinn, Estonia
20:45
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)		 Stadium: Lilleküla Stadium
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden)
11 October 2022 WCQ Belarus  0–2  Czech Republic Kazan, Russia
20:45 Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Central Stadium
Referee: François Letexier (France)
13 November 2022 WCQ Wales  5–1  Belarus Cardiff, Wales
21:45
Report (FIFA)
Report (UEFA)
Stadium: Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 27,152
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy)
16 November Friendly Belarus  1–0  Jordan Minsk, Belarus
20:00
Report Stadium: Dinamo Stadium
Attendance: 1,120
Referee: Zaven Hovhannisyan (Armenia)

2022
26 March Friendly India  0–3  Belarus Isa Town, Bahrain
UTC+3:00 Report Bykov 48'
Solovey 68'
Gromyko 90+2'		 Stadium: Khalifa Sports City Stadium[7]
Referee: Ismaeel Habib (Bahrain)
29 March Friendly Bahrain  0–1  Belarus Muharraq, Bahrain
UTC+3:00 Report
Stadium: Al Muharraq Stadium
Referee: Majed Mohammed Al Shamrani (Saudi Arabia)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for friendly matches against India and Bahrain on 26 and 29 March 2022.

Caps and goals are correct as of 29 March, after the game against Bahrain.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Yegor Khatkevich (1988-04-09) 9 April 1988 6 0 Dinamo Minsk
1GK Maksim Plotnikov (1998-01-29) 29 January 1998 2 0 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
1GK Raman Stsyapanaw (1991-08-06) 6 August 1991 0 0 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
2DF Roman Yuzepchuk (1997-07-24) 24 July 1997 16 1 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
2DF Maksim Shvyatsow (1998-04-02) 2 April 1998 10 0 Dinamo Minsk
2DF Gleb Shevchenko (1999-02-17) 17 February 1999 8 0 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
2DF Roman Begunov (1993-03-22) 22 March 1993 7 0 Dinamo Minsk
2DF Ruslan Yudenkov (1987-04-28) 28 April 1987 6 0 Maktaaral
2DF Ruslan Khadarkevich (1993-06-18) 18 June 1993 3 0 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
2DF Danila Nechayev (1999-10-30) 30 October 1999 3 0 BATE Borisov
2DF Zakhar Volkov (1997-08-12) 12 August 1997 2 0 Khimki
3MF Vladislav Klimovich (1996-06-12) 12 June 1996 21 1 Gyirmót
3MF Yevgeny Yablonsky (1995-05-10) 10 May 1995 20 3 Aris Limassol
3MF Max Ebong (1999-08-26) 26 August 1999 20 2 Astana
3MF Ivan Bakhar (1998-07-10) 10 July 1998 17 1 Dinamo Minsk
3MF Artyom Bykov (1992-10-12) 12 October 1992 17 1 Dinamo Minsk
3MF Pavel Sedko (1998-04-03) 3 April 1998 10 1 Torpedo Moscow
3MF Valery Gromyko (1997-01-23) 23 January 1997 4 1 BATE Borisov
3MF Dmitry Bessmertny (1997-01-03) 3 January 1997 4 0 BATE Borisov
4FW Dzmitry Padstrelaw (1998-09-06) 6 September 1998 12 1 Shakhtyor Soligorsk
4FW Andrey Solovey (1994-12-13) 13 December 1994 6 2 Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Recent call-ups

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 Pavel Pavlyuchenko (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 7 0 Nieciecza v.  India, 26 March 2022 PRE
GK Syarhey Chernik (1988-07-20) 20 July 1988 23 0 Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
GK Vladislav Vasilyuchek (1994-03-28) 28 March 1994 0 0 Neman Grodno v.  Czech Republic, 11 October 2021
GK Anton Chichkan (1995-07-10) 10 July 1995 1 0 Ufa v.  Azerbaijan, 2 June 2021
DF Aleksey Zaleski (1994-10-07) 7 October 1994 0 0 Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino v.  India, 26 March 2022 PRE
DF Nikita Naumov (1989-11-15) 15 November 1989 14 1 Dinamo Minsk v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
DF Nikolay Zolotov (1994-11-11) 11 November 1994 14 0 Bastia v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
DF Kiryl Pyachenin (1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 11 0 Orenburg v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
DF Artyom Sokol (1994-03-30) 30 March 1994 0 0 Gomel v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
DF Denis Levitsky (1997-02-05) 5 February 1997 0 0 SKA Khabarovsk v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
DF Maksim Bardachow (1986-05-18) 18 May 1986 54 3 BATE Borisov v.  Czech Republic, 11 October 2021
DF Ivan Sadownichy (1987-05-11) 11 May 1987 1 0 Neman Grodno v.  Czech Republic, 11 October 2021
DF Syarhey Palitsevich (1990-04-09) 9 April 1990 32 1 Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.  Estonia, 8 October 2021 INJ
DF Alyaksandr Sachywka (1986-01-05) 5 January 1986 12 1 Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.  Estonia, 8 October 2021 INJ
DF Artsyom Rakhmanaw (1990-07-10) 10 July 1990 2 0 Astana v.  Estonia, 8 October 2021 INJ
DF Aleksandr Pavlovets (1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 8 0 Warta Poznań v.  Belgium, 8 September 2021
DF Maksim Valadzko (1992-11-10) 10 November 1992 33 2 BATE Borisov v.  Azerbaijan, 2 June 2021
DF Igor Zayats (1999-01-08) 8 January 1999 0 0 Dinamo Minsk v.  Azerbaijan, 2 June 2021
DF Dzyanis Palyakow (1991-04-17) 17 April 1991 49 1 Kairat v.  Azerbaijan, 2 June 2021 PRE
MF Aleksandr Selyava (1992-05-17) 17 May 1992 5 0 Rostov v.  India, 26 March 2022 PRE
MF Dmitry Antilevsky (1997-06-12) 12 June 1997 8 0 Dinamo Tbilisi v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
MF Ruslan Lisakovich (2002-03-22) 22 March 2002 4 0 Isloch Minsk Raion v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
MF Vadim Pobudey (1994-12-17) 17 December 1994 1 0 Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino v.  Czech Republic, 11 October 2021
MF Yevgeny Krasnov (1998-02-09) 9 February 1998 0 0 Vitebsk v.  Czech Republic, 11 October 2021
MF Nikita Korzun (1995-03-06) 6 March 1995 17 0 Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.  Estonia, 8 October 2021 INJ
MF Denis Grechikho (1999-05-22) 22 May 1999 0 0 Dinamo Minsk v.  Estonia, 8 October 2021 INJ
MF Yevgeny Beryozkin (1996-07-05) 5 July 1996 1 0 Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino v.  Azerbaijan, 2 June 2021
FW Artem Kontsevoy (1999-08-26) 26 August 1999 3 1 Baník Ostrava v.  India, 26 March 2022 PRE
FW Vitaly Lisakovich (1998-02-08) 8 February 1998 20 5 Rubin Kazan v.  Jordan, 16 November 2021
FW Maksim Skavysh (1989-11-13) 13 November 1989 31 4 Shakhtyor Soligorsk v.  Belgium, 8 September 2021
FW Yevgeny Shevchenko (1996-06-06) 6 June 1996 2 0 Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino v.  Azerbaijan, 2 June 2021

INJ Withdrew due to injury
PRE Preliminary squad / standby
COV Withdrew due to positive COVID-19 test result

Records
As of 29 March 2022[8]
Players in bold are still active with Belarus.

Most appearances
Alyaksandr Kulchy is the most capped player in the history of Belarus
Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1Alyaksandr Kulchy10251996–2012
2Alexander Hleb8062001–2019
Sergei Gurenko8031994–2006
4Sergei Kornilenko78172003–2016
5Timofei Kalachev76102004–2016
6Alyaksandr Martynovich7522009–2020
7Syarhey Kislyak7492009–
Syarhey Amelyanchuk7412002–2011
9Syarhey Shtanyuk7131995–2007
10Stanislaw Drahun68112011–2020
Sergei Aleinikov reached a combined 81 caps and 6 goals for Soviet Union, CIS and Belarus during 1984–1994.[9]

Top goalscorers
Maksim Romaschenko is the top scorer in the history of Belarus with 20 goals
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Years
1Maksim Romaschenko20640.311998–2008
2Sergei Kornilenko17780.222003–2016
3Vitali Kutuzov13520.252002–2011
4Vyacheslav Hleb12450.272004–2011
5Stanislaw Drahun11680.162011–2020
6Raman Vasilyuk10240.422000–2008
Vitali Rodionov10480.212007–2017
Valyantsin Byalkevich10560.181992–2005
Timofei Kalachev10760.132004–2016
10Syarhey Kislyak9740.122009–

Coaching history
As of 29 March 2022
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, 2021– 37 12 8 17 46–48
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 2019–2021 18 7 3 9 23–35
Oleg Radushko (caretaker) 2021 1 0 0 1 0–2
Total: 1992–Present 260 80 63 117 301–373

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Results Position Pld W D L GF GA Pos Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1990 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
1994 Did not enter Did not enter
1998Did not qualify 6th10118521
2002 3rd104331211
2006 5th102441214
2010 4th104151914
2014 5th8116716
2018 6th10127621
2022 5th8107724
2026 To be determined To be determined
Total – 0/7 – – – – – – – 66 14 12 40 68 121

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 8 6 2 0 25 6 +19 20 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup — 3–1 3–0 3–1 8–0
2  Wales 8 4 3 1 14 9 +5 15 Advance to play-offs 1–1 — 1–0 0–0 5–1
3  Czech Republic 8 4 2 2 14 9 +5 14 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 1–1 2–2 — 2–0 1–0
4  Estonia 8 1 1 6 9 21 −12 4 2–5 0–1 2–6 — 2–0
5  Belarus 8 1 0 7 7 24 −17 3 0–1 2–3 0–2 4–2 —
Source: FIFA, UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year Results Position Pld W D L GF GA Pos Pld W D L GF GA
1960 to 1992 Part of the  Soviet Union Part of the  Soviet Union
1996Did not qualify 4th10325813
2000 5th8035410
2004 5th8107420
2008 4th124171723
2012 4th1034387
2016 4th10325814
2020 4th9117417
2024 To be determined To be determined
Total – 0/7 – – – – – – – 67 15 13 39 53 104

UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 8 7 0 1 30 7 +23 21 Qualify for final tournament — 2–4 6–1 4–0 8–0
2  Netherlands 8 6 1 1 24 7 +17 19 2–3 — 3–1 4–0 5–0
3  Northern Ireland 8 4 1 3 9 13 −4 13 Advance to play-offs via Nations League 0–2 0–0 — 2–1 2–0
4  Belarus 8 1 1 6 4 16 −12 4 0–2 1–2 0–1 — 0–0
5  Estonia 8 0 1 7 2 26 −24 1 0–3 0–4 1–2 1–2 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

Play-off
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
8 October 2020
 
 
 Georgia1
 
12 November 2020
 
 Belarus0
 
 Georgia0
 
8 October 2020
 
 North Macedonia1
 
 North Macedonia2
 
 
 Kosovo1
 

UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Group Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 2 1st 6 4 2 0 10 0 43rd
2020–21 C 4 2nd 6 3 1 2 10 8 38th
2022–23 C Future event
Total – 12 7 1 2 20 8 38th

2022–23 UEFA Nations League
Main article: 2022–23 UEFA Nations League C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification
1  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Promotion to League B — 3 Jun 22 Sep 6 Jun
2  Belarus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 Sep — 6 Jun 10 Jun
3  Azerbaijan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Jun 13 Jun — 25 Sep
4  Kazakhstan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to relegation play-outs 13 Jun 22 Sep 3 Jun —
First match(es) will be played on 3 June 2022. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Head-to-head record
As of 13 November 2021
Tournament Pld W D L Goals
World Cup Qualifying6614124068–121
Euro Qualifying6715133953–104
UEFA Nations League1273220–8
Friendly114443536160–140
Opponent Pld W D L Goals
 Luxembourg1264213–5
 Lithuania1054119–7
 Netherlands102086–23
 Estonia941410–10
 Ukraine91355–12
 Moldova82429–7
 Bulgaria83057–12
 Armenia73229–9
 Albania722310–10
 Norway72235–9
 Wales71068–16
 Latvia641113–7
 Poland622210–9
 France61236–10
 Romania60247–15
 Czech Republic60063–14
 Kazakhstan541014–3
 Slovenia52218–5
 Israel52038–9
 Finland50324–7
 Sweden50052–16
 Andorra430111–4
 Georgia41124–4
 Turkey41127–8
 Scotland41122–5
 Montenegro40221–4
 Italy40225–9
 Russia40224–8
 Spain40041–10
 Austria40040–12
 Malta32104–1
 Uzbekistan32105–3
 Hungary31207–4
 Iran31204–3
 Azerbaijan31114–4
 Macedonia31112–4
 Slovakia31022–7
 Germany30122–8
  Switzerland30030–4
 Northern Ireland30031–6
 San Marino22007–0
 Cyprus21013–2
 Canada21012–1
 United Arab Emirates21013–3
 Greece21011–1
 Jordan21011–1
 Honduras20203–3
 Libya20202–2
 Denmark20110–1
 Croatia20021–4
 Bosnia and Herzegovina20020–3
 England20021–6
 Belgium20020–9
 Tajikistan11006–1
 Liechtenstein11005–1
 Oman11004–0
 India11003–0
 Kyrgyzstan11003–1
 Iceland11002–0
 Mexico11003–2
 Republic of Ireland11002–1
 South Korea11001–0
 Japan11001–0
 New Zealand11001–0
 Bahrain11001–0
 Peru10101–1
 Ecuador10101–1
 Saudi Arabia10101–1
 Argentina10100–0
 Gabon10100–0
 Egypt10010–2
 Tunisia10010–3
Total: 2608063117301–373

B-team

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 was most recently assembled for participation in 2017 King's Cup in Thailand on 14–16 July 2017.

See also

References
  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. "Lithuania v Belarus". eu.football. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  3. Goldberg, Rob. "UEFA Bars Belarus from Hosting International Games After Invasion of Ukraine". Bleacher Report.
  4. "Russia, Belarus Suspended From International Soccer, Hockey Over Ukraine Attacks". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
  5. "Archived copy" Владимир Бережков: "3 сентября приглашаем всех на открытую тренировку сборной". abff.by (in Russian). 11 August 2016. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "UEFA Direct – August/September 2016" (PDF). 3 August 2016.
  7. "Alaswad fires in winner for Bahrain | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN".
  8. Mamrud, Roberto. "Belarus - Record International Players". RSSSF.
  9. Mamrud, Roberto. "Sergei Yevgenyevich Aleinikov - International Appearances". RSSSF.
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