Since the tournament was renamed to under-19 in 2002, the Russia under-19s have qualified for only two UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. They have, however, reached the second, or elite, qualification stage in all campaigns with the exception of 2002 when they were knocked out at the preliminary qualification stage.[1] They came closest to qualifying for the 2010 competition, when they finished one point behind group winners Italy in the elite qualification stage.[2]
In the 2011 qualification campaign, Russia again narrowly missed out on the finals, finishing second in group five of the elite qualifying stage, having drawn two games and won one against Israel.[3] The group winner was the Czech Republic.[4] The joint top scorers for Russia in the qualification campaign for 2011 were Aleksandr Kozlov and Georgi Nurov, who both scored two goals in three games.[5]
Russia's best performance at the European Championships was in 2015 in Greece. After being qualified to the final tournament for the first time since 2007, team Russia also stood at the top position of Group B of the Group Stage along with Spain. In the semifinals Russia beat hosts Greece 4–0. The team eventually became runners-up, after Spain made two goals to win the trophy.[citation needed]
UEFA U-19 Championship Record
FIFA considers Russia the direct successor to the Soviet Union, and therefore the inheritor to all its records.
![[icon]](File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}