| Nickname(s) | Lads (Юноши) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Football Federation of USSR | ||
| Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
| Head coach | - | ||
| FIFA code | URS | ||
| |||
| UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship | |||
| Appearances | 20 (first in 1962) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1966 (shared), 1967, 1976, 1978, 1988, 1990 | ||
The Soviet national lads football team was the under-18 football team of the Soviet Union. For world competitions it was reorganized into under-20 team. It ceased to exist on the breakup of the Union.
It was the oldest existing junior national football team until 1972 with introduction of the national under-23 team. Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1962, the USSR Under-18 team was formed. The competition has been held since 1948. It was originally called the FIFA junior tournament, until it was taken over by UEFA in 1955 (UEFA Junior Tournament).
In 1980, UEFA competitions for under-18 teams were officially restyled as the European Under 18 Football Championship. The team had a good record, winning the competition sixth times, reaching the final once, but failing to qualify for the last five on 26 occasions.
After the dissolution of the USSR (on December 26, 1991), the senior team played out its remaining fixtures, which were the finals of Euro 92. Because the USSR U-18s had, by December 26, already failed to qualify for their version of the 1992 European Championship, the former Soviet states didn't play as a combined team at U-19 level ever again.
Of the former Soviet states, only Russia was admitted for the 1992–1993 competition.
