One of the coaches of the Russian national team, Viktor Onopko, admitted that the Russian national team might be included in the participants of the 2026 World Cup even without participating in the qualifying round
“I would not be surprised if we can even perform at the 2026 World Cup without qualifying matches. There will be a draw, but we will not participate, however, it may happen that they will talk about the admission of the Russian national team and we might be included in any group,” Onopko said on Russian television.
