Whether independently or as part of the old Soviet Union, Russia will be meeting France for the fourth time at this level when the sides meet in Monday’s quarter-final of the UEFA European Under-16 Championship at York City's Bootham Crescent.
First meeting
France are yet to get the better of these old rivals. Their first meeting was at the group stage back in 1986 at the Ethniko Trikala stadium, when the tournament was held in Greece.
Petit and Salenko on duty
France included the future international Patrice Loko in their forward line, while future FIFA World Cup and EURO 2000™ winner Emmanuel Petit was an unused substitute. For their part the Soviet Union featured Oleg Salenko, later of FC Dynamo Kyiv, Valencia CF and the Russian national side.
Three-goal lead
The Soviet Union raced into a three-goal lead at half-time, with Salenko himself scoring the second, and although France pulled one back through future AJ Auxerre player Franck Soler soon after the break, they conceded another almost straight away and that was that. The Soviet Union eventually finished third.
Kikiforov plays
The following year the teams met in the semi-final in Rouen. France again had Petit in their squad, though this time he did not even make the bench. The Soviets included Yuri Kikiforov, another future Russian international now plying his trade with PSV Eindhoven.
Penalty shoot-out
The game finished goalless but the Soviets prevailed once more, this time on penalties, beating the hosts 3-0 in the shoot-out before losing to Italy in the final while France beat Turkey to take third place.
Istanbul meeting
The most recent meeting, and the first in Russian colours, came in 1993 at the Senlikköy stadium in Istanbul. Once more the game ended as a draw, 1-1, with France again going on to take third place overall.
'Free of injuries'
Looking ahead to their latest encounter, French coach Jean-François Jodar said: "We approach the game free of injuries and suspensions and with all of the squad having at least one match under their belts. We know that the Russian team will be very skilful and well organised, but once you get to the quarter-final stages of a European championship there are no easy games."
'We have slim chance'
His Russian counterpart Yuri Smirnov said: "The game against France will be very difficult for Russia. In fact we have a very slim chance due to France having more strength with lots of good reserves. Additionally, our sweeper is suspended for the game. We have very big problems in midfield as we don’t have a playmaker,and we are not scoring enough goals."
