India, June 5 -- Russia gears up to host Burkina Faso in an international friendly on Friday, June 5, at the Volgograd Arena. This will be the first meeting between the two footballing nations. The hosts will be looking to bounce back after a narrow defeat to Egypt. Russia, despite being a strong team, remains out of the FIFA World Cup 2026. They missed the last edition in Qatar as well. Russia has been banned from competing in any FIFA or UEFA events due to the war in Ukraine. They last featured in the 2018 World Cup as the host.

Burkina Faso, on the other hand, has failed to qualify for the World Cup. They managed 21 points in 10 games in the qualifiers and lost the playoff spot after finishing second in the group. The Burkina Faso nat...