This predicament stems from Russia’s suspension from all official international soccer competitions. In February 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended Russian teams from participating in all sanctioned events, including the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Since then, Russia has found itself isolated from the global soccer community. A Growing list of rejections As the date for potential friendlies approached, more and more national teams backed out. The trouble started on Oct. 5, when Russian media reported that Tanzania and Tajikistan, both of whom wer…