Vasyl Rats

Vasyl Karlovych Rats (Ukrainian: Василь Карлович Рац; Hungarian: Racz Laszlo) (born 25 March 1961) is a Ukrainian former football midfielder. He participated in two World Cups with the Soviet Union national football team.

International Career

Rats earned 47 caps and scored 4 goals for the USSR, from 1986 to 1990. He played in two World Cups, in 1986 and 1990. In the 1986 World Cup he scored a goal with a 27-meter shot against France in a 1–1 draw in the first round: a headed clearance by France was picked up by Ihor Belanov and laid off to Rats, who on the first touch, struck the ball powerfully from several yards outside the area past French goalkeeper Joel Bats and into the top left corner of the net. During Euro 1988 his goal secured USSR a 1–0 victory in the group stage over eventual champions The Netherlands. USSR reached the final, but were unable to repeat their achievement in the group stage and lost 2–0.