From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vasilij Karlović Rats (Ukrainian: Василь Рац; Hungarian: Rácz László) (born 25 April 1961 in Vynohradiv, Ukraine) is a former Ukrainian football midfielder of Hungarian ethnicity. He participated in two World Cups with the USSR national team.
[edit] Club career
[edit] 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. He became famous for scoring one of the most spectacular goals of the 1986 World Cup, a powerful 40 yard shot against France in a 1-1 draw in the first round: a headed clearance by France was picked up by Belanov and laid off to Rats, who on the first touch, belted the ball from several yards outside the area past French goalkeeper Joel Bats and into the top left hand 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 was unable to repeat their achievement in the group stage and lost 2-0 by goals of Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten.