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Cyprus national football team

(Redirected from Cypriot national football team)
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cyprus women's national football team.

The Cyprus national football team (Greek: Εθνική ομάδα ποδοσφαίρου της Κύπρου, Turkish: Kıbrıs Futbol Federasyonu) represents Cyprus in men's international football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association. The team's home ground is the AEK Arena in Larnaca.

Cyprus
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationCyprus Football Association (CFA)
Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου
Kıbrıs Futbol Federasyonu
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachSofronis Avgousti
CaptainKostakis Artymatas
Most capsIoannis Okkas (103)
Top scorerMichalis Konstantinou (32)
Home stadiumAEK Arena
FIFA codeCYP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 130 Decrease 3 (28 November 2024)[1]
Highest43 (September 2010)
Lowest142 (June 2014)
First international
Unofficial:
 Israel 3–1 Cyprus 
(Tel Aviv; 30 July 1949)
Official:
 Cyprus 1–1 Israel 
(Nicosia; 13 November 1960)
Biggest win
 Cyprus 5–0 Andorra 
(Limassol; 15 November 2000)
 Cyprus 5–0 Andorra 
(Nicosia; 16 November 2014)
 Cyprus 5–0 San Marino 
(Nicosia; 21 March 2019)
Biggest defeat
 West Germany 12–0 Cyprus 
(Essen; 21 May 1969)

History

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Early history

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The team's first match took place on 23 July 1949, one year after becoming a member of the world governing body FIFA: a friendly against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Tel Aviv, ending in a 3–3 draw. Seven days later, the team had its first international game: a 3–1 defeat by Israel in the same city.

In November 1960, following independence from British rule, Cyprus drew its first post-independence official match 1–1 against Israel, as part of the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament. Cyprus' first international victory was a 3–1 win over Greece on 27 November 1963 in a friendly. On 17 February 1968, Cyprus recorded their first competitive win, beating Switzerland 2–1 in a European Championship qualifying match in Old GSP Stadium in Nicosia.

In 1974, the national team enjoyed one of their most famous victories when they beat Northern Ireland 1–0 in Nicosia. On 12 February 1983, as part of the Euro 1984 qualifiers, Cyprus held world champions Italy to a 1–1 draw in Tsirio Stadium in Limassol, followed a month later by the same result against Czechoslovakia. Four years later, in the Euro 1988 qualification, Cyprus recorded their first ever point achieved in an away match, against Poland. In 1989 they drew 1–1 with France in the World Cup qualifying match. Despite a number of triumphs on home soil, Cyprus had to wait until 1992 to record their first away win: a 2–0 victory against the Faroe Islands.

Results in qualifying tournaments had improved considerably in the following years; In the qualifying stages for the 1996 UEFA European Championship, Cyprus drew 1–1 with holders Denmark. Four years later, they missed out on a place in the UEFA Euro 2000 despite 3–2 victories against both Spain and Israel and a 4–0 win over San Marino.

2000s

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Cyprus national team against Bulgaria in 2012.

On 15 November 2000, Cyprus scored their biggest win in history by beating Andorra in Limassol 5–0 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification. On 7 October 2006, as part of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, Cyprus caused a major upset by beating the Republic of Ireland 5–2 at GSP Stadium in Nicosia, with Michalis Konstantinou and Constantinos Charalambidis each scoring two goals and Alexandros Garpozis finishing off the match. Just one month later, on 15 November 2006, they caused another surprise by holding the previous World Cup's hosts Germany to a 1–1 draw at home. On 13 October 2007, they beat Wales 3–1 in Nicosia. On 17 October 2007, Cyprus came close to a historic away victory in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland, but the hosts equalised in the last minute of the game and the match ended 1–1.

2010s

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On 3 September 2010, as part of the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Cyprus claimed a historic 4–4 draw against Portugal in Guimarães.

During the Euro 2016 qualification phase, managed by Pambos Christodoulou, Cyprus claimed one of their most historic victories by defeating 2014 World Cup participant Bosnia 2–1 in Zenica. In the last group match, the team faced Bosnia, needing a victory to finish 3rd and rely on Belgium to beat Israel in Brussels. As fate would have it, the Bosnians won the reverse leg 3–2 and qualified to the play-offs at the expense of the home team, who at one point took a 2–1 lead during the first half and for a number of minutes held onto 3rd place and a berth in the play-offs for the first time in history, as Belgium, a soon to be world number 1 side, were comfortably beating Israel at home.[3]

Cyprus would finish behind Estonia and ahead of Gibraltar to place 5th of 6 teams in Group H in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[4] Their qualification run would include an impressive 3–2 home victory over Bosnia.[5]

2020s

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In the Euro 2020 qualifiers, Cyprus beat San Marino 5–0 but lost to Belgium and Scotland. Despite a 2–1 away win against Kazakhstan, they lost their last three games and finished 4th out of 6 teams in the group, just ahead of Kazakhstan and San Marino.

The 2020–21 UEFA Nations League ended a big disappointment for Cyprus. They lost their first three games against Montenegro, Azerbaijan, and Luxembourg, before drawing 0–0 with Azerbaijan in the fourth game. Even though they beat Luxembourg 2–1 at home, they were crushed 4–0 by Montenegro in the last game and finished last in their group. This meant that they had to face Estonia in the relegation play-offs, whom they defeated 2–0 on aggregate, with goals from Marinos Tzionis and Pieros Sotiriou. Results hardly improved in the next edition of the competition, as Cyprus finished last in their group with Greece, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland, earning five points (through a win against Greece and two draws against Northern Ireland).

Cyprus lost all eight of their games in the 2024 Euro qualifiers, finishing last in their group and marking their worst ever Euro qualification campaign in terms of points per game and goal difference.

Kit

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On 7 October 2006, Diadora unveiled Cyprus' new kit. It outlines a map of Cyprus in amber from the shoulder to the sleeve, with a green line running down the middle to indicate the division of the island. This controversial kit was used for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying phase. Adidas then made Cyprus' kits for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification phases. In 2018, Macron replaced Adidas as part of UEFA's Kit Assistance Scheme.

Kit provider Period
  Lotto 0000–2000
  Errea 2000–2002
  Umbro 2002–2006
  Diadora 2006–2008
  Adidas 2008–2018
  Macron 2018–2022
  Errea 2022–present

Home stadium

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Since late 2021, Cyprus have played their home matches at the Georgios Karapatakis AEK Arena in Larnaca.

Home matches had previously been staged at different stadiums all around the country. Until 1974, Cyprus used either the old GSP Stadium in central Nicosia or the GSE Stadium in Famagusta. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, some matches were played at the Tsirion Stadium in Limassol and the Makario Stadium in Nicosia. In 1999, the building of the New GSP Stadium in Nicosia provided a new home for the national team but in 2008, a change of sponsorship forced home fixtures of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification phase to be played at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca. However, Cyprus returned to the GSP Stadium for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying phase however have not played there since September 2021.

Results and fixtures

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Main article: Cyprus national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

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21 March 2024 Friendly Cyprus   1–1   Latvia Larnaca, Cyprus
19:00 UTC+2
  • Pittas   34'
 Report
Stadium: AEK Arena
Referee: Lukas Fähndrich (Switzerland)
25 March 2024 Friendly Cyprus   0–1   Serbia Larnaca, Cyprus
19:00 UTC+2 Report
Stadium: AEK Arena
Referee: Marco Di Bello (Italy)
8 June 2024 (2024-06-08) Friendly Moldova   3–2   Cyprus Chișinău, Moldova
19:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: Stadionul Zimbru
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: Denys Shurman (Ukraine)
11 June 2024 Friendly San Marino   1–4   Cyprus Serravalle, San Marino
18:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: San Marino Stadium
Referee: Ishmael Barbara (Malta)
6 September 2024 2024–25 Nations League Lithuania   0–1   Cyprus Kaunas, Lithuania
20:45 Report
Stadium: Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Attendance: 4,905
Referee: Igor Pajac (Croatia)
9 September 2024 2024–25 Nations League Cyprus   0–4   Kosovo Larnaca, Cyprus
21:45 Report
Stadium: AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis
Attendance: 2,041
Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Austria)
12 October 2024 2024–25 Nations League Cyprus   0–3   Romania Larnaca, Cyprus
21:45 Report
Stadium: AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis
Attendance: 6,092
Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Germany)
15 October 2024 2024–25 Nations League Kosovo   3–0   Cyprus Pristina, Kosovo
20:45
Report Stadium: Fadil Vokrri Stadium
Attendance: 12,863
Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)
15 November 2024 2024–25 Nations League Cyprus   2–1   Lithuania Larnaca, Cyprus
21:45
Report
Stadium: AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis
Attendance: 1,733
Referee: Nenad Minaković (Serbia)
18 November 2024 2024–25 Nations League Romania   4–1   Cyprus Bucharest, Romania
21:45
Report
Stadium: Arena Națională
Attendance: 45,318
Referee: Luca Pairetto (Italy)

Coaching staff

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Manager   Sofronis Avgousti
Assistant Manager   Christos Panteli
Assistant Manager   Panayiotis Engomitis
Goalkeeping Coach   Nicos Constantinidis
Physical Trainer   Panicos Sakki
Physical Trainer   Ioakim Ioakim
Match Analyst   Giorgos Christodoulou

Coaching history

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As of 7 Oct 2024.[6][7]

Players

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Current squad

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The following players were called up for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against   Romania and   Kosovo on 12 and 15 October 2024, respectively.[8]

Caps and goals updated as of 8 October 2024.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
22 1GK Joël Mall (1991-04-05) 5 April 1991 (age 33) 13 0   Servette
22 1GK Neofytos Michail (1993-12-16) 16 December 1993 (age 30) 15 0   Pafos
13 1GK Demetris Demetriou (1999-01-15) 15 January 1999 (age 25) 9 0   Apollon Limassol
2 2DF Andreas Karo (1996-09-09) 9 September 1996 (age 28) 25 1   Maccabi Petah Tikva
4 2DF Nicholas Ioannou (1995-11-10) 10 November 1995 (age 29) 48 2   Como
14 2DF Kostas Pileas (1998-12-11) 11 December 1998 (age 25) 8 1   Pafos FC
16 2DF Stelios Andreou (2002-07-24) 24 July 2002 (age 22) 21 0   Charleroi
18 2DF Nikolas Panayiotou (2000-05-12) 12 May 2000 (age 24) 13 0   Omonia
19 2DF Konstantinos Laifis (1993-05-19) 19 May 1993 (age 31) 60 3   APOEL FC
18 2DF Minas Antoniou (1994-02-22) 22 February 1994 (age 30) 20 0   Karmiotissa FC
7 2DF Marios Stylianou (1993-09-23) 23 September 1993 (age 31) 6 0   Ethnikos Achna FC
5 3MF Charalampos Charalampous (2002-04-04) 4 April 2002 (age 22) 15 1   Omonia
6 3MF Alex Gogić (1994-04-13) 13 April 1994 (age 30) 33 0   St Mirren
8 3MF Ioannis Kousoulos (1996-06-14) 14 June 1996 (age 28) 41 4   Omonia
20 3MF Grigoris Kastanos (1998-01-30) 30 January 1998 (age 26) 64 6   Hellas Verona
18 3MF Kostakis Artymatas (1993-04-15) 15 April 1993 (age 31) 71 1   Anorthosis Famagusta FC
18 3MF Rafail Mamas (2001-03-04) 4 March 2001 (age 23) 2 0   AEL Limassol
12 3MF Andreas Chrysostomou (2001-01-14) 14 January 2001 (age 23) 4 0   Anorthosis Famagusta FC
9 4FW Ioannis Pittas (1996-07-10) 10 July 1996 (age 28) 43 7   AIK
10 4FW Loizos Loizou (2003-07-18) 18 July 2003 (age 21) 32 1   Omonia
11 4FW Andronikos Kakoullis (2001-05-03) 3 May 2001 (age 23) 22 4   Omonia
21 4FW Stavros Gavriel (2002-01-29) 29 January 2002 (age 22) 3 0   S.V. Zulte Waregem
23 4FW Marios Ilia (1996-05-19) 19 May 1996 (age 28) 14 1   Pafos FC
10 4FW Pieros Sotiriou (1993-01-13) 13 January 1993 (age 31) 60 12   Sanfrecce Hiroshima
21 4FW Marinos Tzionis (2001-07-16) 16 July 2001 (age 23) 27 2   Čukarički

Recent call-ups

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The following players have also been called up to the Cyprus squad within the last 12 months and are still available for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Konstantinos Panagi (1994-10-08) 8 October 1994 (age 30) 28 0   AC Omonia v.   San Marino, 11 June 2024
DF Andreas Panayiotou Filiotis (1995-05-31) 31 May 1995 (age 29) 7 0   Apollon Limassol v.   Moldova, 8 June 2024
DF Marios Antoniades (1990-05-14) 14 May 1990 (age 34) 25 0   Doxa Katokopias v.   Serbia, 25 March 2024
DF Pavlos Korrea (1998-07-14) 14 July 1998 (age 26) 4 0   Volos v.   San Marino, 11 June 2024
DF Giorgos Malekkidis (1997-07-14) 14 July 1997 (age 27) 4 0   Apollon Limassol FC v.   Kosovo, 9 September 2024
DF Anderson Correia (1991-05-06) 6 May 1991 (age 33) 11 0   Aris Limassol FC v.   Kosovo, 9 September 2024
MF Hector Kyprianou (2001-05-27) 27 May 2001 (age 23) 10 0   Peterborough United F.C. v.   Kosovo, 9 September 2024
MF Danilo Špoljarić (1999-07-14) 14 July 1999 (age 25) 16 1   Apollon Limassol FC v.   Kosovo, 9 September 2024
FW Andreas Katsantonis (2000-02-16) 16 February 2000 (age 24) 1 0   Piast Gliwice v.   Kosovo, 9 September 2024
FW Ruel Sotiriou (2000-08-24) 24 August 2000 (age 24) 1 0   Bristol Rovers F.C. v.   Serbia, 25 March 2024
  • INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • RET Retired from international football.
  • SUS Suspended

Player records

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As of 19 November 2023[9]
Players in bold are still active with Cyprus.

Most appearances

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Ioannis Okkas is Cyprus' most capped player with 103 appearances.
Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1 Ioannis Okkas 103 27 1997–2011
2 Constantinos Charalambidis 93 12 2003–2017
3 Michalis Konstantinou 84 32 1997–2012
4 Pambos Pittas 82 7 1987–1999
5 Constantinos Makrides 77 5 2004–2016
6 Nicos Panayiotou 74 0 1994–2006
7 Demetris Christofi 72 9 2008–present
8 Elias Charalambous 69 0 2002–2017
Chrysis Michael 69 7 2000–2017
Giorgos Theodotou 69 0 1996–2008

Top goalscorers

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Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Michalis Konstantinou 32 86 0.37 1997–2012
2 Ioannis Okkas 27 103 0.26 1997–2011
3 Pieros Sotiriou 12 60 0.2 2012–present
Constantinos Charalambidis 12 93 0.13 2003–2017
5 Efstathios Aloneftis 10 62 0.11 2005–2017
6 Marios Agathokleous 9 38 0.24 1994–2003
Demetris Christofi 9 72 0.13 2008–present
8 Fivos Vrahimis 8 18 0.44 1977–1982
Milenko Špoljarić 8 21 0.38 1997–2001
Siniša Gogić 8 37 0.22 1994–1999
Andreas Sotiriou 8 39 0.21 1991–1999

Competitive record

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All-time record

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As of 18 November 2024
Competition Played Won Draw Lost GF GA
FIFA World Cup qualification 124 16 15 93 91 320
European Championship qualification 122 19 15 88 101 316
Friendly matches 137 38 34 65 147 206
UEFA Nations League 26 6 6 14 17 46
Total 409 79 70 261 356 888

FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
  1930 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
  1934
  1938
  1950 Did not enter Did not enter
  1954
  1958 Withdrew Withdrew
  1962 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 2 7
  1966 4 0 0 4 0 19
  1970 6 0 0 6 2 35
  1974 6 1 0 5 1 14
  1978 6 0 0 6 3 24
  1982 8 0 0 8 4 29
  1986 6 0 0 6 3 18
  1990 8 0 1 7 6 20
  1994 10 2 1 7 8 18
  1998 8 3 1 4 10 15
    2002 10 2 2 6 13 31
  2006 10 1 1 8 8 20
  2010 10 2 3 5 14 16
  2014 10 1 2 7 4 15
  2018 10 3 1 6 9 18
  2022 10 1 2 7 4 21
      2026 To be determined To be determined
      2030
  2034
Total 0/19 124 16 15 93 91 320

UEFA European Championship

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UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Result Position Pld W D L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
  1960 Not a UEFA member Not a UEFA member
  1964 Did not enter Did not enter
  1968 Did not qualify 6 1 0 5 3 25
  1972 6 0 0 6 2 26
  1976 6 0 0 6 0 16
  1980 6 0 1 5 2 19
  1984 8 0 2 6 4 21
  1988 8 0 1 7 3 16
  1992 8 0 0 8 2 25
  1996 10 1 4 5 6 20
    2000 8 4 0 4 12 21
  2004 8 2 2 4 9 18
    2008 12 4 2 6 17 24
    2012 8 0 2 6 7 20
  2016 10 4 0 6 16 17
  2020 10 3 1 6 15 20
  2024 8 0 0 8 3 28
    2028 To be determined To be determined
    2032
Total 0/16 122 19 15 88 101 316

UEFA Nations League

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UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R Rank
2018–19 C 3 6 1 2 3 5 9   36th
2020–21 C 1 8 2 2 4 4 10   46th
2022–23 C 2 6 1 2 3 4 12   45th
2024–25 C 2 To be determined
Total 20 4 6 10 13 31 36th

Head-to-head record

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As of 18 November 2024.

  Positive record   Neutral record   Negative record

Honours

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Friendly

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References

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Notes
Citation
  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  3. ^ uefa.com (13 October 2015). "Bosnia and Herzegovina in play-offs, Cyprus out". Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  4. ^ FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – Qualifiers – Europe". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015.
  5. ^ "Cyprus vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina – Football Match Summary – August 31, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Cyprus Football Association – Εθνική Ανδρών: Προπονητές". Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  7. ^ "Cyprus National Team Coaches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  8. ^ "The call for the matches against Romania and Kosovo". CFA (in Greek).
  9. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Cyprus – Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 2022-12-27. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
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