Cyprus 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) represents Cyprus in international football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association, the governing body for football in Cyprus. Cyprus' home ground is the GSP Stadium in Nicosia and the current coach is Johan Walem.

Cyprus
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationCyprus Football Association (CFA)
Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachJohan Walem
CaptainGiorgos Merkis
Most capsIoannis Okkas (106)
Top scorerMichalis Konstantinou (32)
Home stadiumGSP Stadium, Nicosia
FIFA codeCYP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 100 Steady (10 December 2020)[1]
Highest43 (September 2010)
Lowest142 (June 2014)
First international
Unofficial:
 Israel 3–1 Cyprus 
(Tel-Aviv, Israel; 30 July 1949)
Official:
 Cyprus 1–1 Israel 
(Nicosia, Cyprus; 13 November 1960)
Biggest win
 Cyprus 5–0 Andorra 
(Limassol, Cyprus; 15 November 2000)
 Cyprus 5–0 Andorra 
(Nicosia, Cyprus; 16 November 2014)
 Cyprus 5–0 San Marino 
(Nicosia, Cyprus; 21 March 2019)
Biggest defeat
 West Germany 12–0 Cyprus 
(Essen, West Germany; 21 May 1969)

HistoryEdit

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 against 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 against 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 have also improved considerably in recent times. 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.

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 in New GSP Stadium in Nicosia, with Michalis Konstantinou and Constantinos Charalambidis each scoring two goals and Alexandros Garpozis one goal. Just one month later, on 15 November 2006, they caused another surprise by holding the World Cup bronze-medalists 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. On 3 September 2010, as part of the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Cyprus claimed a historic result against Portugal after drawing 4–4 in Guimarães.

During the Euro 2016 qualifying, Cyprus national football team managed by Pambos Christodoulou claimed one of their most historic victories by defeating 2014 World Cup participant Bosnia with 2–1 in Zenica. In the last group match, the team faced Bosnia needing a victory to finish in 3rd and rely on Belgium to beat Israel in Brussels. As fate would have it, the Bosnians won the reverse 3–2 and qualified to play-offs at the expense of the home team, who at one point took a 2–1 lead during first half and for number of minutes held onto 3rd spot and a berth in the play-offs for a 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]

KitEdit

On 7 October 2006, a new kit was made by Diadora. 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 kit was used for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying, and was replaced by a kit made by Adidas for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. For 2018 Macron will replace Adidas as part of the UEFA's Kit Assistance Scheme programme.

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

Home stadiumEdit

Cyprus currently plays home matches at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia. 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 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 for 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification to be played at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium. However, Cyprus returned to the GSP Stadium for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying round matches.

Total results and recordsEdit

As of 17 November 2020.

Competition Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA
FIFA World Cup qualification 114 15 13 86 87 299
European Championship qualification 114 19 15 80 98 288
Friendly matches 127 35 32 60 134 189
UEFA Nations League 12 2 3 7 7 19
TOTAL 367 71 63 233 326 795

FIFA World Cup recordEdit

 
2012 Cyprus national football team in Bulgaria.
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
  1930 Did not enter Declined participation
  1934
  1938
  1950
  1954
  1958
  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 To be determined To be determined
      2026
Total 0/21 114 15 13 86 87 299

UEFA European Championship recordEdit

UEFA European Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
  1960 Did not enter
  1964
  1968 Did not qualify
  1972
  1976
  1980
  1984
  1988
  1992
  1996
    2000
  2004
    2008
    2012
  2016
  2020
  2024 To be determined
Total 0/16

UEFA Nations League recordEdit

UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA
2018–19 C Group stage 3rd 6 1 2 3 5 9
2020–21 C To be determined
Total Group stage
League C 		1/1 6 1 2 3 5 9

Recent results and forthcoming fixturesEdit

Main articles: 2020–21 UEFA Nations League C and Cyprus national football team results (2020–29)
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or qualification        
1   Montenegro (P) 6 4 1 1 10 2 +8 13 Promotion to League B — 1–2 2–0 4–0
2   Luxembourg 6 3 1 2 7 5 +2 10 0–1 — 0–0 2–0
3   Azerbaijan 6 1 3 2 2 4 −2 6 0–0 1–2 — 0–0
4   Cyprus (Q) 6 1 1 4 2 10 −8 4 Qualification to relegation play-outs 0–2 2–1 0–1 —
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Cyprus  0–2  Montenegro
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Harm Osmers (Germany)
Cyprus  0–1  Azerbaijan
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Filip Glova (Slovakia)
Luxembourg  2–0  Cyprus
Azerbaijan  0–0  Cyprus
Cyprus  2–1  Luxembourg
Montenegro  4–0  Cyprus

PlayersEdit

Current squadEdit

The following players were called up for the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League matches against Luxembourg and Montenegro on 14 and 17 November 2020 respectively.
Caps and goals as of 17 November 2020, after the match against Montenegro.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Anastasios Kissas (1988-01-18) 18 January 1988 (age 32) 12 0   Nea Salamina
12 1GK Charalambos Kyriakides (1998-11-30) 30 November 1998 (age 22) 4 0   Omonia
22 1GK Neofytos Michael (1993-12-16) 16 December 1993 (age 27) 1 0   Olympiakos Nicosia
2DF Konstantinos Laifis (1993-05-19) 19 May 1993 (age 27) 40 3   Standard Liège
13 2DF Ioannis Kousoulos (1996-06-14) 14 June 1996 (age 24) 25 4   Omonia
3 2DF Nicholas Ioannou (1995-11-10) 10 November 1995 (age 25) 22 2   Nottingham Forest
2DF Valentinos Sielis (1990-03-01) 1 March 1990 (age 30) 18 1   Jeju United
2DF Charis Kyriakou (1995-02-09) 9 February 1995 (age 25) 13 0   AEL Limassol
2 2DF Andreas Karo (1996-09-09) 9 September 1996 (age 24) 7 0   Salernitana
19 2DF Kypros Christoforou (1993-04-24) 24 April 1993 (age 27) 2 0   Nea Salamina
14 2DF Christos Wheeler (1997-06-29) 29 June 1997 (age 23) 4 0   APOEL
3MF Georgios Efrem (1989-07-05) 5 July 1989 (age 31) 48 5   APOEL
11 3MF Andreas Avraam (1987-06-06) 6 June 1987 (age 33) 42 5   AEL Limassol
18 3MF Kostakis Artymatas (1993-04-15) 15 April 1993 (age 27) 44 1   Anorthosis Famagusta
8 3MF Chambos Kyriakou (1995-02-09) 9 February 1995 (age 25) 33 0   Apollon Limassol
20 3MF Grigoris Kastanos (1998-01-30) 30 January 1998 (age 22) 30 3   Frosinone
23 3MF Giorgos Economides (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 (age 30) 12 0   Doxa Katokopias
16 3MF Matija Špoljarić (1997-04-02) 2 April 1997 (age 23) 11 0   AEK Larnaca
17 3MF Ioannis Kosti (2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 (age 20) 9 0   AEL
3MF Ioannis Pittas (1996-07-10) 10 July 1996 (age 24) 12 0   Apollon Limassol
21 3MF Michalis Ioannou (2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 (age 20) 3 0   Roda JC
21 3MF Marinos Tzionis (2003-07-06) 6 July 2003 (age 17) 7 0   Omonia
18 3MF Giannis Satsias (2002-12-28) 28 December 2002 (age 18) 0 0   APOEL
9 4FW Demetris Christofi (Captain) (1988-09-28) September 28, 1988 (age 32) 58 8   Anorthosis Famagusta
10 4FW Pieros Sotiriou (1993-01-13) 13 January 1993 (age 27) 44 10   Astana
7 4FW Minas Antoniou (1994-02-22) 22 February 1994 (age 26) 8 0   AEL Limassol
15 4FW Marios Elia (1996-05-19) 19 May 1996 (age 24) 3 1   Ethnikos Achna
17 4FW Loizos Loizou (2003-07-18) 18 July 2003 (age 17) 5 1   Omonia

Recent call-upsEdit

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 Urko Pardo (1983-01-28) 28 January 1983 (age 37) 9 0 Unattached v.   Belgium, 19 November 2019
DF Giorgos Merkis RET (1984-07-30) 30 July 1984 (age 36) 55 1   APOEL v.   Belgium, 19 November 2019
DF Jason Demetriou (1987-11-18) 18 November 1987 (age 33) 51 1   Southend United v.   Belgium, 19 November 2019
MF Fotios Papoulis (1985-01-22) 22 January 1985 (age 35) 12 2   Omonia v.   Belgium, 19 November 2019
MF Demetris Theodorou (1997-09-10) 10 September 1997 (age 23) 1 0   Enosis Neon Paralimni v.   Belgium, 19 November 2019
FW Panagiotis Zachariou (1996-02-26) 26 February 1996 (age 24) 6 1   Olympiakos Nicosia v.   Belgium, 19 November 2019
  • INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • RET Retired from international football.
  • SUS Suspended

Head to head recordsEdit

As of 13 October 2020.

Past managersEdit

As of 1 December 2015.[6][7]

Player recordsEdit

As of 17 November 2020[8]
Players in bold are still active, at least at club level.

ReferencesEdit

Notes
Citation
  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  3. ^ uefa.com (13 October 2015). "Bosnia and Herzegovina in play-offs, Cyprus out". Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  4. ^ FIFA.com. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ - Qualifiers - Europe". FIFA.com.
  5. ^ "Cyprus vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Football Match Summary - August 31, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  6. ^ "Cyprus Football Association – Εθνική Ανδρών: Προπονητές". Archived from the original on 2012-10-23. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  7. ^ "Cyprus National Team Coaches". www.rsssf.com.
  8. ^ Mamrud, Roberto. "Cyprus - Record International Players". RSSSF.

External linksEdit

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