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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 Ran Ben Shimon.

Cyprus
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationCyprus Football Association (CFA)
Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachRan Ben Shimon
Most capsIoannis Okkas (106)
Top scorerMichalis Konstantinou (32)
Home stadiumGSP Stadium, Nicosia
FIFA codeCYP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 92 Increase 1 (19 September 2019)[1]
Highest43 (September 2010)
Lowest142 (June 2014)
Elo ranking
Current 103 Decrease 2 (13 September 2019)[2]
Highest69 (22 March 2000)
Lowest141 (March 1992)
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 1962 Cyprus qualified for the World Cup go there first time in history, although losing 2 of there 3 games in the group the held the past champions west Germany to a 1-1 draw

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 2000 European Football Championship 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 Charalambides 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 semi-finalists 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 9 June 2017.

Competition Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA
FIFA World Cup qualification 110 14 13 83 83 290
European Championship qualification 104 16 14 74 83 268
Friendly matches 120 35 31 54 130 174
TOTAL 334 65 58 211 296 732

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

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 To be determined
  2024
Total 0/15

UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingEdit

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying Group I
Pos Team
[ ]
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification            
1   Belgium 6 6 0 0 19 1 +18 18 Qualify for final tournament — 3–1 3–0 19 Nov 3–0 10 Oct
2   Russia 6 5 0 1 18 4 +14 15 16 Nov — 1–0 1–0 10 Oct 9–0
3   Kazakhstan 6 2 1 3 8 9 −1 7[a] 13 Oct 0–4 — 10 Oct 3–0 4–0
4   Cyprus 6 2 1 3 11 6 +5 7[a] 0–2 13 Oct 1–1 — 16 Nov 5–0
5   Scotland (X) 6 2 0 4 5 13 −8 6 0–4 1–2 19 Nov 2–1 — 13 Oct
6   San Marino (E) 6 0 0 6 0 28 −28 0 0–4 19 Nov 16 Nov 0–4 0–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on 9 September 2019. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(E) Eliminated; (X) Assured of at least play-offs.
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head away goals: Kazakhstan 1, Cyprus 0.

MatchesEdit

The fixtures were released by UEFA the same day as the draw, which was held on 2 December 2018 in Dublin.[6][7] Times are CET/CEST,[note 1] as listed by UEFA (local times, if different, are in parentheses).

Cyprus  5–0  San Marino
 Report
Cyprus  0–2  Belgium
Report
Scotland  2–1  Cyprus
 Report
Russia  1–0  Cyprus
 Report
Cyprus  1–1  Kazakhstan
 Report
San Marino  0–4  Cyprus
Report
Kazakhstan  v  Cyprus
Report
Cyprus  v  Russia
Report
Cyprus  v  Scotland
Report
Belgium  v  Cyprus
Report

PlayersEdit

Current squadEdit

The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and San Marino on 5 and 9 September 2019 respectively.[8]

Caps and goals as of 9 September 2019, after the match against San Marino.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Constantinos Panagi (1994-10-08) 8 October 1994 (age 24) 20 0   Omonia
1GK Urko Pardo (1983-01-28) 28 January 1983 (age 36) 7 0   Alki Oroklini
1GK Neofytos Michael (1993-12-16) 16 December 1993 (age 25) 0 0   PAS Giannina
2DF Giorgos Merkis (1984-07-30) 30 July 1984 (age 35) 50 1   APOEL
2DF Konstantinos Laifis (1993-05-19) 19 May 1993 (age 26) 32 3   Standard Liège
2DF Chambos Kyriakou (1995-02-09) 9 February 1995 (age 24) 22 0   Apollon Limassol
2DF Ioannis Kousoulos (1996-06-14) 14 June 1996 (age 23) 14 4   Omonia
2DF Nicholas Ioannou (1995-11-10) 10 November 1995 (age 23) 14 0   APOEL
2DF Giorgos Vasiliou (1984-06-12) 12 June 1984 (age 35) 11 0   Apollon Limassol
2DF Panagiotis Zachariou (1996-02-26) 26 February 1996 (age 23) 2 1   Pafos FC
2DF Andreas Karo (1996-09-09) 9 September 1996 (age 23) 0 0   Salernitana
2DF Constantinos Mintikkis (1989-07-14) 14 July 1989 (age 30) 1 0   Doxa Katokopias
3MF Georgios Efrem (1989-07-05) 5 July 1989 (age 30) 46 4   APOEL
3MF Kostakis Artymatas (1993-04-15) 15 April 1993 (age 26) 35 1   APOEL
3MF Grigoris Kastanos (1998-01-30) 30 January 1998 (age 21) 21 1   Pescara
3MF Fotios Papoulis (1985-01-22) 22 January 1985 (age 34) 8 2   Apollon Limassol
3MF Anthony Georgiou (1997-02-24) 24 February 1997 (age 22) 8 0   Ipswich Town
3MF Matija Špoljarić (1997-04-02) 2 April 1997 (age 22) 5 0   Alki Oroklini
3MF Ioannis Pittas (1996-07-10) 10 July 1996 (age 23) 4 0   Enosis Neon Paralimni
3MF Ioannis Kosti (2000-03-17) 17 March 2000 (age 19) 4 0   Nea Salamina
3MF Michalis Ioannou (2000-06-30) 30 June 2000 (age 19) 2 0   Anorthosis Famagusta
3MF Jack Roles (1999-02-26) 26 February 1999 (age 20) 0 0   Cambridge United
4FW Pieros Sotiriou (1993-01-13) 13 January 1993 (age 26) 37 9   Copenhagen

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 Constantinos Petrou (1997-09-23) 23 September 1997 (age 21) 0 0   Enosis Neon Paralimni v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
GK Antonis Georgallides (1982-01-30) 30 January 1982 (age 37) 66 0   Olympiakos Nicosia v.   Slovenia, 16 October 2018
GK Andreas Christodoulou (1997-03-26) 26 March 1997 (age 22) 0 0   AEK Larnaca v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
DF Marios Antoniades (1990-05-14) 14 May 1990 (age 29) 15 0   AEK Larnaca v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
DF Fanos Katelaris (1996-08-26) 26 August 1996 (age 23) 8 1   Omonia v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
DF Jason Demetriou (1987-11-18) 18 November 1987 (age 31) 50 1   Southend United v.   Belgium, 24 March 2019
DF Dossa Júnior (1986-08-27) 27 August 1986 (age 33) 24 1   AEL Limassol v.   Belgium, 24 March 2019
DF Christos Wheeler (1997-06-29) 29 June 1997 (age 22) 0 0   AEL Limassol v.   Belgium, 24 March 2019
DF Valentinos Sielis (1990-03-01) 1 March 1990 (age 29) 16 1   Gangwon FC v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
MF Andreas Avraam (1987-06-06) 6 June 1987 (age 32) 41 5   AEL Limassol v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
MF Renato Margaça (1985-07-17) 17 July 1985 (age 34) 19 0   Nea Salamina v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
MF Vincent Laban (1984-09-09) 9 September 1984 (age 35) 28 3   Ethnikos Achnas v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
MF Giorgos Economides (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 (age 29) 12 0   Anorthosis Famagusta v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
MF Gerasimos Fylaktou (1991-07-24) 24 July 1991 (age 28) 4 0   Ermis Aradippou v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
MF Vasilios Papafotis (1995-08-10) 10 August 1995 (age 24) 2 0   Doxa Katokopias v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
MF Dimitris Froxylias (1993-06-28) 28 June 1993 (age 26) 2 0   Haringey Borough v.   Jordan, 20 May 2018
FW Nestoras Mitidis (1991-06-01) 1 June 1991 (age 28) 32 5   AEL Limassol v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
FW Andreas Makris (1995-11-27) 27 November 1995 (age 23) 23 0   AEL Limassol v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
FW Minas Antoniou (1994-02-22) 22 February 1994 (age 25) 2 0   APOEL v.   Russia, 11 June 2019
FW Demetris Christofi (1988-09-28) 28 September 1988 (age 30) 52 8   Omonia v.   Slovenia, 16 October 2018
FW Onisiforos Roushias (1992-07-15) 15 July 1992 (age 27) 8 0   AEK Larnaca v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
FW Panagiotis Zachariou (1996-02-26) 26 February 1996 (age 23) 2 1   Pafos FC v.   Norway, 19 November 2018
  • 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 24 March 2019.

Past managersEdit

As of 1 December 2015.[9][10]

Player recordsEdit

As of 10 October 2017.

Most capped playersEdit

# Name Period Caps Goals
1 Ioannis Okkas 1997–2011 106 27
2 Constantinos Charalambides 2003–2016 96 12
3 Michalis Konstantinou 1998–2012 86 32
4 Pambos Pittas 1987–1999 82 7
5 Constantinos Makrides 2004–2017 77 5

Top goalscorersEdit

# Player Period Caps Goals
1 Michalis Konstantinou 1998–2012 86 32
2 Ioannis Okkas 1997–2011 106 27
3 Constantinos Charalambides 2003–2016 96 12
4 Efstathios Aloneftis 2005–2017 62 10
Marios Agathokleous 1994–2003 38 10

ReferencesEdit

Notes
  1. ^ CET (UTC+1) for matches in March and November 2019, and CEST (UTC+2) for all other matches.
Citation
  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 19 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  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. ^ "UEFA EURO 2020 qualifying schedule: all the fixtures". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  7. ^ "European Qualifiers 2018–20: Group stage fixture list" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Η κλήση της Εθνικής Ανδρών για τους αγώνες με Σαν Μαρίνο και Βέλγιο". www.cfa.com.cy (in Greek). Cyprus Football Association. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Cyprus Football Association – Εθνική Ανδρών: Προπονητές".
  10. ^ "Cyprus National Team Coaches". www.rsssf.com.

External linksEdit

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