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Cyprus national football team

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Cyprus
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationΚυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου - Cyprus Football Association (ΚOΠ/CFA)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachNikos Nioplias
CaptainMichalis Konstantinou
Most capsIoannis Okkas (106)
Top scorerMichalis Konstantinou (32)
Home stadiumGSP Stadium, Nicosia
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium, Larnaca
FIFA codeCYP
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current131
Highest43 (September 2010)
Lowest135 (September 2012)
First international
Unofficial:
 Israel 3–1 Cyprus Cyprus
(Tel-Aviv, Israel; July 30, 1949)
Official:
Cyprus Cyprus 1–1 Israel 
(Nicosia, Cyprus; November 13, 1960)
Biggest win
Cyprus Cyprus 5–0 Andorra 
(Limassol, Cyprus; November 15, 2000)
Biggest defeat
 West Germany 12–0 Cyprus Cyprus
(Essen, West Germany; May 21, 1969)

The Cyprus national football team (Template:Lang-el, [Kýpros ethnikí̱ omáda podosfaírou] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) represents Cyprus in association 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 Nikos Nioplias. They have never reached the finals of either the European Championships or the World Cup.

History

Their first match was a friendly on 23 July 1949, against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in Tel Aviv which ended in a 3–3 draw, one year after becoming a member of the world governing body FIFA. 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 Nicosia.

In 1974, the national team enjoyed one of their most famous victories when they beat a Northern Ireland side 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 Nicosia, followed a month later by the same result against Czechoslovakia. Four years later, in 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 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 by a solitary point, 3–2 victories against Spain and Israel and a 4–0 defeat of San Marino contributing to the team finishing on 12 points, just one point behind Israel who qualified for the Euro 2000 play-offs.

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 home with Michalis Konstantinou and Constantinos Charalambides each scoring two goals and Alexandros Garpozis one goal. 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. Also 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.

Kit

On 7 October 2006 a new kit, made by Diadora and outlining a map of Cyprus in amber from the shoulder to the sleeve with a green line running down the middle indicating 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.

Home stadium

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 Records

Last Update: November 14, 2012

Competition Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA
FIFA World Cup qualification 98 12 10 76 78 274
European Championship qualification 94 12 14 68 67 251
Friendly Matches 113 34 30 49 125 164
TOTAL 305 58 54 193 270 689

FIFA World Cup Record

Cyprus national football team 2012, Sofia, Bulgaria, 15-8-2012.
FIFA World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did Not Enter
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962 Did Not Qualify
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978
Spain 1982
Mexico 1986
Italy 1990
United States 1994
France 1998
South Korea Japan 2002
Germany 2006
South Africa 2010
Brazil 2014 To Be Determined

European Championship Record

UEFA European Championship record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
France 1960 Did Not Enter
Spain 1964
Italy 1968 Did Not Qualify
Belgium 1972
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976
Italy 1980
France 1984
West Germany 1988
Sweden 1992
England 1996
Belgium Netherlands 2000
Portugal 2004
Austria Switzerland 2008
Poland Ukraine 2012
France 2016 To Be Determined

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying

Main article: UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group H

Template:UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group H


Results and fixtures

Group H fixtures were to be negotiated between the participants in a meeting held in Copenhagen on 8 March.[1] After that meeting proved inconclusive, the fixture list was determined by a random draw at the XXXIV Ordinary UEFA Congress in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 25 March.[2]

Portugal 4 – 4 Cyprus
Almeida 8'
Meireles 29'
Danny 50'
Fernandes 60'		 Report Aloneftis 3'
Konstantinou 11'
Okkas 57'
Avraam 89'
Attendance: 9,100
Cyprus 1 – 2 Norway
Okkas 58' Report Riise 2'
Carew 42'
Attendance: 7,648
Denmark 2 – 0 Cyprus
Rasmussen 48'
Lorentzen 81'		 Report
Attendance: 15,544
Cyprus 0 – 0 Iceland
Report
Attendance: 2,088
Referee: Darko Čeferin (Slovenia)
Cyprus 0 – 4 Portugal
Report Ronaldo 35' (pen.), 83'
Almeida 84'
Danny 90+2'
Attendance: 15,444
Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)
Iceland 1 – 0 Cyprus
Sigþórsson 5' Report
Attendance: 5,267
Referee: Boško Jovanetić (Serbia)
Cyprus 1 – 4 Denmark
Avraam 45+1' Report Jacobsen 7'
Rommedahl 11', 22'
Krohn-Dehli 20'
Attendance: 2,408
Norway 3 – 1 Cyprus
Pedersen 25'
Carew 34'
Høgli 65'		 Report Okkas 42'
Attendance: 13,490

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E

Template:2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group E

Results and fixtures

A meeting was held in Zurich, Switzerland on 22 November 2011 to determine the schedule. The delegates failed to reach agreement on the fixtures, which were then determined by a random draw at the conclusion of the meeting.[3]

Albania 3 – 1 Cyprus
Konstantinou 35' (o.g.)
Çani 84'
Bogdani 87'		 Report Laban 45+2'
Attendance: 9,400[4]
Cyprus 1 – 0 Iceland
Makrides 57' Report Ottesen Red card 86'
Attendance: 1,600[5]
Slovenia 2 – 1 Cyprus
Matavž 38', 61' Report Aloneftis 83'
Attendance: 7,988[6]
Cyprus 1 – 3 Norway
Aloneftis 42' Report Hangeland 44'
Elyounoussi 81' (pen.)
King 83'
Attendance: 2,493[7]
Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland)
Cyprus v  Switzerland
Switzerland v Cyprus
Norway v Cyprus
Cyprus v Slovenia
Iceland v Cyprus
Cyprus v Albania

Current squad

The following players were named for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Slovenia and Norway on 12 & 16 October 2012, and the friendly match against Finland on 14 November 2012.

Players' records are accurate as of 14 November 2012 after the match against Finland.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Antonis Georgallides (1982-01-30) 30 January 1982 (age 42) 46 0 Cyprus Alki Larnaca
12 1GK Anastasios Kissas (1988-01-18) 18 January 1988 (age 36) 10 0 Cyprus APOEL
22 1GK Christos Mastrou (1988-01-30) 30 January 1988 (age 36) 2 0 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta
2 2DF Dosa Júnior (1986-08-27) 27 August 1986 (age 38) 5 0 Cyprus AEL Limassol
3 2DF Elias Charalambous (1980-09-25) 25 September 1980 (age 44) 59 0 Romania Vaslui
4 2DF Paraskevas Christou (1984-02-02) 2 February 1984 (age 40) 31 0 Romania Pandurii Târgu Jiu
5 2DF Stelios Parpas (1985-07-25) 25 July 1985 (age 39) 3 0 Cyprus AEL Limassol
6 2DF Angelis Charalambous (1989-05-31) 31 May 1989 (age 35) 3 0 Cyprus Apollon Limassol
14 2DF Marios Antoniades (1990-05-14) 14 May 1990 (age 34) 1 0 Cyprus APOEL
15 2DF Jason Demetriou (1987-11-18) 18 November 1987 (age 37) 20 0 Cyprus AEK Larnaca
26 2DF Valentinos Sielis (1990-03-01) 1 March 1990 (age 34) 7 0 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta
7 3MF Efstathios Aloneftis (1983-03-29) 29 March 1983 (age 41) 52 10 Cyprus APOEL
8 3MF Athos Solomou (1985-11-30) 30 November 1985 (age 39) 11 0 Cyprus APOEL
10 3MF Constantinos Charalambides (1981-07-25) 25 July 1981 (age 43) 68 11 Cyprus APOEL
13 3MF Giorgos Vasiliou (1984-06-12) 12 June 1984 (age 40) 4 0 Cyprus Apollon Limassol
17 3MF Georgios Efrem (1989-07-05) 5 July 1989 (age 35) 18 0 Cyprus Omonia
18 3MF Siniša Dobrašinović (1977-02-17) 17 February 1977 (age 47) 22 1 Kazakhstan Zhetysu
20 3MF Kostakis Artymatas (1993-04-15) 15 April 1993 (age 31) 2 0 Cyprus Enosis Neon Paralimni
21 3MF Vincent Laban (1984-09-09) 9 September 1984 (age 40) 5 1 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta
23 3MF Marios Nicolaou (1983-10-04) 4 October 1983 (age 41) 32 1 Cyprus AEL Limassol
24 3MF Constantinos Makrides (1982-01-13) 13 January 1982 (age 42) 60 3 Ukraine Metalurh Donetsk
25 3MF Andreas Avraam (1987-06-06) 6 June 1987 (age 37) 27 5 Cyprus Omonia
27 3MF Nektarios Alexandrou (1983-12-19) 19 December 1983 (age 41) 19 0 Cyprus APOEL
28 3MF Christos Marangos (1983-05-09) 9 May 1983 (age 41) 21 1 Cyprus AEK Larnaca
9 4FW Demetris Christofi (1988-09-28) 28 September 1988 (age 36) 29 3 Cyprus Omonia
11 4FW Michalis Konstantinou (1978-02-19) 19 February 1978 (age 46) 86 32 Cyprus AEL Limassol
16 4FW Pieros Sotiriou (1993-01-13) 13 January 1993 (age 31) 1 0 Cyprus Olympiakos Nicosia
19 4FW Nestoras Mitidis (1991-06-01) 1 June 1991 (age 33) 7 0 Cyprus AEK Larnaca

Recent call-ups

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Michalis Morfis (1979-01-15) 15 January 1979 (age 45) 22 0 Cyprus Anagennisi Dherynia v.  Romania, 9 February 2011
DF Giorgos Merkis (1984-07-30) 30 July 1984 (age 40) 20 0 Cyprus Apollon Limassol v.  Iceland, 11 September 2012
DF Eleftherios Mertakas (1985-03-16) 16 March 1985 (age 39) 0 0 Cyprus AEK Larnaca v.  Serbia, 29 February 2012
DF Giorgos Pelagias (1985-05-10) 10 May 1985 (age 39) 2 0 Cyprus Olympiakos Nicosia v.  Serbia, 29 February 2012
DF Alexandros Garpozis (1980-09-05) 5 September 1980 (age 44) 39 1 Cyprus AEP Paphos v.  Bulgaria, 29 March 2011
DF Marios Elia (1979-04-14) 14 April 1979 (age 45) 51 2 Cyprus APOEL v.  Moldova, 10 August 2011
DF Savvas Poursaitidis (1976-06-26) 26 June 1976 (age 48) 12 0 Retired v.  Denmark, 7 October 2011
MF Andreas Stavrou (1988-10-27) 27 October 1988 (age 36) 2 0 Cyprus Apollon Limassol v.  Bulgaria, 15 August 2012
MF Marinos Satsias (1978-05-24) 24 May 1978 (age 46) 65 0 Cyprus APOEL v.  Serbia, 29 February 2012
MF Giorgos Panagi (1986-11-03) 3 November 1986 (age 38) 14 0 Cyprus Ermis Aradippou v.  Romania, 9 February 2011
MF Chrysis Michael (1977-05-26) 26 May 1977 (age 47) 69 7 Retired v.  Moldova, 10 August 2011
MF Kyriacos Pavlou (1986-09-04) 4 September 1986 (age 38) 9 0 Cyprus AEK Larnaca v.  Denmark, 7 October 2011
FW Ioannis Okkas (1977-02-11) 11 February 1977 (age 47) 106 27 Cyprus Anorthosis Famagusta v.  Norway, 11 October 2011

Past Managers

As of 10 June 2011.[8]
Name Career
Greece Nikos Nioplias 2011–present
Greece Angelos Anastasiadis 2004–2011
Serbia Momčilo Vukotić 2001–2004
Cyprus Stavros Papadopoulos 1999–2001
Cyprus Panikos Georgiou 1997–1999
Cyprus Andreas Michaelides 1991–1997
Cyprus Panikos Iakovou 1984–1991
Bulgaria Vassil Spasov 1982–1984
Greece Kostas Talianos 1977–1982
Cyprus Panikos Krystallis 1976–1977
Cyprus Pambos Avraamidis 1972–1976
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Sima Milovanov 1972
England Ray Wood 1969–1971
Cyprus Pambos Avraamidis 1968–1969
Greece Argyrios Gavalas 1960–1967
Hungary Gyula Zsengellér 1958–1959

Player records

As of November 14, 2012

Most capped Cyprus players

# Name Debut Caps Goals Active?
1 Ioannis Okkas 1997 106 27 No
2 Michalis Konstantinou 1998 86 32 Yes
3 Pambos Pittas 1987 82 7 No
4 Nicos Panayiotou 1994 75 0 No
5 Giorgos Theodotou 1996 70 0 No

Top Cyprus goalscorers

# Player Debut Caps Goals Active?
1 Michalis Konstantinou 1998 86 32 Yes
2 Ioannis Okkas 1997 106 27 No
3 Constantinos Charalambides 2003 68 11 Yes
4 Marios Agathokleous 1994 38 10 No
5 Efstathios Aloneftis 2005 52 10 Yes

See here for top goal scorers per country.

Memorable Results

Date Tournament Place Match Score
November 27, 1963 Friendly Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Greece 3 – 1
February 17, 1968 UEFA EURO 1968 qualifying Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –   Switzerland 2 – 1
May 13, 1979 UEFA EURO 1980 qualifying Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Romania 1 – 1
February 14, 1973 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Northern Ireland 1 – 0
February 12, 1983 UEFA EURO 1984 qualifying Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Italy 1 – 1
March 27, 1983 UEFA EURO 1984 qualifying Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Czechoslovakia 1 – 1
April 12, 1987 UEFA EURO 1988 qualifying Gdansk, Poland  Poland –  Cyprus 0 – 0
October 22, 1988 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  France 1 – 1
March 24, 1993 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Czechoslovakia 1 – 1
March 29, 1995 UEFA EURO 1996 qualifying Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Denmark 1 – 1
November 15, 1995 UEFA EURO 1996 qualifying Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Belgium 1 – 1
November 10, 1996 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Israel 2 – 0
March 29, 1997 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification Paralimni, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Russia 1 – 1
September 5, 1998 UEFA EURO 2000 qualifying Larnaca, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Spain 3 – 2
September 5, 1999 UEFA EURO 2000 qualifying Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Israel 3 – 2
February 6, 2000 Friendly Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Romania 3 – 2
November 15, 2000 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Andorra 5 – 0
February 28, 2001 Friendly Larnaca, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Ukraine 4 – 3
November 14, 2001 Friendly Athens, Greece  Greece –  Cyprus 1 – 2
October 11, 2003 UEFA EURO 2004 qualifying Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Slovenia 2 – 2
August 18, 2004 Friendly Limassol, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Albania 2 – 1
October 7, 2006 UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Republic of Ireland 5 – 2
November 15, 2006 UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Germany 1 – 1
October 13, 2007 UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Wales 3 – 1
October 17, 2007 UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying Dublin, Ireland  Republic of Ireland –  Cyprus 1 – 1
February 6, 2008 Friendly Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Ukraine 1 – 1
October 11, 2008 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Tbilisi, Georgia  Georgia –  Cyprus 1 – 1
February 11, 2009 Friendly Nicosia, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Slovakia 3 – 2
March 28, 2009 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Larnaca, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Georgia 2 – 1
September 9, 2009 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Podgorica, Montenegro  Montenegro –  Cyprus 1 – 1
October 11, 2009 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Larnaca, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Bulgaria 4 – 1
September 3, 2010 UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying Guimarães, Portugal  Portugal –  Cyprus 4 – 4
February 29, 2012 Friendly Larnaca, Cyprus  Cyprus –  Serbia 0 – 0


References

  1. ^ "Danmark mod Portugal i EM-kvalifikation" (in Danish). Danish FA. 7 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  2. ^ "Fixtures draw completes qualifying schedule". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Po žrebu najprej s Švico in Norveško" (in Slovenian). nzs.si. 22 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/matches/round=258374/match=300182251/report.html
  5. ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/matches/round=258374/match=300182265/report.html
  6. ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/matches/round=258374/match=300182267/report.html
  7. ^ http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/matches/round=258374/match=300182261/report.html
  8. ^ RSSSF - Cyprus National Team Coaches
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