The
Cyprus national football team is the national
football team of the island of
Cyprus and is controlled by the
Cyprus Football Association. They have never reached the finals of either the
European Championships or the
World Cup.
They are currently managed by
Angelos Anastasiadis.
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. 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 in 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 for the
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification.
On 7 October 2006, as part of the Euro 2008 qualifiers, Cyprus caused a major upset by beating
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 won over
Wales 3-1 in
Nicosia. Also on 17 October 2007 Cyprus came close to a historic away victory in
Dublin against
Republic of Ireland, but equalised on the last minute of the game, and the match ended 1-1.
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 campaign.
Home stadium
Cyprus currently plays home matches at the
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium 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
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 however in 2008 a change of sponsorship forced home fixtures for FIFA 2010 qualification to be played at the
Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium.
Total Results and Records
Last Update: December 12, 2009
FIFA World Cup Record
European Championship Record
=UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying=
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
World Cup Qualification Matches
All times for FIFA World Cup qualification at CET
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Current squad
Squad called up for the friendly match against
Andorra
Players' records are accurate as of 8 May 2010
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Recent Call Ups
Past Managers
Player records
As of December 12, 2009
Most capped Cyprus players
Top Cyprus goalscorers
See
here for top goal scorers per country.
Memorable Results
References
External links