Cyprus national football team

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The Cyprus national football team (Template:Langx, 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.

History

Early history

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 defending World Cup 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

File:Cyprus national football team 2012.jpg
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

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Their qualification run would include an impressive 3–2 home victory over Bosnia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2020s

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

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
Template:Flagicon Lotto Template:0–2000
Template:Flagicon Errea 2000–2002
Template:Flagicon Umbro 2002–2006
Template:Flagicon Diadora 2006–2008
Template:Flagicon Adidas 2008–2018
Template:Flagicon Macron 2018–2022
Template:Flagicon Errea 2022–present

Home stadium

Since late 2021, Cyprus have played most of 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, but have only played there once since September 2021. They also occasionally play at Alphamega Stadium in Limassol.

Results and fixtures

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

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2024

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2025

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Coaching staff

Manager Template:Flagicon Akis Mantzios
Assistant Manager Template:Flagicon Pavlos Sokratidis
Assistant Manager Template:Flagicon Panayiotis Engomitis
Goalkeeping Coach Template:Flagicon Nicos Constantinidis
Physical Trainer Template:Flagicon Panicos Sakki
Physical Trainer Template:Flagicon Ioakim Ioakim
Match Analyst Template:Flagicon Giorgos Christodoulou

Coaching history

Template:Updated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Austria on 15 November and a friendly against Estonia on November 18.<ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Caps and goals updated as of 15 November 2025, after the match against Austria.

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Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Cyprus squad within the last 12 months and are still available for selection. Template:Nat fs r start Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break

  • INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
  • PRE Preliminary squad.
  • RET Retired from international football.
  • SUS Suspended

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Player records

Template:Updated<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Players in bold are still active with Cyprus.

Most appearances

File:Ioannis Okkas1.jpg
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 Kostakis Artymatas 80 1 2012-present
6 Constantinos Makrides 77 5 2004–2016
7 Grigoris Kastanos 76 7 2015-present
8 Nicos Panayiotou 74 0 1994–2006
9 Charalampos Kyriakou 73 0 2014-present
10 Demetris Christofi 72 9 2008–2023

Top goalscorers

Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Michalis Konstantinou 32 86 {{#expr:32/86 round 2}} 1997–2012
2 Ioannis Okkas 27 103 {{#expr:27/103 round 2}} 1997–2011
3 Pieros Sotiriou 12 67 {{#expr:12/67 round 2}} 2012–present
Constantinos Charalambidis 12 93 {{#expr:12/93 round 2}} 2003–2017
5 Ioannis Pittas 11 53 {{#expr:11/53 round 2}} 2019–present
Efstathios Aloneftis 10 62 {{#expr:10/95 round 2}} 2005–2017
7 Marios Agathokleous 9 38 {{#expr:9/38 round 2}} 1994–2003
Demetris Christofi 9 72 {{#expr:9/72 round 2}} 2008–2023
9 Fivos Vrahimis 8 18 {{#expr:8/18 round 2}} 1977–1982
Milenko Špoljarić 8 21 {{#expr:8/21 round 2}} 1997–2001
Siniša Gogić 8 37 {{#expr:8/37 round 2}} 1994–1999
Andreas Sotiriou 8 39 {{#expr:8/39 round 2}} 1991–1999
Grigoris Kastanos 8 76 {{#expr:8/76 round 2}} 2015–present

Competitive record

All-time record

Template:Updated

Competition Played Won Draw Lost GF GA
FIFA World Cup qualification 132 18 17 97 102 331
European Championship qualification 122 19 15 88 101 316
Friendly matches 139 38 35 66 151 212
UEFA Nations League 26 6 6 14 17 46
Total 420 81 73 265 372 905

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Result Position Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip* Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip
Template:Flagicon 1930 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
Template:Flagicon 1934
Template:Flagicon 1938
Template:Flagicon 1950 Did not enter Did not enter
Template:Flagicon 1954
Template:Flagicon 1958 Withdrew Withdrew
Template:Flagicon 1962 Did not qualify 2 0 1 1 2 7
Template:Flagicon 1966 4 0 0 4 0 19
Template:Flagicon 1970 6 0 0 6 2 35
Template:Flagicon 1974 6 1 0 5 1 14
Template:Flagicon 1978 6 0 0 6 3 24
Template:Flagicon 1982 8 0 0 8 4 29
Template:Flagicon 1986 6 0 0 6 3 18
Template:Flagicon 1990 8 0 1 7 6 20
Template:Flagicon 1994 10 2 1 7 8 18
Template:Flagicon 1998 8 3 1 4 10 15
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2002 10 2 2 6 13 31
Template:Flagicon 2006 10 1 1 8 8 20
Template:Flagicon 2010 10 2 3 5 14 16
Template:Flagicon 2014 10 1 2 7 4 15
Template:Flagicon 2018 10 3 1 6 9 18
Template:Flagicon 2022 10 1 2 7 4 21
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2026 8 2 2 4 11 11
Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon 2030 To be determined To be determined
Template:Flagicon 2034
Total Template:Tooltip 132 18 17 97 102 331

UEFA European Championship

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

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Template:Tooltip Rank
2018–19 C 3 6 1 2 3 5 9 Template:Same position 36th
2020–21 C 1 8 2 2 4 4 10 Template:Same position 46th
2022–23 C 2 6 1 2 3 4 12 Template:Same position 45th
2024–25 C 2 6 2 0 4 4 15 Template:Same position 43rd
Total 26 6 6 14 17 46 36th

Head-to-head record

As of 18 November 2025.

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Honours

Friendly

References

Notes

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Citation

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| group1 = Active | list1 =

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