Cyprus
National Team Information
General Info
UEFA
I Galanolefki (The White and Blues)
Cyprus National Football Team History
First-Ever International
Cyprus played their first-ever international match in 1949, and it finished in a 3-1 loss to Israel. Their first post-independence match was in 1960, which was also against Israel. This time, the match finished in a 1-1 draw. Cyprus had to wait until 1963 for their first win, when they defeated Greece, 3-1.
World Cup Qualifiers
Early results were not exactly great for Cyprus. In their first 45 World Cup Qualifiers, Cyprus won just one match. Had online Cyprus soccer betting been around then, they probably would have been a popular team to fade. Still, they pulled off a 1-1 draw against defending World champions Italy in 1983, which is one of their best-ever results.
43 Years to Record Their First Win
Unbelievably, it took Cyprus 43 years to record their first away win. Their 2-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in 1992 was the match that broke an unfortunate streak. Since then, Cyprus have managed better performances in qualifying but haven’t made a major tournament. A handful of Cyprus’s best results have come in the 21st century.
2006-2022
In 2006, they upset the Republic of Ireland 5-2 in Euro qualifiers. One month later, Cyprus held Germany to a draw. In 2010, they played in a thrilling 4-4 road draw at Portugal. In both Euro 2008 and 2016 qualifiers, they managed to win four games, a joint-best. However, their recent performances in the UEFA Nations League have left a lot to be desired. In all three Cyprus Nations League appearances, they’ve won just one of their six group matches. After finishing last in their Nations League C group in 2022, they’ll face Gibraltar in a 2024 relegation playout.
- Michalis Konstantinou – Goals: 32
- Ioannis Okkas – Goals: 27
- Harry Kane – Goals: 49
- Pieros Sotiriou, Constantinos Charalambidis – Goals: 12 (tie)
- Efstathios Aloneftis –Goals: 10
- Michalis Konstantinou – The top all-time goal scorer for the Cyprus National team, Michalis Konstantinou also had a successful club career. The striker won four Greek League titles and another in Cyprus.
- Sotiris Kaiafas – Often referred to as Cyprus’s greatest-ever player, Sotiris Kaiafas is an Omonia legend. Kaiafas won the European Golden Boot in 1975-76, when he scored 41 league goals for Omonia. Kaiafas was also an 11-time Cypriot championship winner.
- Ioannis Okkas – Okkas has more caps for the National team than any other Cypriot player. The forward made 106 appearances for Cyprus, scoring 27 goals.
- Constantinos Charalambidis – An APOEL legend, Constantinos Charalambidis also made 93 appearances for the national team. A winger, Charalambidis won 18 trophies during two spells at APOEL.
- Pambos Pittas – A former Cyprus and Apollon Limassol captain, Pambos Pittas is probably the best defender in Cyprus history. Pittas made 82 appearances for the Cyprus national football team between 1987 and 1999.
Unfortunately, Cyprus have never qualified for a major tournament and Cyprus’s soccer results have often been underwhelming. So, there are only qualifying campaigns and the UEFA Nations League to choose from. The best Cyprus qualifying campaign, frankly, would be an ordinary one for most teams. With just over one million people, the island nation is certainly at a disadvantage compared to Europe’s bigger nations.
Regardless, their qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 is their best performance. They won four matches and lost six but their -1 goal difference is their best-ever in a qualifying tournament. They also averaged 1.6 goals per game, which is also a Cyprus record in a qualifying tournament.
However, Cyprus soccer betting would have been a losing proposition in 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification. They conceded 35 goals in just six matches and lost all six of their matches. Their 12-0 loss versus Germany in May 1969 remains their biggest defeat to this day. At the end of the campaign, Cyprus finished with just two goals scored and a -33 goal difference.
Cyprus Soccer Leagues & Clubs:
Cypriot First Division/Cyta Championship:
The top Cyprus soccer league is the Cypriot First Division, also called the Cyta Championship. The league is currently contested by 14 clubs, and it follows a promotion/relegation structure. After a double round-robin, teams are separated into promotion and relegation groups, and points carry over. The top six teams play each other twice and the first place team is crowned champion. Meanwhile, the bottom eight teams also face each other twice, and the bottom three teams are relegated.
Cypriot First Division Clubs 2022-23
Team |
---|
AEK Larnaca FC |
AEL Limassol |
Akritas Chlorakas |
Anorthosis |
APOEL |
Apollon Limassol |
Aris Limassol |
Doxa Katokopias |
ENP |
Karmiotissa |
Nea Salamina |
Olympiakos Nicosia |
Omonia FC |
Pafos FC |
Cypriot Second Division:
The second division soccer league in Cyprus is simply called the Cypriot Second Division. There are 16 teams in the league, which follows a double round-robin format with no championship/relegation round. So, the top three teams at the end of the season are promoted to the Cypriot First Division. The bottom three teams in the standings drop down to the Cypriot Third Division.
Cypriot Second Division Clubs 2022-23:
Team |
---|
AEZ Zakakiou |
Alki Oroklini |
ALS Omonia 29M |
Anagennisi Deryneia |
AO Ayia Napa |
ENY Digenis Ypsona |
Ethnikos Achna |
Ermis Aradippou |
MEAP Nisou |
Othellos Athienou |
Olympias Lympion |
Omonia Aradippou |
Onisilos Sotira |
P.O. Xylotymbou |
PAEEK |
Peyia 2014 |
Cyprus Cups & Tournaments
Only Cyprus’s soccer teams from the First and Second divisions can participate in the Cypriot Cup. The Cypriot Cup is the most prominent cup competition in Cyprus and has been played since 1934. The first round of the competition is a single-leg fixture, along with the final. All other rounds are played as two-leg home and away ties. APOEL Nicosia are the most successful team in the history of the competition, with 21 titles.
Like other countries’ Super Cup competitions, Cyprus’s pits the winner of the league against the domestic cup. The Cypriot Super Cup is held at the beginning of each season and is typically played at the GSP Stadium in the capital, Nicosia. Omonia have won the Super Cup a record 17 times but lost to Apollon Limassol 2-0 in the 2022 edition.
Cyprus Soccer Betting Information
Betting on the Cyprus
Cyprus soccer betting is following an interesting trend. In the Cypriot First Division, the average number of goals per match has been decreasing steadily for the last five seasons. The league has become more defensive, especially as recent expansion has meant two additional teams in the league. For reference, three goals per match were scored in the 2017-18 season. A third of the way through 2022-23, there were only 2.21 goals per game. Even the 2021-22 champion, Apollon Limassol, only averaged 1.56 goals per game.
So, bettors on the Cypriot First Division can expect a lot of defensive battles. They can also expect the bottom four or five teams to fail to score more often than not. With so few goals compared to other leagues, the scoreline is typically a bit more predictable. That means betting on the exact score, which is typically a crapshoot in other leagues, may not be a terrible idea. In 2021-22, 17 percent of matches ended in a 1-1 draw, which was by far the most common scoreline. Compare that to the 2021-22 English Premier League, where 1-1 was also the most common scoreline but it only happened 11 percent of the time.
In the 2010s, APOEL Nicosia dominated the league, with eight of a possible ten titles. However, there have been three distinct champions in the last three full seasons. Historically, the most successful clubs have been APOEL, Omonia, and Anorthosis. Between them, they’ve been crowned champions in 62 of a total of 82 league seasons. Another thing to note is that the away win percentage in the league is typically quite low. Road teams only won 29 percent of their matches in 2021-22.
Cyprus National Team Betting Tips & Odds
The major opportunity to bet on Cyprus will be in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, which begin in 2023
Throughout their history, Cyprus have struggled to compete with Europe’s top teams. Cyprus have never come close to qualifying for a major tournament, and that looks unlikely to change over the next few years. That doesn’t mean that they can’t occasionally be a good pick for betting. As of October 2022, they’ve failed to score in 18 of their last 27 internationals. So, totals and spread betting can certainly be options.
Betting tips don’t typically recommend picking Cyprus to win on the road, though. They’re still looking for their first road win of the 2020s. The next major opportunity to bet on Cyprus will be in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers, which begin in 2023. In a group with Spain, Scotland, Norway, and Georgia, Cyprus certainly have their work cut out for them. The top two teams in each group qualify and Cyprus are expected to finish in fourth or last place.
Conclusion
The Cypriot First Division is often an afterthought when it comes to European soccer betting. That may honestly be a mistake as there are stronger trends in the league compared to most others. Despite the performance of the national team, the domestic league has some solid teams who hold their own in European competitions. APOEL Nicosia even advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2011-12. In 2022-23, Omonia, AEK Larnaca, and Apollon Limassol are all participating in UEFA competitions.
Meanwhile, the Cyprus national team isn’t even ranked in the top 100 teams in the world. However, they’ve managed to improve their performances somewhat over the last few decades. Qualifying campaigns regularly finished with no wins or one win in past decades, but that has certainly changed. They’ve often gotten good results at home and even defeated Greece in September 2022.