Cyprus will be expecting to make a winning start to their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign when they kick off their Group H challenge at home to San Marino on Friday night.
The hosts were last in action in November 2024, suffering a 4-1 defeat to Romania in the UEFA Nations League, while San Marino will enter the match off the back of a 3-1 success over Liechtenstein, which earned them promotion to the third tier.
Match preview
Cyprus have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, and they only managed to win once during their qualification campaign for the 2022 competition, losing seven of their 10 matches.
The national side have actually won just 16 of their 124 World Cup qualification matches throughout history, losing 93 times in the process, but it is not impossible to imagine them challenging for a potential top-two spot in this group.
Akis Mantzios took charge of Cyprus at the start of 2025, so this will represent the 55-year-old's first game at the helm, and it would be a huge surprise if they were unable to open their Group H campaign with a win.
Cyprus were beaten 4-1 by Romania in their last fixture in the Nations League in November 2024, which saw them finish third in Group 2 of League C on six points, with Lithuania the team being relegated.
The hosts have lost four of their last five matches, but they were victorious in their last game in front of their own supporters in November 2024, beating Lithuania 2-1.
San Marino, meanwhile, recorded a huge three points in their last match against Liechtenstein towards the end of 2024, running out 3-1 winners, with the result earning them promotion to the third tier of the Nations League for the first time.
The victory was also the team's first away from home in their history, while it proved to be the first time that they had scored more than once in a competitive match, so it was a truly remarkable result.
La Serenissima are the world's bottom-ranked team, sitting 210th in the FIFA rankings, and they have incredibly lost 199 of the 211 fixtures that they have played, making them the major underdogs in Group H.
Roberto Cevoli's side have nothing to lose as they approach this game, though, and it would be some story if the team could make it three games unbeaten, having also drawn 1-1 with Gibraltar in November 2024.
San Marino have tackled Cyprus on seven previous occasions throughout history, suffering seven defeats, with their last meeting coming in a friendly in June 2024, with Cyprus running out 4-1 winners.
Team News
Cyprus are expected to have Pieros Sotiriou leading their line for this match, with the 32-year-old bidding to add to the 12 goals that he has contributed in his 63 caps for his country.
Ioannis Pittas has eight goals to his name for his country, and the 28-year-old should also be in the side, while there should be space for Loizos Loizou in a 4-3-3 system.
Grigoris Kastanos has seven goals in 67 caps for his national side, and the midfielder will also be a notable inclusion in the Cyprus starting side for their campaign opener on Friday night.
As for San Marino, it is likely that head coach will name the majority of the players that took to the field for the first whistle against Liechtenstein last time out.
Nicola Nanni has three goals in 42 caps for his country, and there will again be a spot in the final third of the field for the 24-year-old, while Filippo Berardi, who also has three goals for San Marino, should also start.
Edoardo Colombo is the national side's undisputed number one goalkeeper, and he will also be in the XI for the visitors.
Cyprus possible starting lineup:
D Demitriou; Laifis, Andreou, Panagiotou, Pileas; Kastanos, Artymatas, Charalampous; Loizou, Sotiriou, Pittas
San Marino possible starting lineup:
Colombo; Fabbri, Valentini, Benvenuti, Tosi; Contadini, Zannoni, Golinucci, Lazzari, Beradi; Nanni
We say: Cyprus 3-1 San Marino
San Marino will be full of confidence entering this match, and we are expecting them to get their name on the scoresheet on Friday evening, but Cyprus should be able to claim an important three points on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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