Norway vs Cyprus prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-06-19 18:45.
After taking just a point from their first three European Championship qualifiers (ECQ) so far, winning here is perhaps crucial if Norway are to end a painful 24-year wait for a major finals appearance. In fact, Euro 2000 remains Norway’s only prior Euro tournament appearance and that isn’t at risk of changing unless they can bounce back quickly from their painful 2-1 defeat at the hands of Scotland last week.
That result was especially frustrating as they were leading as they headed into the final five minutes of regulation time, yet they ultimately slipped to a fifth straight competitive game without a win, with a low goal return across those games an issue. A visit from Cyprus seems like the perfect opportunity to buck that trend then, as Norway have won each of the 11 historic H2H encounters.
The visitors also look set to miss out on another major tournament after losing their first two games by a combined 5-1 scoreline. Another defeat for Temur Ketsbaia’s men could see them cut adrift from the sides in contention and with games against group leaders Scotland and UEFA Nations League winners Spain on the horizon, it’s difficult to see where they will pick up any points.
The Cypriots can at least take heart from their rather impressive return of four victories across their last eight ECQ away games (W4, L4). However, the highest-ranked nation Cyprus defeated during the aforementioned run was Israel (#78), suggesting this clash with #44-ranked Norway will pose a much greater challenge.
Players to watch: Norway’s recent Champions League winner Erling Haaland scored his first international goal since last September to open the scoring against Scotland, taking him to 22 goals in just 24 international appearances! As for Cyprus, Ioannis Pittas has scored their only ECQ goal in this campaign and enters this clash on the back of scoring four times in his last three appearances for club & country.
Hot stat: Cyprus have conceded 3.14 goals on average across their last seven ECQ away defeats.