Cyprus vs Spain prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-11-15 17:00.
A run of just one win from their last 13 outings across UEFA competitions (D2, L10) continues to intensify the pressure on under-fire Cyprus manager Temur Ketsbaia. It has been a horrible two years for the island nation, leaving them on the verge of UEFA Nations League relegation and rock bottom of 2024 European Championship Qualifying (ECQ) Group A without a single point to their name after seven fixtures.
The most recent of those defeats was a 4-0 loss against Ketsbaia’s country of birth, Georgia, and meant that only minnows San Marino had conceded more goals than Cyprus’ 25 in this ECQ cycle. Things appear unlikely to get any better here as they suffered their joint-biggest defeat of this century (6-0) to Spain, their opponents for this match, when the two sides met in September. It was one of eight defeats from nine H2Hs (W1), six of which were ‘to nil’.
That result helped La Roja take top spot in the group, booking their place at Euro 2024 in the process. It has been an impressive run for Luis de la Fuente’s side, who bounced back brilliantly from losing to Scotland in March by winning four successive ECQ matches, while they also lifted a maiden UEFA Nations League title by beating Croatia on penalties in June.
The manager insists there’s much more success to come from his team, boldly declaring Spain “the team of the future” after a 1-0 win over Norway last month that confirmed their place at an eighth successive European Championships. It also extended a quite remarkable run in ECQs to just two defeats since 2006, winning 38 times (D3) and failing to score in only one of those 43 clashes.
Players to watch: Cyprus will be hoping forward Dimitrios Christofi can find the back of the net, as has lost just one of the last 19 games in which he has scored for club or country (W9, D9), including seven 2-2 draws! Spanish defender Robin Le Normand has a 100% winning record from six international appearances, helping his side keep a clean sheet in four of them.
Hot stat: Cyprus conceded the opening goal in all but one of their last 11 ECQs.