Cyprus national under-21 football team
The Cyprus national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team for Cyprus. It is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association.
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Nickname(s) | Εθνική Ελπίδων ("National team of Hopes") | ||
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Association | Cyprus Football Association | ||
Head coach | Vacant | ||
Captain | Andreas Frangos | ||
Most caps | Marios Christodoulou (27) | ||
Top scorer | Christos Poyiatzis & Giorgos Nicolaou (5) | ||
Home stadium | AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis | ||
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First international | |||
![]() ![]() (Nicosia, Cyprus; 1978) | |||
Biggest win | |||
![]() ![]() (Nicosia, Cyprus; 2011) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
![]() ![]() (Grenoble, France; 2023) | |||
UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
Appearances | None |
The team drew their first official match 0–0 in 1978 at home to Spain in a qualifying match for the 1980 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. They then drew 0–0 with the trophy holders Yugoslavia, also at home. They lost both away games though. And finished last in the group of three teams, with two points from four games, and so did not qualify for the Finals.
In the qualifying stages for the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, Cyprus made history when they defeated France 2–1 in Cyprus as it was the countries first ever official victory at National or Under-21 football level. The scorer of the Cypriot goals was Islington born Kikis Kyriacou of Olympiakos Nicosia whose promising career was brought to a premature end following a horrific leg injury.
In the qualifying stages for the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, the team beat Greece 1-0 and drew 1–1 with Sweden who went on to reach the Final. Cyprus finished last in their qualifying group with three points, the same number as Greece.
The Under 21 team made gradual improvements and in September 1999, in a qualifying match for the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, drew 1–1 in Spain, the eventual winners of the competition. The team finished fourth out of five teams in their qualifying group, ahead of Austria.
The qualifying stages for the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship provided the greatest achievement for the Cyprus under-21 national team to date, when they finished second in Qualification Group One, with 15 points, winning five of their eight matches. France won the group with 22 points, seven points ahead of Cyprus.
In 2004, Cyprus joined the European Union, and Cypriot teams took advantage of the Bosman rule bringing in foreign players. This has meant that young Cypriot players are now not as common in the Cypriot First Division and is therefore also having an adverse effect on the under-21 national team.
European Championship record Under-21
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship record | UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
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Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
1978 | did not enter | - | ||||||||||||||
1980[1] | did not qualify | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | ||||||||
1982[2] | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | |||||||||
1984[3] | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 14 | −10 | |||||||||
1986[4] | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 | -10 | |||||||||
1988[5] | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 18 | −14 | |||||||||
1990[6] | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −3 | |||||||||
1992[7] | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | −12 | |||||||||
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8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 21 | −17 | |||||||||
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10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 25 | −15 | |||||||||
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8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 15 | +1 | |||||||||
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8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 18 | −11 | |||||||||
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8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 17 | −8 | |||||||||
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8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 5 | +7 | |||||||||
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8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 17 | -15 | |||||||||
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2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | |||||||||
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8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −6 | |||||||||
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8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 13 | −5 | |||||||||
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10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 20 | −4 | |||||||||
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8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 21 | −14 | |||||||||
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5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | −10 | |||||||||
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Qualification in progress | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 18 | -11 | ||||||||
Total | 0/21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 32 | 19 | 99 | 132 | 286 | −154 |
UEFA U-21 Euro 2019 qualification
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ![]() |
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1 | ![]() |
10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 5 | +18 | 26 | Final tournament | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | |
2 | ![]() |
10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 20 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | ||
3 | ![]() |
10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 17 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 0–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | ||
4 | ![]() |
10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 11 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | ||
5 | ![]() |
10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 23 | −15 | 7 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | ||
6 | ![]() |
10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 24 | −16 | 4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — |
1 September 2017 | Cyprus ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() | AEK Arena, Larnaca |
18:00 |
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Report |
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Referee: Stefan Apostolov (Bulgaria) |
5 September 2017 | Sweden ![]() | 4–1 | ![]() | Falkenbergs IP, Falkenberg |
18:45 |
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Report |
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Referee: Omar Pashayev (Azerbaijan) |
5 October 2017 | Cyprus ![]() | 2–1 | ![]() | AEK Arena, Larnaca |
16:00 |
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Report |
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Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany) |
9 November 2017 | Belgium ![]() | 3–2 | ![]() | Den Dreef, Leuven |
20:00 |
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Report |
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Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania) |
14 November 2017 | Cyprus ![]() | 0–2 | ![]() | AEK Arena, Larnaca |
15:00 | Report | Referee: Horatiu Fesnic (Romania) |
22 March 2018 | Hungary ![]() | 4–0 | ![]() | Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion, Budapest |
20:00 | Report | Referee: Rob Harvey (Republic of Ireland) |
27 March 2018 | Cyprus ![]() | 0–1 | ![]() | AEK Arena, Larnaca |
14:00 | Report |
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Referee: Fabio Verissimo (Portugal) |
7 September 2018 | Turkey ![]() | 4–0 | ![]() | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Istanbul |
18:00 (19:00 TRT) |
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Report | Referee: Danilo Grujić (Serbia) |
16 October 2018 | Malta ![]() | 1–1 | ![]() | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali |
17:00 |
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Report |
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Referee: Admir Šehović (Bosnia and Herzegovina) |
Coaching staff
Position[20] | Name |
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Coach | ![]() |
Assistant coach | ![]() |
Goalkeeper coach | ![]() |
Fitness coach | ![]() |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the friendly match against Georgia on 15 June 2023.[21]
Caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2023, after the match against Hungary.
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Stefanos Kittos | 23 February 2002 | 10 | 0 | ![]() | |
GK | Michalis Kyriakou | 30 December 2002 | 4 | 0 | ![]() | |
GK | Theodoros Koutsou | 19 April 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Evagoras Antoniou | 4 November 2002 | 5 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Strahinja Kerkez | 13 December 2002 | 4 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Irodotos Christodoulou | 1 May 2002 | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Fotis Kotsonis | 10 February 2003 | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Nikolas Chatzimitsis | 10 September 2003 | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Ilias Kostis | 27 February 2003 | 1 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | David Djamas | 21 April 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Andreas Evangelou | 20 September 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
DF | Konstantinos Venizelou | 5 July 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
MF | Antonio Foti | 3 November 2003 | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
MF | Dimitris Mavroudis | 3 May 2002 | 2 | 0 | ![]() | |
MF | Giorgos Pavlidis | 8 January 2003 | 1 | 0 | ![]() | |
MF | Konstantinos Christou | 19 April 2003 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
MF | Konstanitnos Koumpari | 4 April 2002 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
MF | Stylianos Vrontis | 5 November 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
FW | Stavros Gavriel | 29 January 2002 | 10 | 2 | ![]() | |
FW | Nikolas Koutsakos | 14 November 2003 | 3 | 3 | ![]() | |
FW | Evangelos Andreou | 24 September 2002 | 3 | 0 | ![]() | |
FW | Giorgos Pontikou | 8 January 2003 | 1 | 0 | ![]() | |
FW | Pantelis Gavriel | 7 January 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
FW | Stavros Georgiou | 19 October 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | |
FW | Zanos Savva | 26 November 2005 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up for Cyprus under-21's within the last twelve months and remain eligible for selection.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
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GK | Konstantinos Chrysostomou | 7 January 2003 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
GK | Andreas Chatzigavriil | 22 February 2002 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Sergios Feneridis | 3 March 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Kypros Neofytou | 13 August 2002 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Giorgos Vasiliou | 15 March 2002 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
DF | Loukas Kalogirou | 21 February 2002 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Giannis Satsias | 28 December 2002 | 6 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Georgios Okkas | 24 October 2003 | 5 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Marios Kokkinoftas | 15 March 2003 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Charalambos Charalambous | 4 April 2002 | 5 | 1 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Filippos Eftichidis | 26 February 2002 | 3 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
MF | Tayt-Lemar Trusty | 23 November 2003 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Andreas Savva | 21 July 2004 | 0 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Marko Jovanovic | 27 June 2002 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
FW | Angelos Zefki | 15 April 2003 | 1 | 0 | ![]() |
v. ![]() |
See also
References
- Europe U-21 Championship 1980
- Europe U-21 Championship 1982
- Europe U-21 Championship 1984
- Europe U-21 Championship 1986
- Europe U-21 Championship 1988
- Europe U-21 Championship 1990
- Europe U-21 Championship 1992
- Europe U-21 Championship 1994
- Europe U-21 Championship 1996
- Europe U-21 Championship 1998
- Europe U-21 Championship 2000
- Europe U-21 Championship 2002
- Europe U-21 Championship 2004
- Europe U-21 Championship 2006
- Europe U-21 Championship 2007
- Europe U-21 Championship 2009
- Europe U-21 Championship 2011
- Europe U-21 Championship 2013
- Europe U-21 Championship 2015
- "Cyprus U21 staff". Cyprus FA. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
- "Την ερχόμενη Τρίτη αρχίζει η προετοιμασία" (in Greek). Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.