BALL TO THE POST! Cyprus came close to the second goal again, Andronikos Kakoulli headed in from a cross from the left, but the right upright post returned the ball and prevented him from celebrating. The score remained 1-0.
CYPRUS HAD IT! THE SECOND GOAL WAS CLOSE! Loizos Loizou received the ball on the right flank, looked for his profile to shoot, and struck his left-footed shot towards the right-hand post, but the ball went just over the crossbar.
We reached the first quarter of an hour in the second half. Cyprus is still holding the ball and looking for more goals. With the 1-0 lead, they have a little more peace of mind to continue generating options without getting desperate.
GOOOOOOOOAL! GOOOOOOOOAL! GOAL for Cyprus, scored by Ioannis Pittas! The striker appeared to take advantage of a defensive lapses at the start and stole the ball to shoot to the right post and open the scoring in the match. 1-0.
EDOARDO COLOMBO MAKES A GREAT SAVE AGAIN! Ioannis Pittas shot towards the left corner of the post, but the goalkeeper flew to save the ball with a great save. The score remains 0-0 on Cypriot soil.
First minutes of the second half. The resumption of the match has not had many important actions in the goal… Basically, the same as we saw in the first half. We continued with 0-0 on the scoreboard.
The match restarts at AEK Arena – George Karapatakis. The coaches of both teams have decided not to change their lineups yet, so the same 22 players who started the game are back on the pitch.
END! The first half of the match is over. Apart from the attempts that the Cypriots have had in front of goal, there have not been many emotions. Halftime arrived and the players went to the showers with the score at 0-0.
The first half is almost over. The stopwatch reads 45 minutes and the referee decides to add four minutes to the regulation time. The match is stopped several times to attend to some players. For the moment, the score is still goalless.
Cyprus came closer! The home side came close again in attack. Loizos Loizou tried with a left-footed mid-range shot aimed at the angle of the left post, but the ball did not go low enough and went close to the crossbar.
We are entering the final stretch of the first half. We are still scoreless in this match, where San Marino has not been able to get much past the midfield to generate goals. Cyprus continues to look for spaces in the opposing defense.
Another close call for Cyprus in the match, Pieros Sotiriou again received a cross and headed the ball, but this time it came out rather weakly and goalkeeper Edoardo Colombo kept the ball. Still goalless.
We reached the first half hour of the match at the AEK Arena – George Karapatakis. Cyprus continues to be the most insistent in attack, but for now it remains 0-0 on the scoreboard. San Marino has not been able to make much progress in their opponents’ half.
GOAL DISALLOWED TO CYPRUS! Pieros Sotiriou scored the first goal of the match with a header to the left post after a cross from the right, but the referee was warned by his assistants on the VAR that the play was disallowed for offside.
EDOARDO COLOMBO COMES UP AGAIN TO SAVE SAN MARINO! The goalkeeper keeps the ball after a header by Pieros Sotiriou, who appeared in the box following a corner kick taken by Giannis Satsias from the right.
WHAT A SAVE BY EDOARDO COLOMBO! Incredible save by the goalkeeper to save San Marino after a shot by Ioannis Pittas that was going into the corner of the left post. A great save with his left hand.
The course of the first half continues. The pace has been slow and with few important actions in the areas. There is a lack of ideas in the teams, especially Cyprus who have held the ball most of the time. Still no goals.
We have now reached the first quarter of an hour in the match. San Marino is daring to take more of the ball and move forward a few meters to shake off the slight dominance that Cyprus has had in this period of the match.
San Marino tries. The visitors had a glimpse of the game through a free kick. Lorenzo Capicchioni sent the ball from a corner kick from the left and Filippo Berardi headed the ball over the goal.
The first minutes of the match are passing. Cyprus is the one that seeks to get closer to the opponent’s area. For now, the match remains goalless and without many dangerous actions, only the one that Tzionis had at the beginning.
CYPRUS HAD IT! First warning from the home team in attack, Marinos Tzionis appeared on the left side of the box and shot, but goalkeeper Edoardo Colombo’s response was much better, saving at the near post.
The match is underway! The Referee Andris Treimanis blows his whistle to signal the start of the match between Cyprus and San Marino on Matchday 1 of the European qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
ALL SET! The AEK Arena – George Karapatakis welcomes the players of the Cyprus and San Marino national teams to resume their road to the World Cup. The fans in attendance are ready for this match.
13 Matteo Zavoli (GK)
16 Pietro Amici (GK)
2 Giacomo Benvenuti
6 Dante Carlos Rossi
7 Matteo Vitaioli
14 Giacomo Valentini
15 Marco Pasolini
19 Nicolas Giacopetti
20 Nicko Sensoli
21 Alberto Riccardi
22 Marcello Mularoni
23 Matteo Valli Casadei
1 Edoardo Colombo (GK)
3 Tommaso Benvenuti
4 Filippo Fabbri
5 Michele Cevoli
8 Lorenzo Capicchioni
9 Nicola Nanni
10 Filippo Berardi
11 Andrea Contadini
12 Alessandro Tosi
17 Alessandro Golinucci
18 Samuele Zannoni
13 Demetris Demetriou (GK)
22 Neofytos Michael (GK)
2 Charalampos Kyriakou
4 Hector Kyprianou
5 Charalampos Charalampous
11 Andronikos Kakoulli
12 Stavros Gavriel
14 Giorgos Malekkidis
16 Evagoras Antoniou
18 Kostakis Artymatas
19 Antreas Shikkis
23 Ioannis Costi
1 Joel Mall (GK)
3 Nikolaos Panagiotou
6 Giannis Satsias
7 Anderson Correia
8 Ioannis Kousoulos
9 Ioannis Pittas
10 Pieros Sotiriou
15 Christos Shelis
17 Loizos Loizou
20 Grigoris Kastanos
21 Marinos Tzionis
Everything is ready at the AEK Arena – George Karapatakis. The pitch is in good condition and the teams have already arrived at the venue where this match will take place. Little by little, the fans are arriving to watch the match.
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We will soon share with you the starting lineups for the Cyprus vs San Marino live match, as well as the latest information from the AEK Arena – George Karapatakis. Don’t miss a single detail of the live match updates and commentary from VAVEL’s coverage.
These two teams have met seven times. The statistics are in favor of Cyprus, which has emerged victorious in all these encounters, which are divided into six UEFA Euro qualifiers and one friendly match, played in 2024.