Cyprus-Scotland is a match on the fifth day of Group A of Euro 2024 qualifiers and is played on Friday at 8:45 p.m.: predictions.
The victory achieved against Spain, beaten 2-0 at Hampden Park last March, launched Scotland, the only selection with full points in the qualifiers along with France, England and Portugal.
Steve Clarke’s men went 4 for 4, scoring nine goals and conceding just one. They couldn’t have dreamed of a better start than this, even considering the presence in the same group of other potentially tricky national teams like Norway and Georgia. And now Robertson and his teammates lead the Group A standings with 12 points: barring any cataclysms, it is safe to say that the German European Championship is now just a step away. It couldn’t be otherwise, since the top two in each grouping qualify directly. Sure, Spain has played two fewer games and will almost certainly move up the ladder, but at the moment Scotland has a huge advantage over the others: eight points over the Georgia-Norway pair, even nine over Roja. A win in Cyprus, in short, would allow the Tartan Army to book, as of now, a ticket to Germany.
Disastrous, however, is the roster of the Cypriots, still pinned to zero points. The national team coached by Georgian Temur Ketsbaia, a former Newcastle midfielder, lost narrowly to Scotland and Norway (3-0 and 3-1) and narrowly surrendered to Georgia (1-2).
Cyprus’ Ioannou (left) against Norway.
Hopes of qualification are obviously slim and the only concern between now and November will be to avoid running out of steam and at least move up the standings. In the first leg match against the Scots, played in March, there was practically no history: the ball of the game always remained in the hands of Clarke’s men, who, after taking the lead through McGinn, went on the rampage in the final thanks to a brace by Manchester United midfielder McTominay.
The Prediction
Outside Scotland is traditionally less fearsome but in these first three games Cyprus has shown that it is little. We do not expect a round result like the one in March, but the Scottish victory should come without any problem.
The probable lineups of Cyprus-Scotia
- CIPRO (5-4-1): Mall; Antoniou, Gogic, Laifis, Ioannou, Correia; Charalampous, Kousoulos, Kastanos, Kyriakou; Sotiriou.
- SCOTLAND (5-3-2): Gunn; Hickey, Porteous, Hendry, Tierney, Robertson; McTominay, Gilmour, McGregor; McGinn, Dykes.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
