Cyprus hosts Russia in round 5 of the World Cup qualification. The match will be played on Saturday, September 4th at Neo GSP Stadium (Nicosia)
After four rounds, Cyprus is in the last sixth place in the group with four points scored. The Cypriots, who have never made it to the World Cup in history, started well in the new qualifying cycle. In the March matches, the Islanders gained a home draw with Slovakia (0-0), minimally conceded away to Croatia (1-0), and unexpectedly beat Slovenia at home (1-0). However, the team of Kostenoglou could not continue the unbeaten run in the fall. On September 1, the Cypriots lost to Malta away with a score of 3-0. The visitors were let down by the sending-off of Constantinos Soteriou, after which the home team upset the Cypriot goalkeeper Michael Neofytos three times.
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The Russian national team is located on the 2nd line in the standings of Group H after four rounds (seven points). The team started the qualification with Stanislav Cherchesov as head coach. The Russians achieved victories over Malta (1-3) and Slovenia (2-1) and then lost to Slovakia away (2-1). After the failure at Euro 2020, the manager of the Russian team was replaced. Cherchesov left office in early July, and a few weeks later the RFU picked up a replacement in the person of Rostov's head coach Valeri Karpin. The ex-footballer of the national team signed a contract before the end of the qualifying cycle and left the club to focus on a new job. Karpin's debut happened on September 1 in Moscow, where the Russians hosted the leader of the group, Croatia. The match ended with a score of 0-0, although the teams had a couple of dangerous scoring chances.
The Russian national team will have to travel to a difficult opponent. Despite the failure in an away match against Malta, the Cypriots are capable of surprising Karpin's team with a well-coordinated defensive game. The Islanders’ matches against Slovenia and Slovakia showed that they know how to play defense first at home. At the same time, the Cypriots have noticeable problems in the attack. The team scored the least in the group (one goal in four games). Due to rearrangements in the national team, the Russians do not have teamwork in the attacking line so far. Valeri Karpin's men tried to keep the ball down, refusing long passes to the tall and solid striker. The Russians were inclined to individual actions, although they looked sharp at times. The upcoming game is likely to be full of struggle, and the fans cannot count on a large number of goals.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 goals scored
