Spain will host Cyprus in Group A of Euro 2024 qualifying on Tuesday. La Roja defeated Georgia 7-1 on Friday to move into second place in the section. Cyprus currently last with 0 points, was defeated 3-0 by Scotland the same evening.
Preview (Spain vs. Cyprus)
Spain was under pressure going into their match against Georgia on Friday since they had just lost to Scotland 2-0 in their previous Euro 2024 qualifying match. However, La Roja’s confidence would have grown as a result of their UEFA Nations League victory in June. The team was brilliant against Georgia. They won 7-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Alvaro Morata and a late goal from Lamine Yamal. Yamal made history by becoming the youngest player and goal scorer in Spain’s history. Luis de la Fuente’s team now has six points in the division, two points clear of third-placed Norway.
Despite having two games in hand on both the team at the top of the division and Norway in third place, La Roja still trails leaders Scotland by nine points. Both in 2008 and in 2012, Spain won the European Championship. Cyprus, meanwhile, comes into this game off a 3-0 home loss to Scotland. It sent them to the bottom of the group with no points after four games. In a challenging qualifying campaign, they only managed to score twice while giving up 11.
Cyprus has never made it to the finals of a major competition, but in their last two European Championship qualification campaigns, they have won seven games, therefore this has been a relatively weak group so far. Next month, Temur Ketbaia’s team will play two qualifying games against Norway and Georgia before wrapping up at home against Spain in the middle of November. Cyprus has faced Spain eight times in the past, losing seven of those contests, although they did triumph 3-2 in that encounter during the Euro 2000 qualifying round.
Team News
Due to injury, Marco Asensio and Dani Olmo had to withdraw from the Spain team. Ferran Torres and Yeremy Pino had to be welcomed into the camp prior to this encounter. As a result, the front three from the match on Friday will change twice. Yamal and Nico Williams are most likely to be the two newcomers. With his goal against Georgia, Yamal made two pieces of Spanish history. The 16-year-old might now make his debut for his country. Alejandro Balde is expected to take Jose Gaya’s spot at left-back, so there could possibly be a change there, but Fabian Ruiz should continue to start in central midfield.
Cyprus, however, has not yet revealed any new injury concerns following their three-goal defeat to Scotland, but changes are anticipated. Both Ioannis Pittas and Michalis Ioannou made good first impressions last time out off the bench and could now start on Tuesday night. Alex Gogic, a St. Mirren player, is also a candidate to start, although players like Charalambos Kyriakou and Charalambos Charalambous should continue to play in the starting lineup. Cyprus is having trouble in Group A, so it is highly challenging to back them to win this match. On Friday night versus Georgia, Spain was excellent.
Spain 3 – 0 Cyprus
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