Cyprus vs Kosovo

Cyprus and Kosovo are set to trade tackles in the second round of the UEFA Nations League at the AEK Arena.

Ioannis Pittas’ first-half strike inspired Cyprus to a 1-0 win against Lithuania in their opening Nations League outing, alleviating some pressure on manager Temur Ketsbaia. The Georgian tactician had won only four of his previous 18 matches in charge of the island nation (D4, L10), understandably raising questions over his capacity to turn Cyprus into a legitimate team in European qualifiers. They’ve been omnipresent in League C as they’ve rested in the third tier since the competition’s inception in 2018/19. The hope of moving to the next level heavily hinges on performances on home turf, where they have suffered just one defeat across their last four Nations League games (W3, D1). However, Kosovo’s upcoming visit doesn’t bode well.

Indeed, the visitors got the better of Cyprus when the two countries shared the group in the previous Nations League edition, winning both meetings via multi-goal margins, including a 2-0 victory on this turf. But unlike their hosts, Franco Foda’s men slumped to a disastrous start to their Group C2 journey as Romania humbled them 3-0 in Pristina, extending their dismal losing run to three matches. Each defeat in that sequence came by 2+ goals ‘to nil,’ highlighting the pressure on the former Austria head coach to turn his side’s fortunes around on this road trip. Kosovo must improve in the second half after registering eight of their last nine goals conceded in the Nations League beyond halftime.