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Cyprus and Latvia lock horns at the AEK Arena in Larnaca on Thursday for an international friendly, with both sides looking to put their struggles behind them.
Hosts Cyprus are coming off the back of a terrible Euro 2024 qualifying campaign that saw them lose all eight of their matches to finish at the bottom of Group A without a single point.
The island nation's wait for a first major international appearance thereby continued. But with the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League coming up later in June, Cyprus will be looking to put in an improved showing and begin preparations for the same with a handful of friendlies from this month, starting this Thursday.
Head coach Temur Ketsbaia has called up 25 players for this month's double-header against Latvia and Serbia, including Omonia Nicosia forward Andronikos Kakoulis.
On the other hand, Latvia lost all but one game in their own Euro qualifying campaign last year: a 2-0 win over Armenia on matchday six. However, it wasn't enough by any means, as the 11 Wolves finished at the bottom of Group D with just three points from eight games.
Head coach Paolo Nicolato has announced a 26-man squad for this month's double-header against Cyprus and Liechtenstein, including key forward Vladislavs Gutkovskis. There are no uncapped players in the squad.
Cyprus vs Latvia Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- Cyprus and Latvia have met only twice in history.
- In March 1996, Cyprus beat Latvia 1-0 in a friendly before a 2-0 win at the Cyprus Tournament in February 1997.
- Latvia have lost their last three international games, failing to score in all three and conceding eight times.
- After going nine games without a win, Cyprus beat Lithuania 1-0 in a friendly game back in November. The side have not won consecutive international games since September-October 2019 (2).
- Cyprus are ranked 125th in the world, whereas Latvia are in 136th position in the FIFA World Rankings.
Cyprus vs Latvia Prediction
This is a clash of two lowly-ranked teams lacking in serious quality. Cyprus, though, might capitalize on their home advantage in this match and prevail narrowly, thereby continuing their winning run against 11 Wolves.
Prediction: Cyprus 2-0 Latvia
Cyprus vs Latvia Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Cyprus to win
Tip 2 - Goals over/under 2.5: Under 2.5
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No
