The Cyprus national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team for Cyprus. It is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association.
| Nickname(s) | Εθνική Ελπίδων ("National team of Hopes") | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Cyprus Football Association | ||
| Head coach | Vacant | ||
| Captain | Andreas Frangos | ||
| Most caps | Marios Christodoulou (27) | ||
| Top scorer | Christos Poyiatzis & Giorgos Nicolaou (5) | ||
| Home stadium | AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
| Cyprus 0 - 0 Spain (Nicosia, Cyprus; 1978) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
| Cyprus 6 - 0 San Marino (Nicosia, Cyprus; 2011) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| France 9 - 0 Cyprus (Grenoble, France; 2023) | |||
| UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
| Appearances | None | ||
The team drew their first official match 0–0 in 1978 at home to Spain in a qualifying match for the 1980 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. They then drew 0–0 with the trophy holders Yugoslavia, also at home. They lost both away games though. And finished last in the group of three teams, with two points from four games, and so did not qualify for the Finals.
In the qualifying stages for the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, Cyprus made history when they defeated France 2–1 in Cyprus as it was the countries first ever official victory at National or Under-21 football level. The scorer of the Cypriot goals was Islington born Kikis Kyriacou of Olympiakos Nicosia whose promising career was brought to a premature end following a horrific leg injury.
In the qualifying stages for the 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, the team beat Greece 1-0 and drew 1–1 with Sweden who went on to reach the Final. Cyprus finished last in their qualifying group with three points, the same number as Greece.
The Under 21 team made gradual improvements and in September 1999, in a qualifying match for the 2000 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, drew 1–1 in Spain, the eventual winners of the competition. The team finished fourth out of five teams in their qualifying group, ahead of Austria.
The qualifying stages for the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship provided the greatest achievement for the Cyprus under-21 national team to date, when they finished second in Qualification Group One, with 15 points, winning five of their eight matches. France won the group with 22 points, seven points ahead of Cyprus.
In 2004, Cyprus joined the European Union, and Cypriot teams took advantage of the Bosman rule bringing in foreign players. This has meant that young Cypriot players are now not as common in the Cypriot First Division and is therefore also having an adverse effect on the under-21 national team.
European Championship record Under-21
| UEFA European Under-21 Championship record | UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | |
| 1978 | did not enter | - | ||||||||||||||
| 1980 | did not qualify | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | ||||||||
| 1982 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −3 | |||||||||
| 1984 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 14 | −10 | |||||||||
| 1986 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 13 | -10 | |||||||||
| 1988 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 18 | −14 | |||||||||
| 1990 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | −3 | |||||||||
| 1992 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 15 | −12 | |||||||||
| 1994 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 21 | −17 | |||||||||
| 1996 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 25 | −15 | |||||||||
| 1998 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 15 | +1 | |||||||||
| 2000 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 18 | −11 | |||||||||
| 2002 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 17 | −8 | |||||||||
| 2004 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 5 | +7 | |||||||||
| 2006 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 17 | -15 | |||||||||
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | |||||||||
| 2009 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −6 | |||||||||
| 2011 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 13 | −5 | |||||||||
| 2013 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 16 | 20 | −4 | |||||||||
| 2015 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 21 | −14 | |||||||||
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 12 | −10 | |||||||||
| 2019 | Qualification in progress | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 18 | -11 | ||||||||
| Total | 0/21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 32 | 19 | 99 | 132 | 286 | −154 | |
UEFA U-21 Euro 2019 qualification
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 5 | +18 | 26 | Final tournament | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Sweden | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 8 | +11 | 20 | 0–3 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | Turkey | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 10 | +4 | 17 | 1–2 | 0–3 | — | 0–0 | 4–0 | 4–2 | ||
| 4 | Hungary | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 14 | −2 | 11 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | — | 4–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 5 | Cyprus | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 23 | −15 | 7 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 6 | Malta | 10 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 24 | −16 | 4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | — |
| 5 September 2017 | Sweden | 4–1 | Cyprus | Falkenbergs IP, Falkenberg |
| 18:45 |
| Report |
| Referee: Omar Pashayev (Azerbaijan) |
| 16 October 2018 | Malta | 1–1 | Cyprus | Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali |
| 17:00 |
| Report |
| Referee: Admir Šehović (Bosnia and Herzegovina) |
Friendly matches
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Coach | Nikos Andronikou |
| Assistant coach | Venizelos Tziambazis |
| Goalkeeper coach | Christoforos Loizou |
| Fitness coach | Constantinos Rostantis |
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Romania on 14 October 2025.
Caps and goals correct as of 9 September 2025, after the match against Finlan.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Panagiotis Kyriakou | 5 May 2004 | 11 | 0 | AEL Limassol | |
| GK | Konstantinos Stylianou | 5 December 2004 | 2 | 0 | Apollon Limassol | |
| GK | Gabriel Ortelli | 19 June 2006 | 1 | 0 | Watford | |
| DF | Konstantinos Venizelou | 5 July 2004 | 12 | 1 | PAEEK Kyrenia | |
| DF | Nearchos Zinonos | 29 January 2004 | 10 | 3 | Akritas Chlorakas | |
| DF | Georgios Nikolas Angelopoulos | 5 May 2004 | 10 | 0 | Ethnikos Achna | |
| DF | Giorgos Viktoros | 1 September 2005 | 10 | 0 | Nea Salamis Famagusta | |
| DF | David Djamas | 21 April 2004 | 9 | 0 | Karmiotissa | |
| DF | Konstantinos Giannakou | 25 April 2005 | 7 | 0 | APOEL | |
| DF | Konstantinos Panteli | 12 February 2005 | 6 | 1 | Omonia Aradippou | |
| DF | Frixos Michailidis | 30 January 2005 | 1 | 0 | MEAP Nisou | |
| MF | Stylianos Vrontis | 5 November 2004 | 16 | 0 | Al-Fayha | |
| MF | Panagiotis Andreou | 29 April 2006 | 8 | 0 | Omonia Nicosia | |
| MF | Konstantinos Evripidou | 26 April 2005 | 5 | 0 | Omonia Aradippou | |
| MF | Andreas Athanasiou | 24 April 2004 | 4 | 0 | Akritas Chlorakas | |
| MF | Konstantinos Pattichis | 5 August 2004 | 4 | 0 | PAC Omonia 29M | |
| MF | Symeon Solomou | 8 March 2005 | 3 | 0 | Enosis Neon Paralimniou | |
| FW | Stavros Georgiou | 19 October 2004 | 10 | 0 | Omonia Aradippou | |
| FW | Angelos Neofytou | 23 May 2005 | 6 | 3 | Omonia Nicosia | |
| FW | Savvas Christodoulou | 2 January 2005 | 2 | 0 | AEL Limassol | |
| FW | Michalis Theodosiou | 24 July 2008 | 2 | 0 | Aris Limassol | |
| FW | Lysandros Papastylianou | 29 November 2005 | 1 | 0 | PAOK | |
| FW | Dimitris Solomou | 16 October 2006 | 0 | 0 | Enosis Neon Paralimniou | |
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up for Cyprus under-21's within the last twelve months and remain eligible for selection.
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DF | Alexandros Kaiafas | 9 February 2004 | 0 | 0 | MEAP Nisou | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
| DF | Andreas Nikolaou | 31 March 2006 | 0 | 0 | Omonia Nicosia | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
| MF | Panagiotis Kattirtzis | 12 April 2006 | 2 | 0 | APOEL | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
| MF | Andreas Christou | 5 August 2005 | 0 | 0 | Olympiakos Nicosia | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
| FW | Themistoklis Themistokleous | 2 January 2004 | 7 | 0 | AEL Limassol | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
| FW | Dimitrios Spyridakis | 16 September 2004 | 4 | 0 | Nea Salamis Famagusta | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
| FW | Titos Prokopiou | 31 July 2004 | 3 | 0 | Nea Salamis Famagusta | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
| FW | Evagoras Charalampous | 27 June 2005 | 1 | 0 | Anorthosis Famagusta | v. Israel, 24 March 2025 |
See also
- Cyprus national football team
- Cyprus national under-19 football team
- Cyprus national under-17 football team
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship
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