(Football news)The visitors want to make it four games in a row winning in all competitions, while the hosts are still looking for their first victory of 2023. Cyprus was one of just six European countries that have not yet opened their account in a Euro 2024 qualifier. Cyprus had previously earned 10 points from as many games in Euro 2020 qualifying. However, since then, they had failed to score a single point in their first five qualifiers.
At this point in the qualifying process, only two European underdogs—San Marino (21) and Liechtenstein (19)—have given up more goals than Cyprus (17). Temur Ketsbaia’s team is very certainly going to be eliminated from yet another big tournament.
The White and Blues lost both of their previous September games handily. They lost 3-0 at home to Scotland, the top team in Group A, and then suffered a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain, their worst loss since falling to Russia 6-0 in November 2021.
It should come as no surprise that Cyprus is at the bottom of Group A. Should they lose to Norway on Thursday or should Spain win against Scotland at home, they would officially be eliminated from contention to place in the top two.
One little advantage Ketsbaia’s team, who are rated 120th in the world by FIFA, will have going into Thursday’s game is that they have won four of their past seven home games across all competitions, including UEFA Nations League victory against Estonia and Greece.
Norway’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign started badly, as they only managed one point from their first three Group A games, losing to Scotland and Spain in between a 1-1 draw with Georgia.
The Lions, ranked 43rd in the world by FIFA, are still in the running for a top-two finish though, having defeated Georgia 2-1 last month thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard; they also recorded a convincing 6-0 friendly victory in between these two games.
Norway’s three-game winning streak has come at a perfect moment for Stale Solbakken’s team, who are now two points behind second-place Spain in Group A and sit third overall. The Lions take on Spain on Sunday in a potentially crucial matchup at home.
The Swedish team, who are aiming to make it to the European Championship for the first time since 2000, has defeated Cyprus in all 11 of their prior encounters, winning 3-1 at home in June and scoring 3 goals on 7 of those occasions.
But Norway’s road record isn’t great either—they’ve only won two of their past nine away Euro qualification matches and just three of their last eight road games in all competitions.
Also read: Croatia set to play Turkey Nations League
