The two Nations were involved in Nations League fixture in September, with Cyprus suffering a 5-1 thrashing away to Kosovo, while the visitors secured a narrow 1-0 win over North Macedonia.
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Cyprus will host Bulgaria in an international friendly match at AEK Arena on Wednesday evening. Both sides have not qualified for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, as the hosts finished fifth in Group H of the UEFA Qualifiers, while Bulgaria managed to secure only a fourth place finish in Group C. Meanwhile, the two Nations were involved in Nations League fixture in September, with Cyprus suffering a 5-1 thrashing away to Kosovo, while the visitors secured a narrow 1-0 win over North Macedonia.
🎙 “За нас предстоящите два мача с Кипър и Люксембург съвсем не са приятелски. Точно обратното – подхождаме към тях изключително сериозно, защото още търсим облика си.” Това заяви селекционерът на България Младен Кърстаич преди утрешната среща с Кипър в Ларнака 🇨🇾🆚🇧🇬 pic.twitter.com/N54YfG1Ysd
— Team Bulgaria (@Team_Bulgaria) November 15, 2022
Both nations will be playing their first match since completing disappointing campaigns in the UEFA Nations League. Cyprus finished at the bottom of League C Group 2 while Lions managed to secure a second-place finish in League C Group 4, not enough to earn promotion. Cyprus’ last outing against Kosova ended in a 5-1 defeat despite the fact that Valentin Roberge got on the scoresheet. Prior to that, Temuri Ketsbaia’s side secured a narrow 1-0 win over Greece courtesy of Marinos Tzionis’ early goal. Bulgaria, on the other hand, got the better of North Macedonia on September 27 courtesy of Kiril Despodiv’s 50th-minute goal. The Lions will also take on Luxembourg in a friendly on November 20 before beginning their EURO 2024 qualifiers against Montenegro late in March. Bulgaria are drawn in Group G alongside Hungary, Lithuania, Serbia and Montenegro.
Cyprus probable starting lineup: Panagi, Andreou, Katelaris, Roberge, Laifis, Kyriakou, Gogic, Loizou, Kastanos, Efrem, Kakoullis
Bulgaria probable starting lineup: Maumov, Nedyalkov, Antov, Galabov, Turitsov, Gruev, Karabelyov, Petkov, Iliev, Kirilov, Despodov
Cyprus
| Opponents | Score |
| Kosovo | 5-1 (L) |
| Greece | 1-0 (W) |
| Northern Ireland | 2-2 (D) |
| Greece | 3-0 (L) |
| Northern Ireland | 0-0 (D) |
Bulgaria
| Opponents | Score |
| Macedonia | 0-1 (W) |
| Gibraltar | 5-1 (W) |
| Georgia | 0-0 (D) |
| Gibraltar | 1-1 (D) |
| Georgia | 2-5 (L) |
| Last 5 match results |
| Cyprus 1-1 Bulgaria |
| Bulgaria 2-1 Cyprus |
| Bulgaria 1-0 Cyprus |
| Cyprus 0-1 Bulgaria |
| Cyprus 4-1 Bulgaria |
The international friendly match between Cyprus and Bulgaria will take place at AEK ARENA on Wednesday at 10:30 pm IST.
| Cyprus vs Bulgaria | Key details |
| Date | November 16 |
| Venue | AEK ARENA |
| Kickoff time in Cyprus | 7:00 pm |
| Kickoff time in Bulgaria | 7:00 pm |
For the Football fans in Cyprus, live telecast of the match will be available on RIK 2. Meanwhile, those in Bulgaria can catch the live action via BNT News App, bnt.bg and BNT 3.
