Cyprus Seeks Redemption in Friendly with Estonia After World Cup Qualifying Woes

On Tuesday, November 16th, 2025, Cyprus will welcome Estonia to the AEK Arena in Larnaca for an international friendly match. The island nation, ranked 125th in the world, is looking to put their World Cup qualifying disappointment behind them after missing out on a spot in the 2026 tournament.

Cyprus' World Cup qualifying campaign had started on a positive note, with a 2-0 victory over San Marino in their opening fixture. However, their next five games yielded only two points, despite fighting back from two-goal deficits to draw 2-2 against Romania and Bosnia. In their second match against San Marino, Akis Mantzios' side secured a 4-0 away win, but then lost 2-0 at home to Austria in their final qualifier.

Now, Cyprus turns their attention to the friendly against Estonia, who also endured a frustrating World Cup qualifying campaign in Group I, collecting only four points from eight matches and finishing last in the group. The Blueshirts, sitting five places below Cyprus in the world rankings, have won just once from nine games this year, a 3-2 victory over Moldova in a World Cup qualifier back in March. Their only friendly so far in 2025 also ended in a 0-0 draw against Andorra.

Despite their recent struggles, Cyprus has enjoyed a relatively good year in 2025 and will come into the fixture with a lot of momentum. Estonia's dreadful run should give the hosts further confidence, and they are likely to pick up another victory in this friendly match.