The Alphamega Stadium hosts Cyprus and Spain this Thursday in a game Spain needs to win to stay top of the group. As the group has already been decided, a result here for Cyprus would just manage to get some points on the board.
Cyprus currently sit bottom of Group A after seven games. In those seven games, Cyprus have only managed seven losses, which leaves them on zero points, seven points away from their nearest competitors Georgia.
In their last five games in all competitions, Cyprus have five losses. The first of these came against Norway. A goal from Ola Solbakken and a brace from Erling Haaland gave Norway a strong 3 - 0 lead going into the closing stage of the game. Grigoris Kastanos did put Cyprus on the scoresheet, but it was too late as Norway won 3 - 1. The visit from Scotland was another thrashing for Cyprus as Scott McTominay, Ryan Porteous and John McGinn all scored in the 3 - 0 win for Scotland.
However, it was an even bigger scoreline the last time these two teams met. The 6 - 0 loss for Cyprus saw them with just one shot, just 18% of the possession and only 181 completed passes. Alexander Sorloth and Fredrik Aursnes both scored for Norway and Haaland bagged another brace in the 4 - 0 win for Norway.
The last time out for Cyprus was against fellow strugglers Georgia. However, goals from Otar Kiteshvili, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, Levan Shengelia and Georges Mikautadze gave Georgia the dominant 4 - 0 win.
Spain, on the other hand, have already qualified for the 2024 Euros and sit top of Group A due to a vastly superior goal difference. In six games Spain have five wins and one loss, leaving them level with Scotland.
In their last five games in all competitions, Spain have five wins. The first win came in the Nations League Final against Croatia. After a goalless draw, Bruno Petkovic and Lovro Majer both missed their penalties to give Spain the 4 - 5 win. Giorgi Chakvetadze did manage to get Georgia on the scoresheet, but the Georgian defence were unable to stop the storm from Spain. Alvaro Morata grabbed a hat-trick and was joined in the goals by Dani Olmo, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal and an own goal from Solomon Kvirkveila secured the 7 - 1 win for Spain.
Another big win came against this week’s opponent Cyprus. Gavi, Mikel Merino, Joselu and Alex Baena all scored along with a brace from Ferran Torres gave Spain the 6 - 0 win. Morata was on the scoresheet again for Spain against Scotland and was joined by Oihan Sancet as Spain beat their main group rivals 2 - 0, holding the Scots to just one shot on target.
The most recent outing for Spain was against Norway. Gavi grabbed the only goal of the game in the second half to give Spain the 1 - 0 win and qualification despite having just two shots on target all game.
Cyprus and Spain have met nine times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in 1971. Spain dominate this fixture with eight wins, but in 1998 Cyprus did snag a shock win, with there never being a draw in this fixture.