The Cyprus national football team enjoyed a winning start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Cyprus beat San Marino 2-0 at the AEK Arena in Larnaca, while missing several clear opportunities for a bigger scoreline in a game where the Cypriots were dominant from the start until the final whistle.

The match was part of Group 8 in the European Zone and marked the first game for the team under coach Apostolos Mantzios.

In the first half, the Cyprus maintained full control, pressured the opponent, and created chances to score, with the highlight being a hit on the crossbar by Tzionis in the 3rd minute, though they failed to take the lead.

Cyprus started the second half with the same determination and Pittas opened the score in the 54th minute, with Kakkoulis adding a second in the 86th minute.

Afterwards, Mantzios expressed his satisfaction with both the effort and the result, saying”we played a serious game without underestimating our opponent. If we had scored an early goal, things might have been easier for us. We showed determination and passion, and that was the most important thing”.

He added: “We wanted to win and put in a good performance, and I believe we achieved our goals with a well-deserved victory. There is always room for improvement, but more time is needed. We are taking things step by step. We express our thanks to the fans who came to support us, and I hope that they left satisfied with the team’s performance”.

Looking ahead to the upcoming match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, Mantzios commented: “I am always optimistic, while acknowledging the challenges we will face”.