The Matchday 6 World Cup 2026 qualifier between Cyprus and Romania will take place on September 9 at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia. Cyprus vs. Romania: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Cyprus
In the previous round, Apostolos Mantzios' side suffered a 0-1 away defeat to Austria. This loss was Cyprus' ninth in their last 11 World Cup qualifiers (1 win, 1 draw). Moreover, the team failed to score in seven of those matches. In the group standings, Cyprus has three points and is in fourth place.
- The team has not lost in regular time in 7 of their last 10 home World Cup qualifiers (4 wins, 3 draws).
- At least one opponent failed to score in 5 of Cyprus' last 6 home European qualifiers.
- Cyprus has not scored in the second half in 5 of their last 7 home World Cup qualifiers.
Predicted lineup for Cyprus (4-4-2)
Fabiano Freitas – Andreas Shekki, Konstantinos Laifis, Christos Shelis, Kostas Pileas – Charalambos Charalambous, Kostakis Artymatas, Grigoris Kastanos, Loizos Loizou – Marinos Tzionis, Ioannis Pittas.
Romania
In the current qualifying cycle, the team has won two matches and lost two. As a result, Romania has accumulated six points with a goal difference of 8:4 and sits in third place in the group. Notably, Romania's scoring record in World Cup qualifiers is not high: in their last nine matches, they scored more than one goal in only three. Recently, Romania played a friendly against Canada, losing 0-3.
- The team has not won in regular time in 8 of their last 11 away World Cup qualifiers (3 draws, 5 losses).
- The team scored exactly 1 or 2 goals in 6 of their last 8 away European qualifiers.
- Romania has not conceded in the first half in 8 of their last 9 away World Cup qualifiers.
Predicted lineup for Romania (4-3-3)
Horatiu Moldovan – Andrei Ratiu, Virgil Ghiță, Andrei Burcă, Nicușor Bancu – Răzvan Marin, Nicolae Stanciu, Marius Marin – Dennis Man, Denis Drăguș, Alex Dobre.
Referee
Matej Jug (Slovenia)
Matches – 13 (International matches, 2024/25–2025/26);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 59;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.5;
Red cards shown – 3;
Average fouls per match – 26;
Penalties – 31%.
Cyprus vs. Romania: Match Prediction
Despite not achieving significant success in World Cup qualifiers, Cyprus often puts up a fight at home. In their last ten home World Cup qualifiers, the team has lost only three times, and only twice did they lose by more than one goal – against Croatia and Russia.
Romania has not been very convincing in away matches: in their last 11 away European qualifiers, they have won only three times. Two of these victories were against some of the weakest European teams – Liechtenstein and San Marino. Additionally, during this period, Romania failed to win against Kazakhstan (0:0) and lost to Armenia (2:3).
I expect the hosts to offer strong resistance to Romania. My prediction: Cyprus with a handicap (+1.5)
* The lineup for each team reflects their starting lineup in their previous match.
