The Matchday 4 World Cup 2026 qualifier between Romania and Cyprus will take place on June 9 at the National Stadium Bucharest in Bucharest. Romania vs. Cyprus: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Romania
Mircea Lucescu's side began this qualifying cycle with two defeats, punctuated by a large victory. The team lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina (0-1) and Austria (1-2), but defeated San Marino (5-1). The upcoming match will be their second home game in this World Cup qualifying campaign. Notably, Romania has avoided defeat at home in 6 of their last 8 World Cup qualification matches.
- At least one team failed to score in 6 of Romania's last 8 home games in the qualifying cycle.
- In two head-to-head meetings in World Cup qualification, Romania has won both times.
- The team has not conceded more than 2 goals in their last 10 World Cup qualifying matches.
Predicted lineup for Romania (4-4-2)
Horatiu Moldovan – Andrei Ratiu, Mihai Popescu, Andrei Burca, Nicusor Bancu – Razvan Marin, Nicolae Stanciu, Dennis Man, Vlad Chiriches – Denis Dragus, Daniel Birligea.
Cyprus
Apostolos Mantzios' team started this qualifying campaign with a victory over San Marino (2-0), then lost to Bosnia with a score of 1-2. Cyprus skipped the third round, playing a friendly match with Bulgaria (2-2). In the Group H standings, the team is in third place. It's worth noting that Cyprus has managed a clean sheet in only one of their last 9 World Cup qualification matches.
- In 8 of the last 9 encounters in this tournament, the islanders have conceded at least two goals.
- Cyprus has an 8-match losing streak in away World Cup qualifiers.
- The team failed to score in 6 of their last 8 away games in World Cup qualification.
Predicted lineup for Cyprus (4-4-2)
Joel Mall – Nicholas Panayiotou, Andreas Siikkis, Christos Shelis, Kostas Pileas – Charalambos Kyriakou, Marinos Tzionis, Grigoris Kastanos, Ioannis Kosti – Antonio Foti, Nicholas Koutsakos.
Forward Ioannis Pittas is suspended.
Referee
Donatas Rumšas (Lithuania)
Matches – 10 (International matches, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 31;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.1;
Red cards shown – 4;
Average fouls per match – 25;
Penalties – 20%.
Romania vs. Cyprus: Match Prediction
The match against Romania will be Cyprus' second consecutive away game in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers. In their previous match, they lost 1-2 to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Notably, Cyprus has failed to win in 8 of their last 9 World Cup qualifying matches. The islanders often struggle to even open the scoring, having failed to score in 6 of their last 8 away qualification games.
Meanwhile, Romania has no issues with their defense. The team has not conceded more than 1 goal in 8 of their last 10 World Cup qualification matches. In 6 of these 8 matches, their opponents failed to score against Romania.
I believe Cyprus will not be able to open the scoring this time either.
My prediction: Cyprus Individual Total Under 0.5
* The starting lineup for each team is based on their previous match in this tournament.
