Preview: Cyprus vs Belarus - prediction, team news, lineups

Cyprus return to home soil on Thursday evening to host Belarus in an international friendly at the GSP Stadium, with another fixture against Moldova scheduled four days later.

The match offers the hosts a valuable opportunity to assess their squad and build momentum as they continue their long-term development under the national setup, while Belarus, now under new leadership, will hope to put a difficult few years behind them.

Match preview

The Cyprus national team return to action for the first time in 2026 following the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where the White and Blues finished fourth in Group H with eight points from two wins, two draws and four defeats.

Apostolos Mantzios’s men have won only two of their previous ten matches in all competitions, with both victories and six of their 11 goals during the qualifying campaign coming against bottom side San Marino, including a 4-0 win last time out that ended a six-game winless run.

Currently ranked 128th in the 2026 FIFA World Rankings, Cyprus will use this international window to prepare for the 2026–2027 UEFA Nations League, which begins in September, where they have been placed in Group C2 alongside Montenegro, Armenia, and either Latvia or Gibraltar.

Cyprus face Belarus on Thursday before hosting Moldova on Monday, with Mantzios naming a 25-man squad for the two home friendlies.

Three players have received their first senior call-ups - Panagiotis Andreou and Angelos Neophytou of Omonia Nicosia, along with Stavros Georgiou of Omonia Aradippou, while AEK Larnaca’s Andreas Paraskevas returns to the national team after nearly five years, having last been called up in May 2021.

The invited players are Neophytos Michael, Andreas Paraskevas, Panagiotis Kyriakou, Andreas Siikkis, Giannis Satsias, Evagoras Antoniou, Christos Sielis, Stelios Andreou, Nicholas Panagiotou, George Malekkidis, Anderson Correa, Costas Pileas, Ioannis Kousoulos, Charalambos Kyriakou, Panagiotis Andreou, Ioannis Kostis, Charalambos Charalambous, Gregory Kastanos, Nikolas Koutsakos, Andronikos Kakoulli, Stavros Georgiou, Angelos Neophytos, Evangelos Andreou, Loizos Loizos and Ioannis Pittas.

Historically, encounters between Cyprus and Belarus have been limited, with each side recording one victory in previous meetings, adding an extra layer of intrigue to Thursday’s clash as both teams look to fine-tune their systems rather than simply chase a result.

Belarus are entering a new era following the appointment of former BATE Borisov head coach Viktor Gancharenko, who replaced Carlos Alos in January after the Spaniard parted ways with the federation in December.

Alos oversaw a disappointing World Cup qualifying campaign in which Belarus failed to win any of their six Group C matches, finishing bottom with two points and four defeats, including home losses to Denmark and Scotland despite ending the campaign with two draws.

With Gancharenko now in charge, there is growing optimism that Belarus can turn things around after failing to win any of their last seven matches in all competitions and going ten competitive games without victory since September 2024.

This international window provides Belarus with an opportunity to prepare for the UEFA Nations League, where they will compete in Group C1 alongside Albania, Finland and San Marino.

Ahead of fixtures against Cyprus and Armenia, Gancharenko has named a 25-man squad, with particular attention drawn to the inclusion of forward Karen Vardanyan.

The 22-year-old Dynamo Minsk attacker, who is of Armenian descent through his father but raised by his Belarusian mother, has previously received call-ups but is yet to make his official debut, despite repeatedly stating his commitment to representing Belarus.

The squad includes goalkeepers Mikhail Kozakevich, Pavel Pavlyuchenko and Fyodor Lapoukhov; defenders Kirill Pechenin, Pavel Zabelin, Egor Parkhomenko, Roman Begunov, Vladislav Kalinin, Zakhar Volkov, Gleb Shevchenko and Ivan Tikhomirov; midfielders Ruslan Lisakovich, Maksim Kireev, Alexander Selyava, Valery Gromyko, Evgeny Yablonski, Yuri Kovalev, Artyom Kontsevoy, Daniil Galyata and Max Ebong; and forwards German Barkovsky, Alexander Shestyuk, Karen Vardanyan, Vladislav Morozov and Artyom Shumansky.

Cyprus form (all competitions):

LDDWLL

Belarus form (all competitions):

LLLLDD

Team News

Mantzios has handed first-time call-ups to Andreou and Neophytou of Omonia Nicosia, along with Georgiou of Omonia Aradippou.

There is also a return to the national team for AEK Larnaca star Paraskevas after a five-year absence, having last been called up in May 2021.

Gancharenko, meanwhile, has included Vardanyan in his first squad announcement, with the forward hoping to make his official debut for Belarus during this international window.

Belarus showed signs of stabilisation in their last two matches, and the new coach may look to build on that foundation while also improving attacking efficiency in the coming fixtures.

Cyprus possible starting lineup:

Giorgallidis; Lambrou, Christou, Garpozis, Nikolaou, Okkas, Charalambidis, Satsias, Alonevtis, Makridis, Konstantinou

Belarus possible starting lineup:

Lapoukhov; Parkhomenko, Kalinin, Zabelin; Kireev, Ebong, Yablonski, Selyava; Shestyuk, Vardanyan, Barkovsky

We say: Cyprus 1-2 Belarus

Cyprus enter this fixture following a 4-2 defeat to Estonia in November, a result that means they have beaten only San Marino and Lithuania in their last 31 matches, while Belarus arrive after a goalless draw against an improving Greece side and competitive performances against Denmark and Scotland.

With Cyprus trending negatively and Belarus showing signs of improvement under new leadership, backing the visitors to edge a closely contested encounter appears to be a solid option.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.