Cyprus taken to the woodshed by Belgium despite promising start
UEFA EURO 2020 QUALIFYING - GROUP I (MATCHDAY 10)
Despite taking the lead in Brussels, Cyprus were handed a heavy 6-1 defeat against Belgium in their Euro 2020 qualifying finale.
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For the first 35 minutes, Cyprus looked like they belonged on the same pitch as a Belgian side that tops the FIFA World Rankings, but in the end, nothing went right for Cyprus as they were on the wrong end of a 6-1 beatdown at the hands of Belgium. After Nikolas Ioannou gave Cyprus the start they dreamed of, the Belgians scored six unanswered goals. Christian Benteke had the equalizer, one of two goals for him.
The turning point came in the 36th minute when debutant goalkeeper Neofytos Michael allowed an unacceptably bad goal to Kevin De Bruyne, also one of two for him, and quickly things got out of hand from that point on. Also scoring for Belgium was Yannick Carrasco, and there was an own goal charged to Kypros Christoforou as well.
With the win, Belgium top Group I earning all 30 possible points after winning all ten of their matches. Russia go through with them as they finished in second place with 24 points, losing only to Belgium twice, and otherwise winning all of their other matches. Scotland finish in third with 15 points, and thanks to their performance in the UEFA Nations League, they’re still alive via the qualifying playoffs in March. Cyprus finish in fourth place with ten points, ahead of Kazakhstan who also had ten points, based on head-to-head results. San Marino finish last with no points, having lost all of their matches and scoring just one goal.
THE MATCH
Belgium hosted Cyprus at the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels. Making his international debut in goal for Cyprus was Neofytos Michael. Also making his debut was defender Christos Wheeler. After a tentative first few minutes, the hosts generated their first chance with Kevin De Bruyne firing a hard shot that Michael managed to beat back.
Then, the unthinkable happened. Nikolas Ioannou intercepted a pass through the midfield and used his speed to split De Bruyne and Toby Alderweireld and then he placed a good finish past Simon Mignolet to give Cyprus a surprise opener and a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.
This lead was short-lived, however, as Christian Benteke headed the ball wide, but Yannick Carrasco kept it in play and got it back in front to Benteke, who despite still being on the ground, was able to direct it past Michael for a quick equalizer just two minutes later. Michael made saves on Eden Hazard and Benteke to keep it 1-1, and he seemed to be having a good debut.
Belgium are not a side any team wants to gift goals to, but unfortunately, the young Cypriot keeper did just that for them. De Bruyne had an effort on goal that severely lacked power and bounced three times, but inexplicably, Michael saw it go through his arms and past him. De Bruyne looked almost embarrassed to accept high fives from his teammates, but aesthetics aside, Belgium had their first lead at 2-1 in the 36th minute.
From there, the floodgates opened up. Six minutes later, De Bruyne beat Michael with a shot across the face of goal. While not nearly as cheap as the previous goal, it was a stoppable shot that eluded a now less than confident keeper.
Two minutes after that, the nightmare continued as Benteke connected with Carrasco who beat Michael through his legs. In fairness to Michael, he was moving side to side, but at any rate, it was 4-1 Belgium, and that remained the score at halftime.
The second half only brought more misery, Thorgan Hazard looked to set up Benteke, but instead, Kypros Christoforou directed it past Michael into his own goal, making it 5-1 for Belgium in the 51st minute.
Benteke made it 6-1 in the 68th minute when he bodied Ioannis Kousoulos off the ball and beat Michael with a low finish for his second goal. It seemed like he would get his hat trick when he rounded Michael, but Christoforou raced back and kept him from walking it in. Then Michael made a save on him on a shot from outside the box. It was a night to forget for Cyprus as they suffered through a harsh 6-1 defeat in the Belgian capital.
LINEUPS
Belgium (Roberto Martinez): 12. Simon Mignolet (GK), 2. Toby Alderweireld, 5. Jason Denayer, 7. Kevin De Bruyne (‘68 19. Dennis Praet), 8. Youri Tielemans, 10. Eden Hazard (Captain) (‘64 Yari Verschaeren), 11. Yannick Carrasco, 15. Elias Cobbaut, 16. Thorgan Hazard, 18. Hans Vanaken, 20. Christian Benteke (‘79 17. Divock Origi)
Cyprus (Ran Ben Shimon): 22. Neofytos Michael (GK), 3. Nikolas Ioannou (‘67 13. Ioannis Kousoulos), 4. Giorgos Merkis (Captain), 8. Chambos Kyriakou, 10. Pieros Sotiriou, 14. Christos Wheeler, 16. Matija Spoljaric (‘79 7. Giorgos Efraim), 17. Ioannis Kosti (‘81 15. Fotis Papoulis), 18. Kostakis Artymatas, 19. Kypros Christoforou, 20. Grigoris Kastanos
HIGHLIGHTS
