U21: Cyprus hit five at the Stadium, fine Sammaritani goal ruled out

A harsh verdict for the Under-21 National Team, handed down by Cyprus in the match that closes out the calendar year and also marks the halfway point in qualifying for Euro 2027. The 5-0 scoreline at the Stadium gives the islanders their first points and also their first goals in Group A. There are many changes in Matteo Cecchetti’s starting eleven compared to Lugo. In particular, Julian Pierini starts on the left flank, making his absolute debut with the Under-21 National Team. The visitors are dangerous straight away with Papastylianou breaking free down the left, followed by a dribble and an excellent cross for Pattichis, who turns in the box and shaves the post. A minute later, and from roughly the same spot, Dimitris Solomou has a go, released by a perfectly weighted through ball from Vrontis: a left-footed effort that looks almost certain to go in, but is deflected – fortunately for Jacopo Casadei and his team-mates. The young Titans push up the pitch by clinging to Salicioni’s strength. The centre-forward wins an interesting free-kick in the final third, which Della Balda takes: the ball flashes across to the far post, where Pierini adjusts his body for a placed effort that, however, comes off his right foot too centrally. Stylianou makes a routine save and the same, more or less, can be said of Jacopo Casadei’s stop on Pattichis’ long-range shot: the San Marino keeper produces a fine dive but deals with it comfortably. Cyprus increase their presence in the light blue half, breaking the deadlock just before the quarter-hour. The move develops down the left: Papastylianou waits for the lightning overlap from Andreou, who keeps his cool and spots Vrontis’ run into the middle of the box; for the Cypriot captain, at that point, it’s easy to steer the ball where Casadei cannot reach. The keeper does get there, however, to Athanasiou, who had broken into the six-yard box and was about to deliver the finish for 2-0. The tempo then drops off until the final minutes of the half. In that spell, Guerra is forced off with a physical problem and is replaced by Domeniconi. Jacopo Casadei has to pull off a huge save on a powerful Papastylianou header, perfectly picked out by Athanasiou. As in Spain, the very last moments prove fatal. Andreou exploits a corridor that is far too open to reach the edge of the area, from where he unleashes a left-footer perfect in both power and accuracy: into the top corner for 2-0.

At the start of the second half Arlotti comes on for Pierini. For Cyprus, Tzouliou enters and immediately catches the eye with a surge into the box, capped with a shot from an excellent position: Jacopo Casadei works miracles with the help of the post, then Bugli steps in to clear the six-yard box. The San Marino keeper is the protagonist again on 54 minutes: Viktoros plays a long ball in behind for Athanasiou, who breaks into the area, skips past Zavoli but then has to deal with the brave and crucial intervention of the home goalkeeper. Cyprus stay camped in the danger area and within a minute make it three. Not without protests from the home side, though. On Viktoros’ low cross, Casadei goes to collect but Papastylianou still manages to stick a foot between the keeper’s gloves and stab home from point-blank range. No foul, says the referee. It’s 3-0. The lead becomes four on 63 minutes thanks to a delightful finish from Athanasiou: a right-footed curler into the top corner giving Casadei no chance. In the meantime, there had been an incident that had set the Stadium crowd alight. Della Balda conjured up a perfect cross for Sammaritani’s run to the far post, the forward having just come on. He met it first time, sending the ball into the net off the inside of the post: all in vain, though, as the assistant’s flag went up for offside, amid plenty of doubt. Alongside the aforementioned Sammaritani, Marco Gasperoni and Chiaruzzi also come on. Jacopo Casadei gets his hands to a Neophytou effort. In the closing stages the Titans grow in enterprise. Sammaritani lets fly after a stylish slalom run, winning a deflection that earns a corner. Shortly after, Domeniconi tries his luck from the edge of the box but can’t keep his shot down. The 4-0 looks destined for the record books, but once again in the second half the final minutes are punishing. This time, in particular, it’s stoppage time that hurts. Jacopo Casadei and Zavoli fail to read each other on the very first phase of the build-up, allowing Prokopiou to pounce on the ball; he collides with the onrushing keeper but leaves the ball at the feet of Neophytou, who rolls it into an empty net to complete the rout. In effect, it is the last action of the match and also of the Under-21 National Team’s 2025.

Under-21, Euro 2027 qualifying | San Marino – Cyprus 0-5

SAN MARINO (4-1-4-1)

J. Casadei; Guerra (36’ Domeniconi), Riggioni, Zavoli, Bugli; M. Casadei (60’ Sammaritani); Canarezza, Cervellini (60’ Chiaruzzi), Della Balda (74’ M. Gasperoni), Pierini (46’ Arlotti); Salicioni

Substitutes: Amici, Ciacci, Riccardi, Protti

Coach: Matteo Cecchetti

CYPRUS (4-4-2)

Stylianou; Andreou, Yiannacou, Viktoros, Djiama (68’ Neophytou); Papastylianou (79’ S. Solomou), Vrontis (79’ Prokopiou), Pattichis, Athanasiou; D. Solomou (68’ Kyriacou), Georgiou (46’ Tzouliou)

Substitutes: Michail, Charalambous, Christou

Coach: Konstantinos Makridis

Referee: Ilioski Vlatko (MKD)

Assistant referees: Daniel Vasilevski and Boris Trajkov (MKD)

Fourth official: Benjamin Kjerimi (MKD)

Booked: M. Casadei, Riggioni, Vrontis, Athanasiou

Scorers: 14’ Vrontis, 45’ Andreou, 55’ Papastylianou, 63’ Athanasiou, 90+2’ Neophytou