Cyprus closed its run in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with a 2–0 defeat to Austria on Saturday night at Alphamega Stadium in Limassol.
Marko Arnautović for the visitors opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 18th minute and doubled the lead in the 55th.
The result leaves Cyprus on 8 points at the end of the campaign. Austria climbs to 18 points and turns its attention to Tuesday’s decisive meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The match was attended by 7,000 fans.
Cyprus suffered a 4–2 defeat on Tuesday night in a friendly game against Estonia at Alphamega Stadium in Limassol.
Angelos Andreou opened the scoring in the 16th minute for Cyprus, but the Estonians equalised in the 44th minute through an own goal by Kyprianou.
With a close-range finish by Kakoullis in the 49th minute, Cyprus regained the lead. However, the players of Estonia turned the game around with a hat-trick from Sappinen in the 78th, 83rd and 86th minutes, sealing a 4–2 final score.
