CYPRUS – France: 0-3
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90th+5: It’s over!! The Bleuets won in Cyprus 0-3 and took the lead in group H. In a match that was not always controlled, Gérald Baticle’s men provided the essentials. On Tuesday, they will play the Euro qualifying match on Tuesday against Austria.
90th+3: And Neofytou who will finish the match limping. We feel that it is pulling on the Cypriot legs.
90th+2: And the first steps for Virginius with the Bleuets who replaces Millot for the last 3 minutes.
90th+1: We will play 5 minutes of added time in total.
89th: AND THE 0-3!!! Goal from Kouassi from a corner. The Sevillian appeared on the corner taken by Bakwa. His crossed head hits the mark.
87th: 1 is the number of shots on target by the Cypriot selection this evening. There will remain only one match against Bosnia Herzegovina on Tuesday to avoid finishing this qualifying phase without a victory.
84th: And two new changes on the French side with the return of Kalimuendo and Diouf who replace Ekitike and Akliouche.
81st: The Bleuets, who had 6 corners to play, were not efficient in this area this evening.
79th: Extremely laborious second period, whether on the pitch with a choppy match or some confusion over the changes.
77th: And the first changes for the Bleuets with the exit of Gusto, replaced by Sildillia and the exit of Tchaouna replaced by Bakwa.
75th: Four changes for Cyprus, with the entries of Kattirtzis, Andreou, Themistokleous and Antoniou in place of another Andreou, Foti, Satsias and Vikoros.
73rd: And this time, Viktoros is going to come out, the adductors have failed. Antoniou will be able to return.
70th: Gérald Baticle’s men have done the hard part now. And Tchaouna’s interesting match is rewarded with an assist.
68th: And the BUUUUUUT of deliverance for Akliouche. The Bleuets take the break just as the match was starting to put us to sleep. And what a pass from Lepenant who launches Tchaouna in depth. The Roman puts it back for Akliouche who hits hard under the bar at the entrance to the area.
65th: Lepenant sanctioned for an intervention on Viktoros. But the Bleuets are too easy in the middle even though there is technical quality up front. Good free kick ahead for the locals.
63rd: Still no change on the Bleuets side, yet there are some good people on the bench with Kalimuendo, Diouf, Agoumé… As a reminder, Cherki, Tel and Doué withdrew before the rally.
61st: And good intervention from Angelopoulos who covered his goalkeeper on a strong cross from Malo Gusto in front of the goal.
60th: For the moment, the Bleuets have attempted 9 strikes, compared to 3 for the Cypriots.
57th: Gérald Baticle’s men try to find the loophole to score the break goal but faced with a low and compact block, it is not as obvious as in the first leg a year ago (9-0).
55e : And the response from Remains ! Important save from the Bleuets goalkeeper who quickly went to the ground to deflect a left shot 25m from Neofytou.
54th: And Tchaouna comes up against Kyriakou. Superbly served by Akliouche, the Lazio player tries to strike with first intention but sees the Cypriot goalkeeper impose himself in front of him.
53rd: Finally, things got better for Viktoros who stayed on the pitch and took his place again.
52nd: And first change of the match for Cyprus. Viktoros comes out injured, and will be replaced by Antoniou.
50th: Foul by Malo Gusto who hit Satsias in an aerial duel. It’s light but it deserved to be punished.
49th: Lepenant completely unscrews his shot. At the penalty point, the Nantes player takes a low cross from Ekitike which goes wide of the target.
48th: Lukeba very vigilant in front of his area. As in the first act, the Cypriots will try to hurt in depth. A weak point that the Bleuets have been trying to resolve for several months.
46th: And already an acceleration from Tchaouna, who gets the corner. The Lazio player didn’t come close to scoring in the first half during his first start with the Bleuets.
46th: It’s back to Achna! The Bleuets lead but can do much better.
45th+12: Half-time! The Bleuets lead 0-1 in Cyprus thanks to a goal from Hugo Ekitike. Gérald Baticle’s men hold the ball but lack the movement to achieve this domination. The locals had interesting opportunities but should lack the resources to hold on in this particularly long game after an interruption of more than 10 minutes.
45th+11: Almost half-time after this very long first period.
45th+8: The Bleuets try to pass through the left side of Tchaouna, the one favored in this first act. But it’s too timid to move the locals.
45th+5: The Chelsea player will take his place again. It appears to be a blow to the ankle.
45th+4: Guillaume Restes puts the ball into touch while Malo Gusto is on the ground, visibly injured in the right ankle.
45th+3: Foul by Doukouré at the central circle. The Strasbourg resident is forced to slow down the very restless Vrontis.
45th+1: Gérald Baticle’s men continue their long sequences of possession. It still lacks verticality and in particular movement. Akliouche is very discreet at the start of the match.
45th: As a reminder, the Bleuets lead 0-1 against Cyprus thanks to a goal from Hugo Ekitike after the match was interrupted due to a lighting problem. If we leave it there, the French will enter the 10th and final day on Tuesday at the top of their group H.
42nd: Long opening towards Akliouche, to the right of the lawn. The Monegasque controls before crossing at the 2nd post… where there is no one.
40th: And new intervention from Guillaume Restes! The French goalkeeper comes out with his fists to repel a free kick from Foti. On the next action, the Cypriot takes a yellow for having stopped Ekitike’s counter-attack.
38th: Foti tries to attack the French team’s surface. His hook does not beat a vigilant Doukouré who even gets the goal kick.
36th: Superb return from Neofytou who came to tackle the ball at the feet of Malo Gusto who was attacking his right lane.
34th: Gérald Baticle’s men keep control of the ball with passing circuits. The Cypriot pressing is too inconsistent to worry the Bleuets.
32nd: Ekitike for 2nd? The former Parisian placed himself on his right foot before striking. It’s diverted for a corner.
30th: The Bleuets returned ideally after this interruption. And Ekitike confirms the expectations placed on him.
28th: BUUUUUUUT OF EKITIKE FOR THE BLUEBERRIES! Pressed in its area, the France team comes out brilliantly before launching a counter-attack. Millot launches Ekitike who arrives alone in the Cypriot area before adjusting the goalkeeper with a right shot from a tight angle.
26th: The clock has not stopped but the referee indicates that we will play another 30 minutes minimum in this first period.
6:56 p.m.: The match will resume, the players are placed… The lighting is back!
6:51 p.m.: The Bleuets are keeping warm by doing a series of juggles in the middle of the lawn during this light outage…
16th: More light at the stadium!! Quite an eccentric scene but the match will be interrupted while the spotlights are put back on.
15e : Oh opportunity for Cyprus ! And what a ball dived again towards Koutsakos who tries to tackle the ball on the fall. It misses the mark.
13th: Small mistake from Enzo Millot who was fooled by a fine dribble from Vrontis.
12th: Cyprus’ response with Shikkis coming to provoke on the right. Belocian resists but offers a touch 25m from his goal.
10th: The post for Lepenant!!! A messy situation in the Cypriot area with Tchaouna accelerating but the ball falls to the feet of the Nantes player who finds the post before obtaining a corner.
9th: A man to also follow this evening: Enzo Millot, captain of this Espoirs selection. The Stuttgart midfielder (22 years old) continues his progress, to the point of already attracting attention from the A selection and Didier Deschamps.
8th: First opportunity for Cyprus. Superb dive ball from Foti for Koutsakos who arrives in the area. Remains imposes itself with authority.
7th: We hear Gaël Clichy asking Malo Gusto to position himself even higher on the pitch. The same for Jeanuel Belocian, who nevertheless has a more defensive profile.
6th: As in the first leg a year ago in Grenoble, the Cypriots are deprived of the ball. One-way possession.
4e : Huge opportunity for the Bleuets!!! Gusto overflows on the right and crosses to the 2nd post where Tchaouna tries a left shot that is a little too cross.
3rd: First start this evening for Loum Tchaouna (21 years old). The Lazio player goes off a lot at the start of the match.
2nd: First big sequence from the French who move up the block as the ball circulates. But on a loss of ball, the Cypriots plan but are quickly stopped by Lukeba.
1st: Let’s go for this match between Cyprus and the France Espoirs team! The Bleuets (in white) kick off.
6:27 p.m.: The players enter the pitch, perfect weather with 25° and a dry climate.
18h25 : Et le 11 des Cypriotes et un 3-5-2 : Kyriakou – Christodoulou, Angelopoulos, Vikoros – Neofytou, Satsias, Vrontis, Andreou, Shikkis – Koutsakos, Foti.
18h24 : The composition of the France Espoirs team with a 4-3-3 and the tenure of a brilliant Hugo Ekitike at the start of the season: Remains – Belocian, Lukeba, Kouassi, Gusto – Millot (cap), Lepenant, Doukouré – Akliouche, Ekitike, Tchaouna.
6:23 p.m.: Les Bleuets are deprived of Désiré Doué (PSG), Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich) and Rayan Cherki (Lyon) injured.
6:22 p.m.: Last with 2 points and no match won, Cyprus has nothing left to hope for in this qualifying phase.
6:20 p.m.: In the first leg, the Bleuets won comfortably against the Cypriots (9-0) with doubles from Kalimuendo, Cherki and Tel.
6:19 p.m.: As a reminder, all the first group winners will qualify for the Euro, and the 3 best teams second in the group will also advance to the final phase. The other 2nds will play in the play-offs.
6:17 p.m.: Surprised by the departure of Thierry Henry after Olympic silver, the French team resumed with Gérald Baticle last September and a draw against Austria (1-1) and a victory against Bosnia-Herzegovina .
6:14 p.m.: The Bleuets must win to try to qualify directly for the Euro. 2nd (13 points) behind Slovenia (16 points with one more match), Gerarld Baticle’s men will perhaps play a Group H final on Tuesday against Austria in Nancy.
6:13 p.m.: Hello everyone! Delighted to bring you the meeting between Cyprus and the France Espoirs team! 9th and penultimate day of qualifying for Euro 2025. Kick-off at 6:30 p.m. at Ethnikos Achnas.
LIVE CYPRUS/FRANCE ESPOIRS – EURO 2025 QUALIFICATION – 6:30 p.m. – Ethnikos Achnas (Achna)
