Will the Zmajevi pass this test?
While the Cyprus national soccer team has never reached a World Cup final tournament before, Bosnia and Herzegovina already got a taste of World Cup action in Brazil in 2014. Since then, the Zmajevi (English: the Dragons) have been eager to participate in another major tournament.
Next summer could be their chance. However, after four wins, they recently suffered a painful 1-2 home defeat against their fiercest rivals, Austria. If Sergej Barbarez’s team fails to win away against Cyprus, they will no longer be able to qualify directly.
For the Cypriot team, on the other hand, there is not much at stake. With only four points out of a possible 15, it is already clear that the football minnows can no longer qualify and will have to wait for their World Cup debut despite the expansion of the tournament. Defensively, the islanders from the eastern Mediterranean have been solid, conceding only seven goals, but they have also scored only four goals themselves – two of them in a 2-0 win over San Marino. As a result, our Cyprus vs. Bosnia prediction leans toward an away win for the Bosnians, who are clearly the stronger team.
Sergej Barbarez’s team may be in for a game of patience in Larnaca, as the home side are likely to sit deep and hope for counter-attacking opportunities. Ultimately, it shouldn’t be a high-scoring game, which is why the safer option, which wouldn’t categorically rule out results such as 0-0 or 1-1, is to bet on the match combo of double chance X2 with under 3.5 goals.
Cyprus – Bosnia Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 2 – 0 – 3
The two nations have faced each other five times so far, with Bosnia coming out on top with three wins. The Zmajevi won 2–1 against the Cyprus national football team in front of their home crowd in March this year and now want to win the return match in Larnaca to keep their chances of direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup alive.
Cyprus – Bosnia Tip
The top bookmakers are also clearly favoring the Zmajevi in the Cyprus vs. Bosnia match, who, with the exception of a 1-2 defeat to Austria, have won all of their first four group matches in the World Cup qualifiers – including the first leg against the Cypriot team. Basically, Barbarez’s team has enough offensive punch, but will probably still struggle for a while against a team that is likely to park the bus in their own penalty area.
A high-scoring match is certainly not a foregone conclusion at the AEK Arena in Larnaca. All in all, however, we still think that an away win for the Zmajevi is the most likely outcome in Cyprus vs. Bosnia, as they have the kind of players up front who can make the difference in tight games, including the ever-present Edin Dzeko. We are betting straightforwardly on an away win for the Bosnian team, which we are playing at Bet365 at odds of 1.87 with four out of ten units.
