Apostolos Mantzios was hired as the new manager of the Cypriot national team in January, and he will now embark on his maiden voyages in that role with a pair of World Cup qualifiers, first at home to San Marino and then away to Bosnia-Herzegovina, as the road to North America begins, as Cyprus seeks to qualify for its first major tournament, the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The 55 year old Greek manager has selected mostly the usual suspects, a face not seen in a while in Ioannis Kosti who hasn’t played for Cyprus since 2020, and one first-time callup in Andreas Shikkis. Cyprus have won all seven previous meetings with San Marino and have beaten Bosnia-Herzegovina twice in their previous four meetings. The match against San Marino will be Friday in Larnaca at the Giorgos Karapatakis AEK Arena, and then they will travel to the Bosnian city of Zenica on the 24th to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina. GOALKEEPERS: Joel Mall(Servette), Neofytos Michael(Pafos FC), Dimitris Demetriou(Apollonas) DEFENDERS: Kostas Laifis(APOEL), Stelios Andreou(Charleroi), Anderson Correia(Aris Limassol), Nikolas Panayiotou(Omonoia), Hector Kyprianou(Peterborough United), Kostas Pileas(Pafos FC), Christos Shelis(Panaitolikos), Giorgos Malekkidis(Apollonas), Andreas Shikkis(Omonoia Aradippou) MIDFIELDERS: Kostakis Artymatas(Anorthosis), Grigoris Kastanos(Hellas Verona), Chambos Kyriakou(Apollonas), Ioannis Kousoulos(Omonoia), Charalambos Charalambous(Omonoia), Ioannis Kosti(Levadiakos), Giannis Satsias(APOEL) FORWARDS: Pieros Sotiriou(APOEL), Ioannis Pittas(CSKA Sofia), Loizos Loizou(Omonoia), Marinos Tzionis(UTA Arad), Andronikos Kakoullis(AIK Solna), Stavros Gavriil(Zulte Waregem), Ruel Sotiriou(Bristol Rovers) Andrew Mantzas Twitter: @MantzasNC Post navigation APOEL END DIFFICULT REGULAR SEASON WITH DERBY WIN