Belgium forward Eden Hazard (#10). (Photo : Getty Images)
Unheralded team Cyprus will meet FIFA world second-ranked squad Belgium in the opening matchday of Group H competitions in the 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifiers. The match will be held at the GSP Stadium in Cyprus' capital city of Nicosia this Tuesday, Sep. 6.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 9:45 p.m. UTC+3. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Cyprus is a non-qualifier in the recent 2016 European Championship and have only had two friendly matches this year so far.
Both exhibition games ended in losses with the latest one a 1-2 defeat to Serbia at the Gradski Stadion in Užice back in May, USA Today reported.
The Eagles scored the first two goals of the game at the second and 10th minutes courtesy of Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic.
Head coach Christakis Christoforou's side put themselves on the board with an own goal from Serbia's midfielder Nemanja Maksimovic at the 32nd minute. Both squads then went scoreless for the rest of the game.
Cyprus is currently ranked 86th in the world by FIFA and is one of the weaker teams in Group H together with Estonia and Gibraltar.
Meanwhile, Belgium will try to put behind their dismal Euro 2016 campaign as the team looks to dominate Group H of the ongoing UEFA World Cup qualifiers.
In this tournament, the team will be managed by new head coach Roberto Martinez, who replaced the sacked Marc Wilmots last month.
Martinez still has a lot of big-name options in this squad this time headed by former Premier League Player of the Season winner Eden Hazard. Some of the other world-class footballers in the Spanish mentor's roster are Everton's Romelu Lukaku, Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, Atletico Madrid's Yannick Carrasco, Roma's Radja Nainggolan and Thomas Vermaelen, and Tottenham Hotspur's Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
Coach Martinez dropped his debut game in a friendly with Spain, 0-2, on Sep. 1 at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels as their warmup before the qualifiers, via The Guardian.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 2-0 victory for Belgium.
Cyprus starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Georgallides; Junior, Charalambous, Merkis, Demetriou; Efrem, Charalambides, Nicolaou, Avraam; Mitidis, Sotiriou
Belgium starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Courtois; Meunier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Vermaelen; Nainggolan, Witsel; Carrasco, De Bruyne, Hazard; Lukaku
