Marinos Tzionis earns 21st cap for Cyprus in Euro qualifying loss to Scotland

Sporting Kansas City winger Marinos Tzionis earned his 21st cap for the Cyprus men’s national team in a 3-0 defeat by Scotland on Saturday as UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying began across Europe.

Tzionis came on as a substitute in the 79th minute, replacing team-mate Grigoris Kastanos in a game that saw Scotland concede an early goal from Aston Villa captain John McGinnn and a late brace from Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay at historic Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland scored

Tzionis and Cyprus close the FIFA March window by traveling to a friendly against Armenia at CT Vazgen Sargsyan Stadium in Yerevan on Tuesday at 10:00 CET. The forward will then return to Sporting ahead of next Saturday’s formidable road test at 18:30 CT.

At 21, Tzionis has already established himself as a regular for Cyprus, scoring twice in 21 appearances for his home country while playing in UEFA Nations League and FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He made his senior debut in 2020 and opened his Cypriot goalscoring tally in March 2022 when he bagged the opener in the 2-0 Nations League win over Estonia. Tzionis scored another goal in the competition in a surprise 1-0 win over regional rivals Greece last September.

Cyprus are aiming to qualify for the UEFA European Championship for the first time in their history. 24 teams will take part in Euro 2024, including the top two from 10 qualifying groups, hosts Germany and three other nations that will progress through a play-off round. Cyprus were placed in Group A along with Scotland, Georgia, world champions Spain and Norway with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. The group stage ends in November, followed by the Euro 2024 qualifying play-offs in March 2024.

Tzionis has made 33 appearances for Sporting in all competitions since arriving in early 2022. He played in each of the club’s first four games this season, including a start in the 0-0 draw with Colorado Rapids on March 4 and three substitute appearances on the wing. Tzionis scored his first Sporting goal in dramatic fashion on May 10, 2022 when he equalized in the 98th minute against FC Dallas to force extra time, resulting in a wild 4-2 comeback win in the Round of 32 of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Four days later, the Cypriot scored his first MLS goal in an away loss to Portland Timbers.

Tzionis previously represented Cyprus at U-17 and U-19 youth levels – and took part in qualifying competitions for the 2018 European U-17 Championship and the 2019 European Under-19 Championship – before being promoted to the senior team in September 2020 . In the two months that followed, he started five times and made six appearances in total in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League as the Cypriots finished with a 1-4-1 record. Tzionis started four out of six appearances in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying throughout 2021 and then scored twice in last year’s 2022/23 UEFA Nations League.