The World Cup is approaching and as with every other major football tournament in history, Cyprus did not qualify.
In recent years, the team has lacked a ‘superstar’ player who could transform the nation’s fortunes.
But that isn’t to say there haven’t been some high-quality players who could have played for Cyprus and helped them to achieve greatness, but unfortunately for the national team, chose to represent a different country.
Here are nine players who could have played for Cyprus, but ended up somewhere else:
Andros Townsend
Andros Townsend began his career at Tottenham Hotspur and started playing regularly for the first team in 2013 after a series of loan spells.
After an unsuccessful season at Newcastle, the winger moved to Crystal Palace where he netted 16 goals in 183 appearances across all competitions between 2016 and 2021. He famously scored the Premier League goal of the season for 2018/19, a stunning volley from 30 yards which flew in top corner against Manchester City.
The ex-Everton man was born in Leytonstone, Greater London, but is of maternal Greek Cypriot descent, meaning he could have played for Cyprus. But, he was good enough to play for England, so opted to represent the Three Lions.
Townsend earned 13 caps for the England senior national team between 2013 and 2016, scoring three goals.
He now plays his football in Thailand for Kanchanaburi Power.
Marcus Edwards
Marcus Edwards is the only Premier League player on this list (who isn’t on loan at another club), although should he choose to stay with Burnley, he will be playing in the Championship next season.
Like Townsend, he came up through the ranks at Spurs, and Mauricio Pochettino said the winger reminded him of Lionel Messi. However, he wasn’t Messi-like enough to make a Premier League appearance for them.
But he did enjoy success at Sporting CP, scoring 24 goals in 120 appearances across all competitions.
He is of Cypriot descent, he speaks Greek and has said his favourite food is Koupepia, but Edwards chose to represent England at youth level and even scored against Cyprus in a u17s match (although he chose to keep the celebrations subtle).
He has scored one Premier League goal for Burnley this season, bringing the game level with a sharp finish at Anfield in January.
Jason and Lewis Koumas
We have a double entry here, with father and son duo Jason and Lewis Koumas, who both chose to represent Wales over Cyprus.
Jason Koumas was in the Liverpool academy and played regularly alongside players such as Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen, but he never quite made it at The Reds, and spent the majority of his career at Tranmere Rovers and West Brom.
His son, Lewis, however, has already scored for Liverpool, netting in the FA Cup fifth round against Southampton on 28 February 2024. He has spent the season on loan a Hull City and may feature in the playoff final this Saturday.
Sadly for Cyprus, this talented youngster has chosen to play for Wales and has already received his first senior call-ups.
Rhian Brewster
Sticking with talented youngsters at Liverpool, Rhian Brewster was considered a wonder kid after he won the Golden Boot in England’s u-17 World Cup victory nine years ago. Unfortunately, after a series of bad injuries, he struggled to break into the first team at Liverpool, and was sold to Sheffield United in 2020, where he spent five years. He now plays for Derby County in the Championship.
This does not appear to be widely known, but the striker is eligible to play internationally for Cyprus or Turkey via his Turkish Cypriot mother. He enjoyed a lot of success as an England youth player, but has never earned a first team cap.
Leon Osman
Also well known for his time on Merseyside, Leon Osman made 433 appearances for Everton across all competitions during his 14-year senior career, scoring 57 goals.
Osman was a ‘late bloomer’ for the England squad, earning his first caps in his 30s. He has a Turkish-Cypriot father, so he could have played for Turkey or Cyprus.
Muzzy Izzet
Also of Turkish Cypriot descent, Leicester City’s Muzzy Izzet chose to play for Turkey rather than England or Cyprus. He was part of the Turkey squad which finished third place in the 2002 World Cup and even came on as a substitute in their semi-final against Brazil, which they lost 1-0.
Izzet was a dynamic central midfielder known for his tireless work rate and strong technical ability, and he was also capable of scoring long-range goals.
Nico Yennaris
Nico Yennaris is a defensive midfielder and versatile full-back who started his career with Arsenal but has spent the majority of his time at Brentford. He was born in London to a father of Greek Cypriot origin.
He is the first player on this list who switched national teams. Having initially played for England as a youth player, in 2019 Yennaris switched, but he opted to play for China rather than Cyprus, with his mother being of Chinese Hakka origin. This change made sense, as it coincided with his move to Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan.
One to watch: Ilias Kostis
The only player to have actually played for Cyprus at youth level, Atlético Madrid defender Ilias Kostis was a Cyprus youth international until joining the Greece national under-21 football team on 4 October 2023.
He is yet to make a senior appearance for them Greece or Atlético (in La Liga), but at 23, he is highly rated and has an exciting career ahead of him.
The big question: can any of the current players on this list still play for Cyprus?
The answer, and it’s a good one for Cypriot football fans, is yes. As long as the player has never played a major tournament match and has only played in three or fewer competitive senior matches for their first national team (before the player turned 21 years old), they can switch their national team.
We saw Declan Rice to do this when he switched from Ireland to England, having only played three times for the Irish first team.
Unfortunately for Cyprus, Koumas has made ten senior appearances for Wales, so he is locked in as a Welsh international now.
But Edwards and Brewster have never played for England’s first team, so they could still represent Cyprus, and as mentioned, Kostis has not played for Greece in a senior match.
Whether they wish to make that change is a very different matter, but Edwards in particular has outwardly spoken about his love for Cyprus and he could be a key player for the national side if he wanted to make the switch.
