Cyprus' Aloneftis absent from Euro 2012 qualifiers

By foxsports
Published

Cyprus' top forward Efstathios Aloneftis is not in the squad that will take on Portugal and Iceland in European Championship qualifiers next month.

Aloneftis has eight goals in 44 caps but is not contracted with any club after leaving Omonia in the offseason.

New Cyprus coach Nikos Nioplias has, instead, loaded the 23-man squad he announced Thursday with younger players as he looks ahead to 2014 World Cup qualifying.

With only two points from four Group H qualifying matches, Cyprus has slim hope of advancing, but could play a spoiler to Portugal, Denmark and Norway, who are tied with 10 points.

Iceland is bottom of the group with a single point.

Cyprus earned a stunning 4-4 away draw against Portugal in its first Euro 2012 qualifier a year ago.

The island nation hosts Portugal Sept. 2 and visits Iceland four days later.

Among the new players Nioplias has called up is 22-year-old forward Giorgos Tofas who plays for newly-promoted Anagennisi Dherynia. Tofas had a brief stint with England's Queens Park Rangers last season.

The Portugal match will be the first competitive international for Nioplias at Cyprus' helm.

The 46-year-old Nioplias took over in June from fellow Greek Angelos Anastasiades, who was fired in April after disappointing results in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

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Squad:

Goalkeepers: Antonis Giorgallides (Omonia), Tasos Kissas (APOEL).

Defenders: Savvas Poursaitides (APOEL), Stelios Parpas (AEL), Paraskevas Christou (Alki), George Merkis (Apollon Limassol), Nectarios Alexandrou (APOEL).

Midfielders: Constantinos Charalambides (APOEL), Konstantinos Makridis (Omonia), Jason Demetriou (AEK Larnaca), Sinisa Dobrasinovic (Alki), Koullis Pavlou (AEK Larnaca), Marios Nicolaou (AEL), Antonis Katsis (Alki), Christos Maragkos (Anorthosis Famagusta), Athos Solomou (APOEL).

Forwards: Michael Constantinou (Omonia), Demetris Christofi (Omonia), Ioannis Okkas (Anorthosis Famagusta), George Efrem (Omonia), Andreas Avraam (Omonia), Giorgos Tofas (Anagennisi Dherynia), Andreas Stavrou (Apollon Limassol).