Cyprus beaten by Russia in Euro 2020 qualifying

Cyprus were beaten 1-0 in Russia in their Euro 2020 qualifier on Tuesday night.

Aleksei Ionov scored the only goal of the game, meaning Cyprus suffered their second straight defeat following a 2-1 loss to Scotland on Saturday.

Elsewhere in Tuesday’s qualifiers, Romelu Lukaku scored with two close-range finishes as Belgium beat Scotland 3-0 at the King Baudouin Stadium to secure a fourth straight win in Euro 2020 qualifying and move clear of the chasing pack in Group I.

Kevin De Bruyne added a third goal in stoppage time as a full-strength Belgium side, who top the FIFA rankings, dominated the Scots from the start.

France meanwhile eased to a 4-0 win away to minnows Andorra to return to the top of Group H after their recent shock defeat to Turkey.

Germany scored five times in 27 minutes in the first half to crush Estonia 8-0 on Tuesday and make it three wins in three Euro 2020 Group C qualifiers.

The Germans are now on nine points, three behind group leaders Northern Ireland, who have four wins from four but needed an 86th minute winner by Paddy McNair to edge past hosts Belarus 1-0.

Marco Reus and Serge Gnabry scored two goals each and Leon Goretzka, Ilkay Guendogan, Timo Werner and Leroy Sane were also on target for Germany in a completely one-sided encounter.

Tuesday’s Euro 2020 qualifying results:

Russia 1 Cyprus 0

Italy 2  Bos-Herze 1

Belarus 0 Northern Ireland 1

Germany 8 Estonia 0

Hungary 1 Wales 0

Belgium 3 Scotland 0

Kazakhstan 4 San Marino

Azerbaijan 1 Slovakia 5

Greece 2 Armenia 3

Liechtenstein 0 Finland 2

Albania 2 Moldova 0

Andorra 0 France 4

Iceland 2 Turkey 1

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.