Sporting Kansas City winger Marinos Tzionis has been selected to the Cyprus Men’s National Team for the resumption of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League during the FIFA international window later this month.
Tzionis and Cyprus will host nearby rivals Greece on Sept. 24 and travel to face Kosovo on Sept. 27 in the team’s final two group stage matches in UEFA Nations League C. As the winners of Group C2, Greece has already sealed promotion to UEFA Nations League B for the 2024-25 edition of the tournament, while Cyprus must climb out of last place in the four-team group to avoid a relegation play-out series in March 2023.
Tzionis will join Cyprus following Sporting’s home match against Minnesota United FC at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday inside Children’s Mercy Park (tickets).
Cyprus Schedule: 2022-23 UEFA Nations League C
- Saturday, Sept. 24 vs. Greece | 1:45 p.m. CT | AEK Arena in Larnaca, Cyprus
- Tuesday, Sept. 27 at Kosovo | 1:45 p.m. CT | Fadil Vokrri Stadium in Pristina, Kosovo
An integral member of the Cyprus national team, Tzionis appeared in his country’s first four UEFA Nations League fixtures earlier this summer, including a pair of well-earned draws against Northern Ireland on June 5 and 12. The 21-year-old has collected 18 caps at the senior international level, with five of those appearances coming in 2022 as a member of Sporting.
Tzionis opened his Cyprus scoring account with a stunning strike to spark a 2-0 victory over Estonia on March 29 in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League play-outs, booking the Cypriots a spot in League C for the 2022-23 competition. He then tallied an assist in a 2-2 road stalemate at Northern Ireland on June 12, which kept both sides level with two points apiece and occupying third and fourth place in Group C2.
Acquired by Sporting in a transfer from Cypriot club Omonia Nicosia in February, Tzionis has tallied two goals in 28 appearances across all competitions during his debut campaign in Kansas City. He opened his account with a pivotal 98th-minute equalizer in what became a 4-2 extra-time win over FC Dallas in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 at Children’s Mercy Park, glancing home a last-gasp header to make the score 2-2. He bagged his maiden MLS goal four days later in a road loss to the Portland Timbers.
Tzionis previously represented Cyprus at the U-17 and U-19 youth levels—featuring in qualifying competitions for the European U-17 Championship in 2018 and the European U-19 Championship in 2019—before breaking into the senior national team in September 2020. In the two months that followed, he made five starts and six total appearances in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League as the Cypriots finished with a 1-4-1 record. Tzionis started four of six appearances in FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifying over the course of 2021.
Tzionis joined Sporting earlier this year after a strong stint at hometown club Omonia Nicosia, where he scored 15 goals in 88 appearances from 2018 until his departure for Kansas City. During his time with Omonia, he won a Cypriot First Division title and featured in 18 matches across Europe’s three most prestigious club tournaments: the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.
