Cyprus national team parts ways with Georgian soccer coach Temur Ketsbaia

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Georgian coach Temur Ketsbaia lost his job with the Cyprus national team, the national federation said Friday, days after a 4-0 home loss against Kosovo in the UEFA Nations League.

The former Newcastle, Wolverhampton and AEK Athens player was in his third year with the Cyprus team now ranked No. 127 by FIFA, a drop of 20 places while he was in charge.

Cyprus lost all eight games and finished last in its European Championship qualifying group last year, which included eventual title winner Spain, Scotland, Norway and his home country Georgia.

Ketsbaia coached Georgia for five years though 2014, and later worked for AEK and Cypriot clubs APOEL and Anorthosis.

The Cyprus federation did not announce an interim coach to take over for Nations League games next month hosting Romania and the return game in Kosovo.

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