Nadiem Amiri fires Mainz to narrow win in Cyprus

Nadiem Amiri scored a second-half penalty as Mainz beat Omonia in their UEFA Europa Conference League opener.

Omonia 0-1 Mainz
Goals: 0-1 Amiri 75' (pen.)

Having come through a play-off with Rosenborg earlier in the summer, Mainz were not overawed by the occasion, with Arnaud Nordin hitting the woodwork in the first half.

Bo Henriksen was finally celebrating with 75 minutes gone, when Amiri converted from the spot after Kaishū Sano had been brought down.

The celebrations were briefly halted after some of the home fans threw items onto the pitch, but Mainz held their nerve upon returning for the remainder to see out only their third competitive win of 2025/26.

The 0ers host Zrinjski Mostar of Bosnia-Herzegovina in their next European fixture on 23 October.

See Mainz's Conference League fixtures here

Recap the action below...

0 - 1

Omonia

FIRST HALF

Mainz

Conference League
League phase, Matchday 1 League phase, Matchday 1 GSP Stadium, Nicosia

90'

+ 7

Full-time: Omonia 0-1 Mainz

After an evenly-contested first half, Mainz improved after the break and dominated proceedings. They were eventually rewarded when Sano was fouled inside the area with Amiri converting the resulting penalty. Mainz's European adventure starts with a win against what proved to be difficult opposition.

Full-time

90'

+ 6

Post!

Instead it's Mainz who break on the counter-attack. Bobzien progresses the ball forward before finding Nordin who fires the ball against the post.

90'

+ 6

Pressure from Omonia

The hosts push for an equaliser but they're unable to create a clear-cut chance.

90'

+ 1

Stoppage time

The fourth official has signalled seven minutes of stoppage time.

89'

Double change

Henriksen brings on two defensively minded players as they look to see out the game.

89'

Substitution

Silvan Widmer

Phillipp Mwene

89'

Substitution

Lennard Maloney

Nadiem Amiri

88'

Amiri goes down

Mainz's playmaker, who has been excellent in the second half, goes down for the third time in the space of 90 seconds. He's put in some shift.

81'

Substitution

Evangelos Andreou

Willy Semedo

80'

Play resumes

After a short period, the players are back on the pitch and play resumes.

76'

Play suspended

There's a stoppage in play as the referee brings the players down the tunnel after objects were thrown at Mainz players during their celebrations.

75'

Mainz lead!

It's Mainz who strike first on their return to European football. Amiri converts the resulting penalty, placing the ball past Uzoho.

75'

Nadiem Amiri

GOAL!

0:1

Penalty

73'

Yellow card

Saad Agouzoul

73'

Penalty for Mainz

Sano goes down in Omonia's penalty area under the challenge of Agouzoul.

71'

Attacking change

Henriksen makes an attacking change as Hollerbach returns to action in place of Sieb.

71'

Substitution

Benedict Hollerbach

Armindo Sieb

70'

Huge chance

Simić is unmarked inside Mainz's penalty area but the defender is unable to get a clean connection on Semedo's cross as a huge chance goes begging for the hosts.

65'

Impressive debut

A big night for Potulski, who made his professional debut for Mainz at 17 years old. The central defender impressed.

64'

Substitution

Andreas Hanche-Olsen

Kacper Potulski

64'

Substitution

Ben Bobzien

Nikolas Veratschnig

61'

Triple substitution

Omonia make a triple substitution as they look to change the outcome of the game.

60'

Substitution

Novica Eraković

Carel Eiting

60'

Substitution

Angelos Neofytou

Ryan Mmaee

60'

Substitution

Anastasios Chatzigiovanis

Giannis Masouras

57'

Bright from Sieb

Mainz are really pushing for the opening goal of the game now. Sieb progresses with the ball but his cross is deflected behind for a corner which again amounts to nothing, but it's positive from Henriksen's side.

55'

Side netting

Mainz enjoy an extended spell of possession, probing for the opening goal down Omonia's left hand side. After neat footwork in the penalty area, Nebel's cross is deflected into the side netting. The resulting corner is cleared by the hosts.

48'

Nordin in the book

The Frenchman is the first player into the referee's notebook for a late challenge.

48'

Yellow card

Arnaud Nordin

47'

Early corner for Mainz

Nebel aims for Sano but Omonia clear their lines via a deflection that goes out for a goal-kick.

46'

Play resumes

Omonia get the second half underway.

Kick-off!

45'

+ 3

Half-time: Omonia 0-0 Mainz

After a frantic opening 10 minutes, both teams were happy to have prolonged spells of possession but failed to create any clear-cut chances. Mainz did come the closest when Nordin's cross floated past everyone but came back off the post, the Frenchman Mainz's best player so far.

Half-time

45'

+ 3

Kousoulos goes down

After throwing himself in front of Nordin's powerful effort, Kousoulos goes down and is treated on the sidelines.

45'

+ 1

Added time

The fourth official signals three minutes of added time.

44'

Whipped in from Nordin

Mainz press for the opening goal late in the first half. Nordin whips in a cross which is met by Mwene, but the Austrian wing-back is unable to get a clean connection on the ball.

36'

Off the post

Mainz play it short to Nordin from the corner. The Frenchman's floated cross sails past everyone and comes back off the post, and the visitors are unable to convert the rebound.

33'

Omonia probing

The hosts work it well down Mainz's left hand side. Semedo uses his strength to ward away Bell but his shot from a tight angle goes wide. Another chance for Omonia.

26'

From distance

Omonia play a pass between the lines which is picked up by Ewandro. The Brazilian forward advances but his effort from distance is tame and doesn't trouble Zentner.

21'

Sano's strength

Sano enjoyed an stellar maiden campaign with Mainz last season, and the Japan international is looking to carry over that form into this season. Dictating tempo, Sano is looking for that incisive pass which he hasn't quite found as of yet.

16'

Omonia looking to exploit

The hosts have got behind Mainz's high defensive line on two occasions now. Mmaee wins a corner but the 05ers clear their lines.

13'

Corner for Mainz

After Omonia's prolonged spell of possession, Mainz win the first corner of the game. The hosts fail to clear their lines, but Veratschnig's low shot from distance is blocked.

7'

Amiri from distance

As Mainz look to assert themselves on the game, Amiri shoots over from distance.

4'

Early chance

Mmaee attacks the space behind Mainz's defence and rounds Zentner, but fails to find the open goal.

1'

We are underway

Mainz' European adventure begins, kicking off from left to right.

Kick-off!

A return to Europe

After almost nine years since their last match European match, Mainz return. Back in 2016/17, they narrowly missed out on the knockout stage, finishing third in their group behind Saint-Étienne and Anderlecht.

Debutant for Mainz

With Leitsch absent and Hanche-Olsen on the bench, 17-year-old Potulski, who plays for the Regionalliga team, makes his professional debut for Mainz in a back three.

Sieb starts

Bo Henriksen opts to start Sieb tonight ahead of Weiper. The German forward has already found the net this season.

© Christian Kaspar-Bartke

More on those teams

Bo Henriksen has made several changes following their game against Borussia Dortmund. Arnaud Nordin, Stefan Bell, Nikolas Veratschnig and Kacper Potulski all come in with Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Silvan Widmer dropping to the bench. Maxim Leitsch and Jae-sung Lee miss out completely. As for Omonia, there's no place for Mateo Maric, Muamer Tankovic or Fabiano in the starting line-up.

Starting line-up: 1. FSV Mainz 05

27

Robin Zentner

2

Phillipp Mwene

6

Kaishu Sano

8

Paul Nebel

9

Arnaud Nordin

10

Nadiem Amiri

11

Armindo Sieb

16

Stefan Bell

21

Danny da Costa

22

Nikolas Veratschnig

48

Kacper Potulski

Mainz subs

Rieß, Batz, Bøving, Maloney, Hollerbach, Kawasaki, Hanche-Olsen, Widmer, Bobzien, Debrah, Gleiber, Weiper

Omonia starting line-up

Uzoho - Agouzoul, Coulibaly, Simić - Masouras, Kousoulos (C), Eiting, Kitsos - Ewandro, Mmaee, Semedo

Omonia subs

Kyriakidis, Diounkou, Chatzigiovanis, A. Andreou, Khammas, Panagiotou, Eraković, P. Andreou, Neophytou, Konstantinides, Panayi

Widmer's memories of playing in Nicosia

"I believe it was seven years ago that I played against Apollon Limassol here in this stadium and lost. Like the gaffer, I’m expecting a difficult game against an opponent who is in very good form."

© DFL/Getty Images/Lukas Schulze

Henning Berg on facing Mainz

"It’s fantastic that we’ll play in the League Phase of the Conference League and have the opportunity to face a team like Mainz, which plays in one of the top five leagues in Europe. They are a very good team, and we need to stay focused. They’re a highly attacking side that uses their full-backs a lot. They’ve had the same coach for quite some time and have many options when building their play. We have a good squad which, as we’ve seen, gets results."

© IMAGO/GEPA pictures/ Matic Klansek

Bo Henriksen on facing Omonia

“We anticipate a tough game, since we know that Omonia possess good quality. I travelled to Cyprus to take on AEK Larnaca with Midtjylland, and that was another tricky affair. We want to deliver a good performance and win the game. It won’t be easy, but it will also be a great deal of fun, because it will be Mainz’s first game in Europe for nearly 10 years. We are therefore really pleased to be here.”

© IMAGO/Gerhard Schultheiß

Weiper or Sieb up front?

Both forwards have made two starts each in all competitions this term and bring different strengths to the table for Henriksen to consider. Of the two, Sieb has already opened his account for the 2025/26 season.

© IMAGO/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/Hahne

Last time in Europe

Mainz last featured in European action in the 2016/17 season, where they competed in the Europa League group stage under then coach Martin Schmidt.

© Alex Grimm

Omonia on form

The Cypriot outfit are level at the top of the first division alongside Pafos, APOEL and Aris Limassol, all of whom have 12 points after the first five matchdays. Stevan Jovetić has contributed five goals to a league-high team tally of 15 scored.

© IMAGO/GEPA pictures/ Matic Klansek

Nebel: "Everyone is looking forward to Thursday"

After the 2-0 defeat against Dortmund on Matchday 5, Paul Nebel spoke of the players' desire to fix things. "We believe in ourselves and we’ll get our rewards," he explained. "Everyone is looking forward to Thursday – it’s what we’ve worked so hard for. Above all else I’m just looking forward to playing more football."

© Alex Grimm

Mixed bag of results

With just one win in five Bundesliga matches, it's safe to say Mainz's season has been a mixed bag to date. They have three defeats, one draw and just one win to show for their efforts thus far.

© IMAGO/Franziska Gora

2:32

Watch: The best of Nadiem Amiri

The Mainz number 10 is at the heart of every Mainz move and will be key to success in Cyprus for Bo Henriksen's 05ers.

European adventure awaits

Mainz qualified for the Conference League after beating Norwegian side Rosenborg in the play-offs. A 4-1 victory at the Mewa Arena sealed qualification to the league phase, after they lost the away leg 3-1.

© Alex Grimm

Welcome!

Welcome along to live coverage of Mainz's opening match of the league phase of the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League away at Omonia in Cyprus on Thursday.

About the clubs

1. FSV Mainz 05

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