San Marino have finally ended a run of 20 years without a victory by beating Liechtenstein 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League.
FIFA’s lowest-ranked team — bottom of the federation’s rankings of 210 national sides — had only previously won one game in their history, a 1-0 victory over the same opposition in 2004, but they added to that on Wednesday night after Nicko Sensoli scored to beat their 199th-ranked opponents.
It was the first time they had ever recorded a competitive victory, with that previous triumph against Liechtenstein having come in a friendly.
Sensoli, a 19-year-old midfielder who plays for Sangiuliano in the semi-professional fourth tier of Italian football, scored in the 53rd minute with San Marino’s first shot on target in the game.
He capitalised on a defensive mistake by Liechtenstein’s Sandro Wieser to prod the ball into the net over goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel and spark euphoric scenes in San Marino’s Stadio Olimpico.
San Marino players celebrate their historic goal (Viaplay)
Despite an agonising eight minutes of added time, and some desperate late defending, that goal was enough to end a remarkable winless run that finally stretched to 140 matches.
The final whistle prompted more jubilant celebrations as San Marino’s coaching staff and substitutes ran onto the pitch, while some of Liechtenstein’s players collapsed onto the turf — possibly out of embarrassment as much as disappointment.
The result also means that, improbably, San Marino currently top their three-team Nations League group. The other side, Gibraltar, have yet to play a match.
San Marino, a landlocked country of just over 30,000 people surrounded by north-eastern Italy and which covers just 61 square kilometres, has become a byword for footballing misery due to their team’s struggles to end their winless streak.
While Eritrea, who have not played a match since 2020, are unofficially unranked by FIFA, San Marino have been rooted to the bottom of the world standings since November 2023.
Their 6,600-capacity home stadium is often barely half full for matches, with travelling supporters occasionally outnumbering the hosts.
San Marino have been on the wrong end of some heavy defeats since their first official match in 1990 — including a 13-0 loss to Germany in 2006 — and have never won a match in a qualifying phase for a major tournament.
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They have, however, caused some concerns to major nations, famously recording what was then the fastest goal in a World Cup qualifier when Davide Gualtieri scored after eight seconds against England in 1993 before going on to lose 7-1.
It was around the same time that San Marino achieved their highest ever FIFA ranking of 118, but their football story had been one of relentless struggle since then — until tonight.
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(Top photo: Giuseppe Maffia/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)/Getty Images)
