Sometimes it’s worth waiting, because San Marino’s national team, which is used to losing, has won a football match for the first time in more than 20 years. At the start of the Nations League, the national team of the small state in the north of central Italy beat the selection from Liechtenstein 1-0. This victory is only the second since the San Marino Football Association joined FIFA and UEFA in 1988. And it is the first victory in a competitive match.
The decisive goal was scored by Nicko Sensoli (53′), a striker who plays for the San Marino Academy – an U22 team of the association. Sensoli, 19, was not even born when his national team last won: San Marino’s only victory for many years came on April 28, 2004, against Liechtenstein. The result was also 1:0. Since then, the Sports Gazette According to the report, there were 141 games without a win, but the six draws were each celebrated like “a victory in a Champions League final”.
:Expressly only team leader
A conflict over possible reforms has been simmering in the Austrian Football Association for years. Ralf Rangnick stays out of it as much as possible in order to fulfill his own goal: to lead the national team to the World Cup.
Since the late 1980s, San Marino fans have had to make do with small successes. In the 206 international matches played so far, San Marino has scored 33 goals and conceded 841. In addition to the few draws, the match against Denmark last October is considered one of the greatest successes in the association’s history. In the European Championship qualifier, San Marino equalized at one point and only narrowly lost 1:2.
The next opponent is Gibraltar – is there a winning streak now?
The first competitive victory in the association’s history was celebrated with corresponding emotion. Players and coaches ran onto the pitch after the final whistle, and the stadium announcer never tired of telling the few hundred spectators present the final score (“San Marino: Uno. Liekestein: Zero”). Gazette writes: “At the end of the game, there were those who hugged each other, those who cried and those who lay exhausted on the ground, tearing blades of grass.”
If you want to understand how much this victory really means, you can read what was going on on Thursday evening on a fan account of the San Marino national team on the X platform. One of the numerous posts reads (in capital letters): “You have made history. You will forever be remembered as heroes, as the golden generation of San Marino football.” And the victory also means a lot in sporting terms – at least for now. With the victory, San Marino leads the table in Group D1 in the Nations League.
San Marino is ranked 210th in the FIFA world rankings, which is the last place. Liechtenstein is ranked 199th – also very far behind, but was still the favorite. In order to give up the last place and overtake Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands, San Marino would have to continue its winning streak. In the next competitive match, the opponent is Gibraltar, ranked 198th in the world rankings.