San Marino finally ended a 20-year winless streak with a 1-0 win against Liechtenstein in the UEFA Nations League.
FIFA’s lowest-ranked team – bottom of the association’s rankings of 210 national teams – had won just one previous game in their history, a 1-0 victory over the same opponents in 2004. But they added to their victory on Wednesday night when Nicko Sensoli beat their 199th-ranked opponents.
For them, it was their first ever victory in a competitive match; their previous triumph against Liechtenstein had been achieved in a friendly match.
Sensoli, a 19-year-old midfielder who plays for Sangiuliano in the semi-professional fourth division of Italian football, scored in the 53rd minute with San Marino’s first shot on goal of the match.
He took advantage of a defensive error by Liechtenstein’s Sandro Wieser, shot the ball over goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel into the net and caused euphoric scenes in the Stadio Olimpico in San Marino.
San Marino’s players celebrate their historic goal (Viaplay)
Despite an agonising eight minutes of stoppage time and a desperate defensive performance in the closing stages, that goal was enough to end a remarkable winless streak that ultimately lasted 140 games.
The final whistle sparked even more celebrations as San Marino’s coaching staff and substitutes ran onto the pitch, while several Liechtenstein players collapsed on the grass – possibly out of embarrassment as much as disappointment.
🇸🇲 SAN MARINO WINS A GAME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 20 YEARS AND A COMPETITION GAME FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!
History is being made: The worst team in the FIFA rankings (210th place) finally ends the longest winless streak in the history of international football (140 games since April 2004)!!! pic.twitter.com/xbB3M2WQUE
— The Sweeper (@SweeperPod) 5 September 2024
The result also means that San Marino, which seems unlikely, are currently top of their three-team Nations League group. The other team, Gibraltar, have yet to play a game.
San Marino, a landlocked country of just over 30,000 people in northeastern Italy and covering an area of just 61 square kilometers, has become the epitome of footballing misery as its team struggles to end its winless streak.
While Eritrea, which has not played a game since 2020, is unofficially unranked by FIFA, San Marino has been at the bottom of the world rankings since November 2023.
Their home stadium, with a capacity of 6,600 spectators, is often barely half full during matches, and occasionally the travelling fans outnumber the hosts.
San Marino have suffered 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 the qualifying phase of a major tournament.
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A week with San Marino – the worst international football team in the world
However, they caused concern among some major nations when they scored what was then the fastest goal in a World Cup qualifier against England in 1993, when Davide Gualtieri scored after eight seconds before the team eventually lost 7-1.
At around the same time, San Marino reached its highest FIFA ranking to date of 118, but since then the country’s football history has been one of relentless struggle – until tonight.
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“This is a lose-lose situation, not a normal game” – This is the game against San Marino
(Top photo: Giuseppe Maffia/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)/Getty Images)
