FIFA’s lowest ranked nation end 20-year wait for victory after 140 winless games
San Marino’s 20-year winless streak is finally OVER as they beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in the Nations League on Thursday night.
It is just the second victory in San Marino‘s 206-game history – having coincidentally came out on top over Liechtenstein in 2004.
And it’s taken two decades for San Marino – FIFA’s lowest ranked nation in 210th spot – to finally triumph once again.
Roberto Cevoli’s side have endured a number of batterings in the 140 games between their two wins.
In that time, they have been proven to the world’s whipping boys, where they lost 13-0, 11-0 and 10-0 to Germany, Netherlands and England respectively in 2006, 2011 and 2021.
But they are no longer a laughing matter, with Nicko Sensoli earning himself legendary status by scoring the winning goal at the San Marino Stadium.
Amazingly, Sensoli wasn’t even born the last time San Marino recorded their first victory 20 years ago.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who is on loan at Serie D club Sangiuliano, broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute.
He capitalised on a defensive mistake Sandro Wieser where he proceeded to lob onrushing goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel.
Buchel got some of the ball, but was powerless to stop it from trickling into the back of the net.
His strike sparked wild celebrations from his teammates, who valiantly defended for their lives in the closing stages.
And the relief and elation was there for all to see after the final whistle where each of their squad members have become San Marino heroes for life.
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Immediately after the match, the San Marino official X account tagged Europe’s elite to send them a light-hearted warning.
They quipped: “Come Spain, Germany, France, England.
“Come play with us now, we’re not that good.”
Speaking ahead of the match, San Marino skipper Matteo Vitaioli, who made his international debut 17 years ago, spoke of the ‘burden’ he and his teammates have in trying to end their streak.
He told the BBC: “I have been part of the national team for almost 20 years. Fundamental in every group was the team spirit, the capacity of the players to make a team.
“When you are playing tough matches, they can become complicated, and if you cannot rely on a solid group those games can hurt badly.
“We are friends sharing the same honour – but also the same burden.”
But unfortunately for the 34-year-old, he wasn’t selected to face Liechtenstein as San Marino created history by winning their first competitive match.
The result sees them top of their three-nation group in D1, with Gibraltar their other opponents.
And for San Marino fans, they will tell you the win has been coming, having been narrowly defeated by Denmark in a 2-1 loss in a Euro 2024 qualifier last year.
They also lost 3-1 and 2-1 to Kazakhstan and Finland respectively, while drawing 0-0 against Saint Kitts and Nevis in March 2024.
But in Liechtenstein they found a country who is struggling just as badly as them, with Konrad Funfstuck’s ranked 199th by FIFA – 11 places ahead of San Marino.
Though unlike their opponents, they were not on a 140-match winless streak, having not tasted victory in just 40 consecutive clashes – stretching back to October 2020 when they beat Luxembourg 2-1.
San Marino will now be looking to make it two wins on the bounce in their history when they face Moldova – ranked 152nd by FIFA -in next week’s friendly.
Meanwhile Liechtenstein are hoping their winless run will come to an end against 198th-ranked Gibraltar on Sunday in their second Nations League fixture.
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