San Marino celebrate first win for 20 years with 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein
San Marino have broken their 20-year winless streak by defeating Liechtenstein 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League.
The team at the very bottom of FIFA's rankings, out of 210 nations, had only won one game before in their history. They won 1-0 against the same team in 2004. But on Wednesday night, they secured another victory when Nicko Sensoli scored against their 199th-ranked opponents.
This was their first ever win in a competitive match, as their only previous victory was in a friendly against Liechtenstein.
Sensoli, a midfielder aged 19 who plays for Sangiuliano in the semi-pro fourth division of Italian soccer, found the back of the net in the 53rd minute with San Marino's initial shot on goal in the match.
He took advantage of a defensive error by Liechtenstein's Sandro Wieser to tap the ball into the goal past goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel, causing excited celebrations in San Marino's Stadio Olimpico.
San Marino players are joyful and excited about their significant achievement on the field.
Even after enduring a difficult eight minutes of added time, and making some last-minute defensive efforts, that goal proved to be sufficient in putting an end to an extraordinary streak of 140 matches without a win.
After the game ended, there were even more happy celebrations as the coaches and substitute players from San Marino ran onto the field. Meanwhile, a few of the players from Liechtenstein fell onto the grass, feeling maybe a mix of shame and sadness.
San Marino emerged victorious in a game after more than 20 years and won a competitive match for the very first time in history!
A significant moment occurred when the team ranked lowest in FIFA rankings (210th) broke their record for the longest streak without a win in international football history (140 games dating back to April 2004)!!! ???????????? #historicmoment
Rewrite the tweet: "The Sweeper podcast tweeted on September 5, 2024."
The outcome also indicates that San Marino is currently at the top of their Nations League group, which consists of three teams. Oddly enough, Gibraltar has not played a single match yet.
San Marino, a small country with a population of slightly more than 30,000 people surrounded by northeastern Italy and spanning only 61 square kilometers, is known for its football team's continuous struggle to break their losing streak.
Even though Eritrea hasn't competed in a game since 2020, they are not officially ranked by FIFA. On the other hand, San Marino has remained at the bottom of the global rankings since November 2023.
The team's stadium, which can hold up to 6,600 fans, is usually only half full for games. Sometimes, there are more away fans in attendance than home fans.
San Marino has faced some big losses since they started playing officially in 1990, like when they lost 13-0 to Germany in 2006. They have never managed to win a match in the qualifying rounds for a major tournament.
A week spent with San Marino - the lowest-ranked national soccer team globally
However, they have raised some worries for big countries by setting a record for the quickest goal in a World Cup qualifier. This happened when Davide Gualtieri scored after only eight seconds against England in 1993, although they ultimately lost the match 7-1.
San Marino reached their highest FIFA ranking of 118 at a similar time, but their football journey has been filled with continuous challenges since that moment - until this evening.
Playing against San Marino feels like a lose-lose situation, not your typical game.
Main image: Giuseppe Maffia/DeFodi Images via Getty Images (Note: You may need to provide more context or information for me to accurately rewrite this section in "free English" using different words.)
Nnamdi Onyeagwara started working with us in November 2022, assisting with World Cup coverage before being promoted to Junior News Editor in January 2023. He grew up in North London, went to Nottingham Trent University, and has experience working at The Voice and the Barnet Post. You can follow Nnamdi on Twitter @nnamdionye.
