San Marino finally win football match – but all is not as it seems for tiny nation
European minnows San Marino have finally won a football match, but the senior men's team's wait for a first win in 20 years goes on as the women's youth team show them how it's done
San Marino have finally won a football match after the country’s U16s women’s team showed the rest of the nation how it’s done.
The European minnows are famed for being the worst footballing nation on the continent and the men’s senior team is currently the lowest ranked national side in the world, according to FIFA rankings.
While the men have won just one of over 200 matches played as a nation – a 1-0 friendly win against Liechtenstein in April 2004 – the country has tasted football success for the first time in almost two decades as the heroic women’s U16s side made history.
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They played Estonia in a Development Tournament game at home, conceding a late goal to draw the game 1-1 in normal time before winning the resulting penalty shootout 5-4, scoring all five spot kicks. Also featured in the competition are Georgia, Estonia and Luxembourg.
Women’s football in the enclave appears to be blossoming at all age groups with the senior women’s team - San Marino Academy - competing in Serie B, the second tier in the Italian women’s football pyramid.
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The club was founded in 2004 and made their Serie A debut in the 2020/21 season after climbing through the divisions. Le Titane is the main representative of San Marino in women’s football as the country does not have a national league or a senior women’s national team.
In contrast, the men’s side remain winless for two decades, though they drew 0-0 against 147th world-ranked St Kitts and Nevis after losing a friendly against the Caribbean nation 3-1 just days beforehand.
San Marino had previously scored in their three most recent competitive games, including an equaliser against Denmark in a 2-1 defeat, and a late consolation penalty against Finland in another loss by the same scoreline.