San Marino win first ever away game at 101st attempt to earn Nations League promotion
San Marino have won their first ever away game in their 101st attempt, beating Liechtenstein 3-1 to earn promotion from the lowest division of the Nations League
San Marino, the world's lowest-ranked men's national team, have earned promotion in the Nations League after beating Liechtenstein 3-1.
The tiny microstate is completely surrounded by Italy and has a population of just over 35,000 people, making it one of the smallest countries in the world. Their football team is mostly made up of part-time players with other jobs and they had never won a competitive game until this year.
San Marino did beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in a friendly in 2004, but had to wait another 20 years for another victory. That came in September when they beat the same opposition 1-0 at home thanks to a goal from Nicko Sensoli.
The two countries were drawn in Group 1 of the lowest division of the Nations League alongside Gibralatar and San Marino's latest victory has earned them promotion to League C. They followed up their first win over Liechtenstein with a defeat and a draw against Gibraltar.
READ MORE: Conor Gallagher leaves girlfriend's family 'unimpressed' with first England goalREAD MORE: Lee Carsley lifts lid on Thomas Tuchel debrief as FA spared embarrassing situationHowever, a romping 3-1 away win over Liechtenstein in Vaduz sealed their promotion ahead of Gibraltar. Lorenzo Lazzari, Nicola Nanni and Alessandro Golinucci all scored for San Marino, with the result their first ever win away from home in 101 attempts.
It is also the first time they have ever scored three goals in a game, having only scored twice once previously in a friendly. San Marino have been rooted to the bottom of FIFA's rankings since 2023, with the team ranked 210th in the world.
San Marino have lost 199 of their 211 games, with their heaviest defeat a 13-0 loss to Germany in 2006. Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Hitzlsperger all scored a brace, while Michael Ballack, Manuel Friedrich and Bernd Schneider also found the back of the net.
Reflecting on San Marino's September win over Liechtenstein, head coach Roberto Cevoli said: "It was the perfect evening. We scored a goal and we could have scored more, and we didn't let one in.
"I couldn't have asked for anything better. I'm so happy for the players and for the federation, which deserves this so much."
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