There are no more football dwarves? In the case of San Marino, it is different. The team ranked last in the world nevertheless celebrated its second victory in international history on Thursday.
April 28, 2004 was previously a holiday for football fans in San Marino. The small state in the north of central Italy celebrated its first international victory in history with a 1-0 win against Liechtenstein. Andy Selva, the national team’s record goalscorer with eight goals, scored the goal of the day.
Nicko Sensoli probably doesn’t remember any of that, the midfielder was only born 14 months later. And yet he is set to become the new hero in the country of 34,000 inhabitants. On the first matchday of Group 1 of League D in the Nations League, Sensoli, who normally plays in the fourth league in Italy, scored the 1-0 goal in the 53rd minute and gave San Marino its second victory in international history after a 20-year wait. The opponent? Liechtenstein again.
San Marino was winless in 141 consecutive international matches
There were 141 international matches between the small state’s two victories, they lost 135 of them and celebrated five draws. The goal difference during that time was 21:609. Between 2009 and 2011 the team even failed to score a single goal.
In the world rankings of the world association FIFA, the team of national coach Roberto Cevoli, who has been in office since March, is in 210th place and thus last – opponents Liechtenstein are only a few places higher in 199th place. And further successes are not out of the question, because Gibraltar, 198th in the world rankings, is still waiting as a group opponent. It could still be a while before San Marino moves up the world rankings.
But it is already clear that 2004 will be the most successful year in San Marino’s international history. In addition to the victory against Liechtenstein, there was a draw in the spring’s friendly match against St. Kitts and Nevis, who are ranked 146th in the world – something the small state had never managed before due to the losing streak.
Source: Stern
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