San Marino, FIFA’s lowest-ranked men’s team, ended a 20-year losing streak on Thursday by defeating Liechtenstein 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League. This was their first win in two decades and their first-ever victory in a competitive match.
Nicko Sensoli scored the only goal of the game in the 53rd minute, giving San Marino the edge in a closely contested match. Liechtenstein, ranked 11 places higher, controlled possession and had the same number of shots as San Marino, eight. However, Liechtenstein couldn’t get any shots on target, while San Marino managed two shots on target and scored with one.
San Marino ended a 176-match winless streak in competitive matches, with only five draws and 171 losses during this period.
This victory is a significant achievement for San Marino, a small nation of about 33,000 people. Their last win before this was in April 2004, in a friendly against Liechtenstein, which they also won 1-0.
With this win, San Marino now leads Group 1 in League D of the UEFA Nations League. However, Gibraltar, the only other team in the group, has not played their first match yet. League D is the lowest tier in the Nations League, but teams can be promoted to League C and gradually improve their standing in European football.
San Marino has often been at the bottom of European football, experiencing many heavy losses. Their highest FIFA ranking was 118 in 1993, but they have since fallen to 210. Their biggest defeat was a 13-0 loss to Germany in 2006.
San Marino will look for their first-ever winning streak on Tuesday when they play 152nd-ranked Moldova in a friendly. They will continue their Nations League campaign on October 10 against 198th-ranked Gibraltar.
