San Marino wins first match in 20 years with 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein

Cue the Kevin Garnett “Anything is possible!” clip.

San Marino, the worst-ranked team in FIFA at No. 210, won its first match in 20 years on Thursday with a 1–0 victory over Liechtenstein in the UEFA Nations League. Liechtenstein was ranked No. 199.

The last time San Marino won a match was in 2004, also over Liechtenstein. That match was a friendly, so this is the country’s first-ever win in a competitive match, ending a slog of 140 matches without a victory.

Is a 20-year gap between wins over the same side enough to say that the records should be thrown out when San Marino and Liechtenstein face each other?

Nicko Sensoli scored the decisive goal for San Marino, finding the net in the 53rd minute. The goal may not have been pretty, with Sensoli beating Liechtenstein goalkeeper Benjamin Büchel to a ricochet off a header from Sandro Wieser.

However, Sensoli’s kick went into the net. The 19-year old scored on San Marino’s first shot on net in the match. He plays professionally for Sangiuliano in Serie D, the fourth tier of the Italian League system.

San Marino – a country with a population of 33,000 and a home stadium that struggles to fill its 6,600 capacity – had lost 198 of 204 competitive matches since playing its first official game in 1990. Among its notable defeats are a 13-0 loss to Germany in 2006 and a 10-0 rout by England in 2021.

With the win, San Marino improves its all-time record to 2-10-199.

San Marino plays next on Tuesday against Moldova. Dare they hope to put together two consecutive wins?