San Marino v England: Minnows are the Three Lions' all-time favourite opponents
England have a +30 goal difference over the minnows
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.San Marino are England’s favourite opponents of all-time, according to the statistics.
In the five meetings between the two sides, England have triumphed every game with a scoring average of over six goals per game.
This average is the highest goals per game ratio that England have against any side in their recorded 133 year history.
The five meetings between the two sides have left England with a goal difference of +30, scoring five or more goals in each game against the minnows.
In 1993, San Marino were defeated 6-0 and 7-1 by England, with David Platt scoring four goals in the first meeting, and Ian Wright netting four in the second game in the same year.
San Marino then got a 19 year break from facing England until 2012, and haven’t seemed to escape since, with the sides facing each other every year between 2012 and 2015.
England won 5-0 in 2012 after braces from Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, following this up with an 8-0 win in San Marino in 2013, when there was an England record of seven different goal scorers on the day. Then in 2014, England recorded another 5-0 win at Wembley with four different goal scorers, including another Wayne Rooney goal.
With England captain Wayne Rooney chasing the all time goal scoring record, needing only one to equal Booby Charlton’s record, San Marino may well be in for another tough evening against England on Saturday.
If Rooney can bag a brace he will not only become England’s all time goal scorer record holder, he will also get the perhaps more prestigious honour of becoming England’s most prolific goal scorer against San Marino.
If the form guide is anything to go by, we could be in for another convincing England score line this Saturday in San Marino, as the minnows haven’t won since 2004 whilst England are unbeaten in their last 11 outings.
The Independent has launched a new football app! Live scores, in-game stats, breaking news, videos and push notifications are just some of the many features. Use the links below to download and get more from Indy Football...
iPhone
http://ind.pn/iphonefootball
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments