How Fifa’s lowest-ranked nation finally secured their first competitive win

It goes some way to illustrating the pain and patience that fans of San Marino have had to endure that their winning goalscorer on Thursday night wasn’t even born the last time the landlocked nation tasted international success. When Nicko Sensoli fired home the eventual winner against Liechtenstein, the 19-year-old snapped football’s longest winless run; two decades and 140 games after beating their fellow minnows, the Italian enclave could celebrate again.

Sensoli’s goal was scrappy, not that the crowd at the Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle remotely cared. A forward diagonal seemingly bound for goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel was headed errantly by a Liechtenstein player, taking it just about within prodding distance of the San Marino teenager. Seldom has a toe poke been so rapturously received.

The fifth-smallest country in the world by area, San Marino slopes down from the Apennine Mountains towards the Adriatic coast. The nation’s football team first played a recognised fixture in 1990, and have competed in both World Cup and Euros qualifying ever since without success. Their Nations League Group D1 victory is their first in competitive football.

Formed mostly of amateurs from a population of 33,000, la Serenissima have spent most of the last 34 years languishing at the bottom of Fifa’s rankings. A 0-0 draw with Estonia in Euro 2016 qualifying, which came after 61 straight defeats, allowed them to climb briefly, while that qualifying period also included a first away goal in 14 years against Lithuania.

In all, 196 of the 206 fixtures that San Marino have played have ended in defeat, plenty of them by sizeable scorelines. England produced a 10-0 thrashing in November 2021, while their heaviest hammering came 15 years prior as Germany romped to a 13-0 victory.

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But there have been signs of life in recent years, helped by the introduction of the Nations League. Uefa’s new tiered competition affords teams regular games against similarly-ranked opposition, allowing them to build confidence and cohesion rather than facing repeated drubbings. In the second edition of the event, San Marino’s draws against Liechtenstein and Gibraltar marked the first time that they had gained more than a point in a single competition.

In October 2023, a strong Denmark side including Christian Eriksen, Kasper Schmeichel and Rasmus Hojlund was pushed close in Serravalle, the visitors requiring a late Yussuf Poulsen winner to prevail 2-1. Roberto Cevoli, born in the coastal city of Rimini but a naturalised citizen of the nearby nation, was appointed manager last December and guided the team to a draw against St Kitts and Nevis in March in his second game in charge.

But the win over Liechtenstein may mark a significant step forward. While old stagers like captain Matteo Vitaioli remain, there is a crop of young talent in Cevoli’s squad. Goalscorer Sensoli spent last season on loan in the Italian fourth tier as an 18-year-old, while the Benevenuti twins, Giacomo and Tommaso, are making their way through the academy at Sassuolo.

The fixture list between now and the end of the year is far from daunting: Moldova, Gibraltar, Andorra, Gibraltar and a return date against Liechtenstein. More success could yet be on the way.