The first day of the Nations League provided a major surprise for European football: it was not one of the continent’s great teams, one of the title contenders, but one of those teams made up of amateur players who lived a day to remember.
The San Marino national team, a microstate entirely surrounded by Italian territory, had never won an official match. Since its foundation as a national team, it had only won one match, a friendly against Liechtenstein, another European microstate, by 1-0. April 28, 2004.
In the first round of League D of the Nations, the league that brings together the worst teams on the continent, San Marino made history by achieving its first victory, thanks to a goal by Nicko Sensoli in the 52nd minute, curiously against the same opponent, the Liechtenstein national team. Both teams are part of Group 1 of League D, a group that also includes Gibraltar. The other group of League D is made up of Andorra, Malta and Moldova.
San Marino had one of the worst records in the history of football, with a streak of six draws and 135 defeats. 20 years later, the San Marino team has won again, this time, an official match. For the first time in its history.
The federation of San Marino has existed since 1932but its national team began competing in 1986. Almost all of its players in history are amateurs.
In the FIFA rankings, San Marino is ranked last, at 210th. San Marino has 739.64 points in the ranking, compared to 1,835.67 for Spain, ranked third.
