San Marino beat Liechtenstein to claim historic Nations League promotion
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San Marino came from behind to beat Liechtenstein 3-1 and obtain a stunning promotion to the third tier of the Nations League.
PHOTO: SANMARINOTEAM/X
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MILAN – They had always been known as the whipping boys of international football, but San Marino – whose team are mostly made up of part-time players with other jobs – made history on Nov 18.
They came from behind to beat Liechtenstein 3-1 and obtain a stunning promotion to the third tier of the Nations League. It was their first away victory.
Trailing at half-time, San Marino claimed their second competitive win in their history thanks to strikes from Lorenzo Lazzari and Alessandro Golinucci, and Nicola Nanni’s penalty.
Their players charged onto the pitch in joy after securing promotion to League C at the Rheinpark Stadium in Vaduz.
The micro state’s national team, whose first competitive win also came against Liechtenstein back in September in a 1-0 triumph, have been promoted after topping Group D1.
“Finishing that first half 1-0 down was an insult to football, but the boys were brilliant and deserved what they’ve managed to achieve,” said San Marino coach Roberto Cevoli.
“The boys have earned this great opportunity because they are working hard, they are doing it with attention and determination and so I am happy for them.
“The big job (at half-time) was to change the mentality, and I must say that they responded very well straight away.
“So I repeat – the great credit goes to them because they made themselves available and understood what I meant and what I wanted, they did it well and will try to do it again in future.”
San Marino are international football’s bottom-ranked team but finished the group one point ahead of Gibraltar with whom they drew 1-1 on Nov 15 thanks to a last-gasp Nanni spot kick.
They scored three goals in an official fixture for the first time, and Golinucci’s first-time finish in the 76th minute came from a slick passing move which would have once been unthinkable.
“Apart from suffering the serious risk of heart attack, all I can say is that these boys made history tonight,” said a visibly emotional Marco Tura, the president of the San Marino Football Federation.
“As people, as athletes, as men they have shown what they are worth... I cried with the boys.”
San Marino, a landlocked country of just over 30,000 people, had been building up to their historic Nations League campaign after also claiming draws in friendly matches against Seychelles, Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis over the last two years. AFP
