San Marino win AGAIN! World No 210-ranked side earn Nations League promotion

For the second time in 38 years, San Marino tasted victory in a competitive match, with their 3-1 win over Liechtenstein securing an unprecedented Nations League promotion.

Where previously only two names – Andy Selva and Nicko Sensoli – appeared, three have now been added to the annals of San Marino history. Lorenzo Lazzari. Nicola Nanni. Alessandro Golinucci.

What do they have in common? Rewriting the history books for one. All five national heroes have the distinct honor – distinguished by their scarcity – of scoring in victories in San Marino.

The main difference was that this time San Marino secured the first ever away win in their entire history, earning promotion to the third tier of the UEFA Nations League.

Three goals on the night also saw several records broken as the Titani found the back of the net for the first time in a match, competitive or otherwise, three times.

Prior to Monday night, and the history it made, FIFA's 210th-ranked team had won just two matches, only one of which was competitive. Both came against Liechtenstein.

On a night when victory alone was enough to make the barely conceivable a reality, these three Titani – Lazzari, Nanni and Golinucci – brought just that to a nation for whom victory tastes sweeter than anyone else.

Gibraltar, comparative giants in the group of three, held the keys to the kingdom heading into this final matchday, and after a 1-1 draw at Serravalle on Friday they could only watch as Roberto Cevoli's Sammarinese heroes proved that the world was once wrong. again.

San Marino's hopes of usurping Gibraltar at the top of Group D 1 were dealt an early blow after Aron Sele's stunner towards the end of the first half.

The midfielder shrugged off Giacomo Valentino's challenge in the 40th minute and unleashed a right-footed lightning bolt that flew past Edoardo Colombo and into the roof of the net from 25 yards. Sometimes fate crushes dreams, but rarely in such a stunning way.

San Marino were the better side tonight; Cevoli's side and their relatively lively approach ensured plenty of possession in the attacking areas, even if they were overshadowed in terms of possession.

It's a cliché that conceding just before half-time can be one of the cruelest blows a team can receive. Hitting back within a minute of the restart is about as well as any team could hope to respond.

Lazzari managed to avoid the offside trap as the echoes of Jeremy Pignard's whistle continued to reverberate through the hosts. Andrea Contadini's ball over the top was clipped in and the San Marino midfielder did the rest. Level again.

Within twenty minutes of pressure, Nanni made history for the second time in four days. Just as he had scored San Marino's first ever goal against Gibraltar from the spot on Friday evening, Nanni stepped up to bury a second goal for his side, their first ever competitive match with more than one goal. Tonight was definitely the day.

San Marino had to wait more than twenty years before increasing its number of victories on the national stage. Twenty years after Selva's miraculous free-kick, Sensoli thrilled a nation with victory No. 2. Just two months before a third win seemed a fair offer all things considered.

San Marino were now on the edge, and you could feel the confidence flowing, but even then there wouldn't have been a visiting fan counting their chickens within 100 miles of the Rheinpark Stadium.

At least not until Golinucci, the captain on that night of September nights, who cried with his brother on the bench at the final whistle in San Marino, stepped up to ensure the result.

Alessandro Tosi broke into the penalty area as San Marino looked to press the boot further down and hit the ball back to the edge of the six-yard box, and the defensive midfielder ran over and finished cutely into the bottom corner for San Marino's ball. record-breaking third.

You can imagine the scenes. On rushed with the substitutes to join Golinucci, letting go of all those years of pain and frustration as Cevoli and his staff hugged each other on the touchline. It was an evening full of emotions.

This was no fluke of course, but the culmination of planning and squad building, with Cevoli's side placing a heavy emphasis on developing the next generation of Sammarinese stars to compete on the European stage.

And how has it paid off? This was the second win in six, with just three defeats in that period in previously unprecedented form for FIFA's lowest-ranked country.

Just look at what it meant full-time for this underdog of underdogs. Arm in arm, they ran towards their traveling fans in the stands – from a wide range of countries around the world – before leaping into the air as one, buoyed by the ecstasy that comes with creating history.

San Marino deserved their win that night, in a truly entertaining match.

Five shots on target for the visitors from the hosts' three, plus another fifteen shots on target between the two sides, make for far more than the stagnant, tense encounter that many wrongly expected.

For the heavyweights of the game, you can understand why the Nations League might carry less weight. But for teams like San Marino, for whom the chance to test themselves against their closest rivals and peers is so rare, it represents an opportunity.

This league has often played the role of the much-maligned third league in Europe; without the glitz or glamor of the European Championship and without the global attention of the World Cup.

But on a cold night in Liechtenstein we saw how important it really is, allowing even the countries most in the spotlight to spend their time in the sun.