Two months after their first-ever win in an official match, San Marino fulfilled a dream by beating Liechtenstein. 3-1 on Monday night in Vaduz, a success that saw them climb from the 4th to the 3rd division of the Nations League (rankings here).

Trailing 1-0 at the break, San Marino forced their fate in the second half, equalising less than a minute after the restart through midfielder Lorenzo Lazzari, before taking the lead thanks to striker Nicola Nanni’s penalty (66th). It was Nanni, also on a penalty, who equalized in injury time against Gibraltar (1-1) on Friday. A third goal from Alessandro Golinucci at the start of the final quarter of an hour sealed top spot in their group for the players of Roberto Cevoli, the Italian coach of San Marino, who have de facto been promoted to the C league of the competition.

“Ending the first half 1-0 down was an insult to soccer, but the lads were brilliant (in the second half) and deserved what they managed to get.”commented Cevoli. The “Serenissimawith 15 shots (6 on target) on the pitch at the Rheinpark Stadion, will also relinquish their position at the bottom of the FIFA world rankings, where they were previously 210th and last.

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Tears of joy

“Aside from the serious risk of being struck by a heart attack, all I can say is that these boys made history tonight.”commented a visibly moved Marco Tura, President of the San Marino Federation. “As people, as sportsmen, as men, they showed what they were worth (…) I cried with them.”he added.

On September 5, San Marino won its first official match against the same opponents, albeit at home (1-0). The micro-state, a mountainous enclave of 34,000 inhabitants in Italy, confirmed its status as the bête noire of Liechtenstein, against whom it had already won a friendly match twenty years ago.