Reuters and AFP, MILAN, Italy
World soccer’s lowest-ranked national team, San Marino, on Monday made history after coming from behind to beat Liechtenstein 3-1 and obtain a stunning promotion to the third tier of the UEFA Nations League, while Croatia squeaked into the quarter-finals.
Trailing at halftime, San Marino claimed their second-ever competitive win thanks to strikes from Lorenzo Lazzari and Alessandro Golinucci and Nicola Nanni’s penalty.
San Marino’s players charged onto the pitch in joy after securing promotion to League C at the Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz.
Croatia’s Kristijan Jakic, left, and Portugal’s Joao Cancelo vie for the ball in their UEFA Nations League group stage match in Split, Croatia, on Monday.
Photo: Reuters
“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,” San Marino coach Roberto Cevoli said.
San Marino, with only their second competitive win ever, finished top with seven points, one point ahead of Gibraltar, with whom they drew 1-1 on Friday thanks to a last-gasp Nanni spot-kick, while Liechtenstein are bottom with two points after four games.
They scored three goals in an official fixture for the first time and Golinucci’s first-time finish in the 76th minute, which decided the match, came from a slick passing move that 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, bottom of FIFA’s world rankings at 210, won their first ever competitive match by beating Liechtenstein 1-0 in the reverse fixture in September, 20 years after their only other victory in a friendly also against Liechtenstein.
The whipping boys of international soccer 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 past two years.
Meanwhile, Josko Gvardiol continued his scoring streak to earn Croatia a 1-1 home draw with Portugal that sent them into the quarter-finals.
The draw allowed Croatia to finish one point above Scotland who continued their late surge with a 2-1 win over Poland in Warsaw.
In Group A4, Spain, already assured of qualification, beat last-placed Switzerland 3-2 and Denmark secured second place in the group with a 0-0 draw in Serbia.
In League C, Northern Ireland drew 2-2 to Luxembourg, but topped Group 3 when Bulgaria threw away a lead and drew 1-1 against Belarus.
In Group 2, Romania beat Cyprus 4-1 to stay top of the group, two points ahead of Kosovo, who beat Lithuania 1-0.
