San Marino, the worst nation in the FIFA rankings, scored in three consecutive games for the first time in its history. And the players celebrated it like a victory.
The performance almost tastes like a victory. And yet, Saint-Matin, the worst team in the Fifa ranking, has still not achieved the second success in its history, almost 20 years after the one and only against Liechtenstein (1-0) in a friendly in 2004. selection still wrote a historic page by scoring a goal in three consecutive matches in October and November.
Fabrizio Costantini’s players began their series against Denmark (1-2) on October 17 before continuing it in Kazakhstan (3-1) on November 17 then Monday against Finland (1-2) during the qualifying for Euro 2024. Filippo Berardi had strong nerves to convert a penalty at the end of added time (90th + 7) to allow his team to reduce the gap but above all not to put an end to this continuity never seen since the first steps of the selection in 1986 (first official match played in 1990).
Very unaccustomed to pushing the ball into the back of the net, the players of this landlocked micro-state inside Italy celebrated this achievement with very demonstrative joy. The local press, too, salutes its heroes. “This is the third consecutive match with goals, something the biancaszurri have never achieved before,” recalls the San Marino RTV media. “The crowning achievement of a magnificent end to qualifying for Euro2024 – 3 goals scored and only 7 conceded in 3 great performances – and a deserved boost of confidence for Berardi.”
The defeat against Finland was the 200th match in the history of the selection. Berardi scored San Marino’s 31st goal. “I’m happy, I haven’t been in the national team for a while (since June, Editor’s note), so I’m obviously happy to have scored this goal. San Marino had never scored in three consecutive games, it “It’s therefore a pleasing assessment. We’re growing a lot, it’s a great satisfaction.”
