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American sports fans are accustomed to long droughts, but at least the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs won games when they were searching for World Series glory.
Until Thursday, that was more than the San Marino soccer team could say.
San Marino earned its first-ever competitive win with a 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein during Thursday’s UEFA Nations League contest. As ESPN noted, it was the small nation’s first win in any game since it defeated the same opponent in a friendly more than 20 years ago in April 2004.
The Sweeper @SweeperPod
🇸🇲 SAN MARINO WIN A GAME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20+ YEARS & A COMPETITIVE MATCH FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!!!<br><br>History is made as the worst team in the FIFA rankings (210th) finally end the longest winless run in international football history (140 games dating back to April 2004)!!! <a href=”https://t.co/xbB3M2WQUE”>pic.twitter.com/xbB3M2WQUE</a>
San Marino is now 2-10-199 all-time.
It comes as no surprise, then, that the nation is last in FIFA’s world rankings at No. 210. Yet that didn’t stop Nicko Sensoli from sending the fans into celebration mode with what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute.
The defense held strong from there and handed Liechtenstein, which is No. 199 in the FIFA world rankings, a stunning loss.
Sky News noted San Marino has a population of just 33,000, so it doesn’t have an extensive talent pool to pull from when it comes to forming a team. The majority of the amateur players on the roster have other jobs.
The nation lost by double digits seven times during its 140-match winless streak and even set the European record for going 20 matches without a goal from 2008 to 2012.
But none of that mattered Thursday as Sensoli scored a goal that will be remembered in San Marino for years to come.