If you want a laughingstock of the world football community, you normally need to look no further than San Marino. The nation-state contained inside Italy is regularly used as a punching bag by the bigger sides in international play, with then conceding seven, eight, or even more goals in a single fixture not being all that unusual.
San Marino earn first ever European Championship qualifying point
With Saturday’s scoreless draw, San Marino not only snapped a losing streak of dozens of matches, they also earned their first point ever in Euro qualifying.
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In their entire history, San Marino have won a single match. They’re dead-last in Europe in every ranking system used to compare international football squads. They famously had a run of over 20 matches over almost four years without scoring a goal. They lost 61 matches in a row.
But not today. On Saturday, San Marino did not lose. They drew Estonia, 0-0.
Of course, San Marino aren’t exactly winners either, but that doesn’t change the fact that today’s draw is far more important to the tiny nation than you would think. You see, not only did today’s draw snap that 61-match losing streak, it also won them their first point in European Championships qualifying. No, not their first point this year. Their first point ever.
San Marino’s one win in their history, against Liechtenstein in 2004, came in a friendly. So did their draw against Liechtenstein a year earlier. They did earn a pair of draws in World Cup qualifying, one in 1993 and the other in 2001, but they haven’t been so fortunate in European Championship qualifying.
San Marino have been competing since 1990, and in all of those 24 years they have never earned so much as a draw in Euro qualifying matches. But on this occasion, they played host to Estonia, and they did not lose. Today, they gave their fans a reason to celebrate.
Today, San Marino are not losers. For their players, their fans, and their citizens, today is a very good day.
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