San Marino Celebrates Historic Competitive Victory Over Liechtenstein in Nations League Match

San Marino clinched a monumental 1-0 victory against Liechtenstein in the Nations League's fourth tier, marking their first-ever competitive win after 34 years and over 200 games of striving, The Guardian reported. This triumph breaks the longest winless stretch in football, dating back to a friendly victory over Liechtenstein in 2004.

The decisive moment came in the 53rd minute when 19-year-old Nicko Sensoli, playing in Italy's fourth tier, capitalized on a defensive error and lofted the ball past goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel. Sensoli's goal ignited wild celebrations for the team, who had previously lost 196 out of their 206 matches. Fabio Luque Notaro had an earlier goal disallowed for offside and came close just before Sensoli's match-winner.

Defensive resilience in the closing eight minutes of injury time allowed San Marino, the lowest-ranked team by FIFA, to finally savor their historic accomplishment.

Apart from their competitive success, San Marino has shown improvement over recent years. In March, they held Saint Kitts and Nevis to a goalless draw and scored their first competitive goal in two years against Denmark last October. The microstate, nestled in Italy with a population of just 33,000, has covered a modest 61 square kilometers, similar to half the size of Manchester.

In other Nations League matches, Cristiano Ronaldo's 900th career goal helped Portugal to a 2-1 win over Croatia. Diogo Dalot put Portugal ahead and, despite an own goal later on, Portugal maintained their lead. Meanwhile, Spain's title defense began with a goalless draw against Serbia, and Denmark topped their group by beating Switzerland 2-0.

Northern Ireland earned a 2-0 win over Luxembourg, moving to the top of their group in League C. Further triumphs in League C saw Sweden defeat Azerbaijan 3-1 and Slovakia secure a 2-1 victory over Estonia.

Earlier, SSP wrote about Mohamed Salah's future with Liverpool: uncertainty despite Stellar performance.