How Did San Marino SUDDENLY Become Amazing?

The so-called worst team in the world, until September 2024, San Marino had played 205 matches, and they had won one, drawn nine, and lost 195 of them.

Yet, in the last two months, San Marino have won their first game in 20 years, their first ever competitive and away win, and they have won promotion in the UEFA Nations League.

So in this video, HITC Sevens takes a look at the unlikely rise of football's ultimate minnows, how it happened, and whether it is a sign that the end times are almost upon us.

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[samwansbone]

Never thought I'd see the day where San Marino have more wins in a month than Arsenal and Man City combined.

[werner]

I guess this video should be followed with a 'what the hell's going on at Liechtenstein?'.

[bababababababa]

San Marino won more games throughout the month of November than Man City

[GK-fpkn]

The one (and only real) positive about the Nations League is that nations are being paired with nations of a similar standard, hence San Marino not looking truly awful compared to their opposition.

[georgef]

This is why the Nations League is a brilliant idea. It gives the minnow nations more chance at being competitive, compared to the World Cup and European Championship qualification where they're grouped with teams that they dont stand a chance against.

[michaelward]

If San Marino could play all their matches against Lichtenstein they would be world class!!

[rossomac]

This is a lot of words for "they now get to play Gibraltar instead of Spain"

In all seriousness, this is a great video. Very funny and informative. A credit to your profession.

[jamesboswell]

The Nations League is actually a far better tournament than it generally gets credit for. For one thing it produces reliably tight games since most teams competing are at similar levels. This is not just good for minnows like San Marino, but also at the other end of the scale. More regularly playing top international rivals has most likely helped England to kick on and reach major finals. And this year's competition has perhaps also helped Scotland and Wales to step up. An all-round beneficial effect and plenty of entertainment for the fans instead of the routine tedium of old-fashioned friendlies. It's not often I applaud UEFA, but on this one they deserve maximum credit.

[donovandrayton]

San Marino is also an underrated Eurovision country who even had an entry that featured Flo Rida a couple of years ago.

[yoyomon]

So God started a San Marino FM save isn't it?

[AJCrowley]

Gotta say, I'm very impressed by your ability to stretch "UEFA Nations League, innit" into a 35 minute video

[kenjidef]

San Marino Golden generation is real

Seeing them win 2 times in a short amount of time is amazing

[AlexPigin]

One look at Fabrizio Constantini's head tells you everything you need to know about the through-the-roof levels of confidence this mans posesses.

[bababababababa]

San Marino needs to arrange some friendlies with countries like Anguilla, Samoa or Seychelles. I’m 100% certain that they will beat all of those nations. Their position at the bottom of the FIFA rankings always seemed off to me, I think it’s only because they’re in UEFA and usually face tougher competition

[paulojrneto]

If San Marino's current display is astonishing, Liechtenstein's plunge into a level where they are even outclassed by San Marino isn't any less gobsmacking. Lest we forget in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, Liechtenstein managed to get a 2-2 home draw (and a hard-fought 1-2 away loss) to a Portuguese team at their biggest peak up until them, straight out being Euro 2004 finalists, as well as winning their two games against Luxembourg by 4-0 and 3-0.

[black_baguette]

San Marino winning two matches, scoring three goals and qualifying for league C in the Nations League b4 GTA VI

[Choppy]

Hiya Alfie, I'm delighted that San Marino have won a game or 2, I can remember when San Marino scored after 9 seconds against England, that game was played in Bologna, Italy, it was Graham Taylors last game as England Manager, San Marino are my second favourite team, I had a right good laugh at "CAN WE PLAY YOU EVERY WEEK" I always wait for their results, this is Choppy

[thingswillbealright]

San Marino's journey is literally football fairy tale, best luck for San Marino.

[joebhoyy]

San Marino have now scored more away goals this season than the mighty Glasgow Rangers 🤣🤣

[ezraezra]

In case anyone is wondering, it's highly recommend to watch Maqwell's own video about San Marino. This Vietnamese guy had even posted about the history of the worst national football team (it was an old video, maybe in 2021).

Couple things you missed regarding San Marino:
1.The infamous Davide Gualtieri's goal against England during 1994 World Cup qualifiers.
That goal prevented England for even playing in the tournament, despite winning 7-1. San Marino were 1-0 up for 20 minutes!
That goal was also the fastest one in the World Cup qualifiers until Belgium's Christian Benteke did so against Gibraltar during 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
The Suns had even posted a major headline after that game with "End of the World".
Also, earlier that stage, San Marino grabbed a historic goalless draw against Turkey.
2.San Marino drew 1-1 against Latvia during 2002 World Cup qualifiers away.
After that humiliating result, Latvian coach (can't remember that name) was immediately sacked.
Latvia had even played in Euro 2004 after this disastrous draw vs San Marino.
3.In Euro 2008 qualifiers, San Marino lost to Republic of Ireland away, but just barely because the Irish scored a last minute winning goal at thay time.
4.When San Marino played against England in 2014 World Cup qualifiers at Wembley, all of San Marino players on line up presentation (as seen in ITV) were displayed as regular jobs instead of the professional clubs they play on. This is a funny thing that I noticed.
5.San Marino, Liechtenstein, and Gibraltar were drawn into the same group of the Nations League D in 2020-21 season.
At that time, San Marino had 2 goalless draws (Liechtenstein away and Gibraltar at home).