Both aiming to record rare successes in competitive action, San Marino and Liechtenstein will meet for a UEFA Nations League D clash at Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle on Thursday night.
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A goalless draw with CONCACAF minnows Saint Kitts and Nevis on March 24 in Serravalle was the first time La Serenissima had avoided defeat in a contest any of description since the 1-1 draw at Saint Lucia in November 2022, highlighting the country's serious and continued struggles on the international stage.
San Marino's most-recent competitive action arrived during the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, in which Thursday's hosts were unsurprisingly the whipping boys of a highly-competitive Group H, collecting zero points and conceding an eye-watering 31 goals across 10 fixtures.
Despite finishing nine points adrift of second-bottom Northern Ireland in the section, La Serenissima managed to make waves during the final stages of the qualification campaign, finding the net in three straight matches, including a strike from Alessandro Golinucci to equalise against Kasper Hjulmand's Denmark in October 2023.
With a primary aim of providing smaller European nations with the opportunity to challenge themselves in competitive matches against sides of a similar stature, the UEFA Nations League has not been a happy hunting ground for San Marino since the tournament's inception in 2018-19, with Roberto Cevoli's country failing to win any of their 12 games.
As is the case with Thursday's hosts San Marino, visitors Liechtenstein have played four friendly matches so far during the 2024 international calendar, managing to secure one of their most notable results of recent times by holding Euro 2024-bound Romania to a goalless draw in Bucharest on June 7.
The encouraging result against Edward Iordanescu's Tri Colours arrived following a painful Euro 2024 qualifying journey across the course of 2023, when the Blue and Reds finished bottom of a group headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, failing to earn a point and finding the net just once in 10 contests.
That being said, there is considerable cause for optimism in the Liechtenstein camp ahead of this week's trip to fellow minnows San Marino, with the visitors managing to avoid defeat in two of their last three matches - following on from a 24-game losing streak stretching back to 2021.
The Blue and Reds will be looking to emulate feats of the past at Stadio Olimpico on Thursday night, with Liechtenstein's most recent competitive victory arriving at the home of San Marino in September 2020, when Nicolas Hasler and Yanik Frick breached the La Serenissima goal in a 2-0 success.
Winning just two of their 16 matches in the history of the UEFA Nations League, a section containing San Marino and Gibraltar in the 2024-25 edition presents Liechtenstein with four realistic opportunities of recording more competitive victories, with top spot in the group automatically promoted to League C.
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San Marino could be without the services of defender Filippo Fabri, who underwent shoulder surgery over the summer following his country's friendly fixtures in June.
Striker Nicola Nanni is the pick of the attacking players for La Serenissima, with the 24-year-old currently plying his trade at Serie D outfit Olbia.
Finding the net off the bench during the 4-1 defeat to Cyprus in June, Simone Giocondi will be hoping for a promotion to the starting XI on Thursday night.
After helping their nation to keep a clean sheet against Romania in the summer, Niklas Beck and Maximilian Goppel should retain their spots in the backline.
There could be some alterations in forward areas from their most recent fixture, though, with 22-year-old Ferhat Saglam pushing for a start.
San Marino possible starting lineup:Colombo; D'Addario, Cevoli, Rossi, Tosi; Golinucci, Battistini, Berardi; Contandini, Sensoli, Nanni
With two of European football's international minnows meeting in Serravalle on Thursday night, we are expecting a hard-fought clash at Stadio Olimpico.
