The 19-year-old who netted the decisive goal in San Marino’s first-ever competitive win wasn’t even born the last time the tiny republic tasted victory.
Thursday’s 1-0 triumph over Liechtenstein in the Nations League marked two decades since San Marino – a microstate surrounded by central Italy with a population of about 33,000 – secured its last win, also a 1-0 result against Liechtenstein in a friendly.
“We didn’t sleep last night. During the celebrations, there were those who screamed and those who cried,” said Marco Tura, the former international referee who is the president of San Marino’s football federation.
San Marino had not won a single game in 141 previous competitive matches.
But the Titans are on a roll, having also scored in their three previous competitive games – narrow losses to Denmark (2-1), Kazakhstan (3-1), and Finland (2-1).
Tura attributes the improvement to the San Marino Academy, which has allowed players like Nicko Sensoli, who scored against Liechtenstein, to play at home instead of joining local Italian clubs.
“Two years ago we realized that we were losing a lot of kids between the ages of 19 and 22. So we created an under-22 academy team. The academy’s youth team plays in the Italian leagues, while the first team plays in the San Marino league,” Tura said, according to the Italian football site gianlucadimarzio.com.
Located inland from the Italian city of Rimini and perched atop a hill, San Marino is among the world’s oldest republics.
Sensoli scored by lifting the ball over Liechtenstein’s onrushing goalkeeper with the tip of his boot after a failed clearance.
San Marino now leads Group D1 of the Nations League after earning three points for the first time from a victory. Gibraltar, which hasn’t played yet, and Liechtenstein each have zero points.
San Marino will chase more victories in its next two games against Gibraltar, followed by a visit to Liechtenstein in November. First, though, there’s a visit to Moldova on Tuesday for a friendly.
“We’re taking it day by day,” Tura said. “But I’m sure it won’t be another 20 years before we win again.”
