San Marino vs Northern Ireland

A low-profile Euro 2024 qualifying Group H showdown at the San Marino Stadium pits perennial whipping boys San Marino against qualification hopefuls Northern Ireland.

San Marino, currently ranked #211 in FIFA’s men’s team rankings, are embarking on their European Championship qualifying campaign with the hope of achieving their first-ever competitive victory. The perennial underdogs on the field, San Marino’s record in qualifying for this tournament reflects an utter disaster as they’ve yet to win a single Euro qualifier (W0, D1, L75). In addition to netting only four goals in those games, ‘La Serenissima’ have conceded a massive 340 goals at an average of over four per match. Ever-present scoring problems have seen San Marino draw a blank in their last five home fixtures. But after going unbeaten in two of their four most recent outings (D2, L2), Fabrizio Costantini’s side will fancy their chances of snapping an abysmal winless streak in Euro qualifiers that spans over 18 years!

As for Northern Ireland, a disappointing run of one win in seven matches prior to this trip (D2, L4) doesn’t mean they’ll be doing any favors as they hope to return to Euro finals after missing out on the 2020 edition. Having collapsed at the final hurdle to Slovakia, they subsequently suffered the 2022 World Cup qualifying fiasco and will be looking for a fresh start against a San Marino side they’ve humbled by 3+ goals ‘to nil’ in each of their four previous meetings. Northern Ireland’s formidable H2H record is perhaps the only positive in otherwise dark times for Michael O’Neil’s men, as they’ve lost their last two competitive away games by an aggregate score of 6-3, conceding precisely three goals on both occasions.