San Marino v N. Ireland preview: La Serenissima target maiden win
No UEFA member has a smaller population to choose from than San Marino, making them huge underdogs every time they step onto the pitch - a title that’s illustrated by their truly awful record in qualifying for this tournament (W0, D1, L75).
La Serenissima have scored just eight times in such contests, whilst conceding a whopping 340 goals which equates to an average of over four goals conceded per match! They’ve also failed to find the net in each of their last five home outings, so there appears to be an extremely slim chance of turning the tide here. One glimmer of hope can be found in San Marino avoiding defeat in two of their last four matches though (D2, L2), so perhaps now is the time to end a winless streak that spans over 18 years and start Group H with a bang.
Northern Ireland won’t be lending a helping hand however, and will be looking to right the wrongs of an unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the 2020 Euros which saw them fall at the final hurdle to Slovakia. There’s a new manager at the helm now, with Michael O’Neill returning for a second stint in charge of the Green and White Army.
O’Neill is guarding strongly against complacency ahead of this clash, stating "we’ll prepare for San Marino in a similar fashion to if we were preparing for Germany". Such a steadfast approach ought to give them a good chance of preserving their spotless head-to-head record (W4, GF: 14, GA: 0) and boost hopes of advancing to a first major tournament since 2016.
Players to watch: Key San Marino defender Filippo Fabbri has returned from injury just in time for this clash - he scored his country’s last goal against European opposition in a 2-1 defeat to Lithuania. Northern Ireland frontman Josh Magennis will be looking to add to his eight-goal international tally, two of which came against San Marino in his side’s 3-0 victory in 2017.
Hot stat: San Marino have kept just one clean sheet in 76 Euros qualifiers - a 0-0 draw against Estonia in 2014!
