Nations League: San Marino defeat Liechtenstein in first competitive win

San Marino have beaten Liechtenstein 1-0 in the Nations League’s fourth tier, securing their first-ever competitive victory after 34 years of trying.

Nicko Sensoli scored the only goal of the game in Serravalle, the teenager pouncing on a defensive error and steering the ball past keeper Benjamin Büchel in the 53rd minute. Liechtenstein’s Fabio Luque Notaro had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half and also saw a close-range shot blocked just before Sensoli’s opener.

The hosts held on for eight minutes of injury time to win to spark wild celebrations for the team currently ranked 210th and last in Fifa’s world rankings. San Marino’s win means they are also top of the Nations League group they share with Liechtenstein and Gibraltar.

The tiny republic surrounded by Italy played their first qualifier in 1990 and have never won a competitive match. San Marino’s only previous victory – also a 1-0 win over Liechtenstein – came in a 2004 friendly, played before Sensoli was born. The side’s competitive record before Thursday’s win read: won zero, drawn five, lost 171.

In League A, Cristiano Ronaldo’s 900th career goal helped Portugal to a 2-1 win over Croatia, while Diogo Dalot opened the scoring for the hosts and then netted an own goal at the Estádio da Luz.

Dalot put Portugal ahead in the seventh minute when his Manchester United clubmate, Bruno Fernandes, played a clever chipped pass into his path. The right-back went past Borna Sosa before firing his shot through the legs of keeper
Dominik Livakovic.

Ronaldo, who failed to score in Portugal’s five Euro 2024 games, reached his milestone when he got on the end of a perfect cross from Nuno Mendes in Lisbon. The 39-year-old was unmarked and able to tap in from close range to double the lead in the 34th minute.

Croatia pulled one back four minutes from the break when Dalot deflected a sliding effort from Sosa into his own net, but a scoreless second half gave Portugal a winning start to their campaign. Roberto Martínez’s side next host Scotland on Sunday, while Croatia entertain Poland, who won 3-2 at Hampden Park.

Spain began their Nations League title defence with a dour goalless away draw with Serbia in Group A4, ending a nine-game winning streak as the Euro 2024 champions dropped their first points since March.

Playing their first match since beating England 2-1 in the European Championship final in Berlin on 14 July, Spain dominated possession but were unable to convert in 22 scoring attempts. That allowed Denmark to go top of the group after they beat nine-man Switzerland 2-0 in Copenhagen.

The hosts thought they had won a penalty early in the second half when Nico Elvedi picked up a booking for upending Kasper Dolberg in the area, but after a VAR review the referee changed his decision to a free kick just outside the box and a red card for the Swiss defender.

Jonas Wind had the ball in the net in the 72nd minute but the goal was chalked off for offside, and nine minutes later, Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu was introduced for his first cap as his side chased a winner. The 19-year-old broke the deadlock a minute later, latching on to a ball from fellow substitute Andreas Skov Olsen and firing home with his right foot.

Any chance the Swiss had of mounting a comeback disappeared when captain Granit Xhaka, who was booked in the aftermath of the goal, was dismissed in the 87th minute after picking up his second yellow card. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg then wrapped up the victory with a stoppage-time goal from another Skov Olsen assist.

In League C, early strikes from Paddy McNair and Daniel Ballard earned Northern Ireland a 2-0 victory over Luxembourg in a positive display at Windsor Park.

After just 11 minutes, Ballard won a flick-on at the near post from Ciaron Brown’s long throw, and the ball came to McNair to power a shot into the left-hand corner of the net, scoring his seventh Northern Ireland goal on the night of his 70th cap.

Six minutes later, George Saville hit a free-kick low towards the near post, with Ballard arriving on cue to turn the ball in and score his first Windsor Park goal. Michael O’Neill’s side had further chances in the second half through Josh Magennis and Conor Bradley, but settled for just their second-ever Nations League win.

Northern Ireland are top of Group C3 after Belarus and Bulgaria played out a goalless draw in Hungary. In Group C1, Alexander Isak was on target twice as Sweden saw off Azerbaijan 3-1 in Baku, while Tomas Suslov got the winner for Slovakia in Estonia.