San Marino
I could have sworn I wrote about this, but I couldn't find it, so I guess not.I've been a fan of San Marino's soccer team for years. They're a tiny country of 30,000 inside Italy.
More importantly, they're the worst national soccer team in the world.
They've had a national squad since 1986, and other than a win in an exhibition match, their record was 0-198. They'd never won an official international match.
I told C about this, because I'm the patron saint of lost sports causes, and she promptly surprised me with a jersey:
It's a beauty, and I happily wore it knowing no one would ever recognize the team.
Then, in San Marino's first game since I got the jersey, the unthinkable happened: they won.
On September 5, San Marino beat Lichtenstein 1-0, courtesy of possibly the worst offside call in the history of soccer. See for yourself: game highlights. It's hard to feel bad for Lichtenstein, given that San Marino hadn't won in 38 years, but still.
This was in an official competition, too: a UEFA Nations league match.
Here's more, from Defector (and hopefully you don't hit a paywall, although Defector is the one site that's absolutely worth a subscription): The World's Worst Soccer Team is Finally Something Else.
Record without me having a jersey? 1-198.
Record with me having a jersey? 1-0. World Cup, here we come.
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