Northern Ireland vs San Marino

Windsor Park is the venue as Northern Ireland and San Marino go head-to-head in a bottom-table Euro 2024 qualifying Group H six-pointer.

Northern Ireland’s hopes of securing only their second-ever European Championship appearance are up in the air after a dreadful five-game losing qualifying streak left them ten points adrift of Group H runners-up Denmark in the build-up to this round. Not even a win over continental minnows San Marino would be enough to reignite the home side’s chances of clutching a top-two finish, but they still have to hold up their end of the bargain. It should be a mere formality, considering a 2-0 triumph in the reverse fixture maintained their 100% H2H record (W5), taking the aggregate scoreline to 16-0. However, Michael O’Neill’s men have since lost their scoring touch, drawing a blank in four of their last five Euro 2024 qualifiers, including both on home soil.

In the meantime, San Marino’s status as the worst-ranked FIFA nation is not unfounded. The visitors have lost all six Group H matches via a combined score of 21-0, extending their scoreless run in Euro qualifiers to seven matches, a run stretching back to November 2019. Bringing the World Cup qualifying games into the equation, ‘La Serenissima’ have not scored in 14 outings on the trot, casting further doubt on their bid to get off the mark against Northern Ireland. On top of that, it’s been almost nine years since San Marino last earned a point in any qualifier, drawing 0-0 against Estonia in 2014. All that hardly makes for good reading as Fabrizio Constantini’s men seek their first-ever international away win.