Two of the world's lowest-ranked nations will meet in a friendly encounter on Wednesday night when San Marino play host to Seychelles in Serravalle.
This fixture was initially cancelled by Seychelles just over a week ago due to 'unforeseen circumstances', but the game is now back on and will take place as originally planned at the San Marino Stadium.
Match preview
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Sitting at the foot of the FIFA world rankings in 210th place, San Marino are still regarded as football's weakest nation, having lost 180 of their 187 official matches since they gained FIFA affiliation in 1990.
A slender 1-0 friendly win at home to Liechtenstein back in April 2004 is their only triumph on the international scene, while they have drawn six other games including their most recent against Gibraltar in November 2020.
Since then, San Marino have lost all of their last 18 games, scoring only three times and conceding 67 goals in the process. However, Fabrizio Costantini's side have shown minor signs of improvement in defence since the turn of the year.
After suffering a heavy 10-0 home defeat to England in their final game of 2021, San Marino have not conceded more than twice in any of their six matches in 2022. Their last two fixtures ended in narrow 1-0 defeats against Iceland and Malta respectively in June.
Wednesday's fixture will be the first time San Marino have come up against Seychelles, who have also endured a miserable run of form over several years.
An archipelago of 115 islands off the East Coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, Seychelles have been recognised as a FIFA nation since 1986 when they lost 2-1 in their first competitive match against Mauritius.
The Pirates, who are ranked 198th in the world by FIFA, have taken part in a total of 161 internationals, winning 24, drawing 28 and losing 109, and they head into Wednesday's friendly hoping to end a 10-game winless run.
Vivian Bothe's side suffered back-to-back defeats in their last two matches away against Madagascar in the African Nations Championship, with a 1-0 loss on July 23 followed by a 3-0 defeat eight days later.
Seychelles will be coming up against a European nation for the first time in their history when they face San Marino on Wednesday, and they will fancy their chances of success.
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Team News
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San Marino are expected to name a similar side which played in the defeat to Malta last time out, although Costantini could switch from a five-man defence to a more adventurous three-at-the-back system with Alessandro D'Addario and Andrea Grandoni given licence to move further forward as wing-backs.
Goalkeeper Elia Benedettini, who represents Serie C side Cesana, is set to continue between the sticks, while Nicola Nanni could lead the line in attack alongside Matteo Vitaioli.
As for Seychelles, defender Juninho Mathiot is suspended after he received a straight red card in their last match against Madagascar.
Burton Albion's Michael Mancienne – who made his international debut in July – is ruled out with a knee injury, but captain Benoit Marie is expected to start in defence.
San Marino possible starting lineup:
Benedettini; Palazzi, Rossi, Fabbri; D'Addario, Lunadei, Battistini, Tomassini, Grandoni; Vitaioli, Nanni
Seychelles possible starting lineup:
Michel; Monnaie, Mellie, Brown, Marie, Fanchette; Nourrice, Balette; Labrosse, Henriette, Mothe
We say: San Marino 0-0 Seychelles
Both nations will view this fixture as a realistic opportunity to come away with a positive result for the first time in a while.
San Marino head into every contest as the underdog, but we feel that this could be the moment where they finally end their losing streak and claim a hard-fought draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
