Preview: San Marino vs Azerbaijan - prediction, team news, lineups

Both beaten again last week, Azerbaijan and San Marino will aim to wrap up the 2025-26 season with a rare win when they meet on Tuesday evening.

Set for an international friendly in Hungary, both teams missed out on the World Cup as expected and are building towards a new UEFA Nations League campaign.

Match preview

As the lowest-ranked football nation according to FIFA, it was certainly no surprise that San Marino came nowhere near to reaching the upcoming World Cup.

Indeed, after La Serenissima were thrashed 7-1 by Romania last year, they finished rock bottom of their qualifying group without collecting a single point.

Roberto Cevoli's side then lost 2-1 to the Faroe Islands in their first March friendly, extending their losing streak to 12 matches.

That sequence stretched back to their famous 3-1 Nations League win over Liechtenstein in November 2024, but it was finally ended by a goalless draw with Andorra three days later.

However, in the first game of a post-season double-header last week, San Marino succumbed to another defeat, as Asian minnows Bangladesh left Serravalle with a 2-1 win.

Italian coach Cevoli now has one last chance to experiment before his team tackle an historic Nations League campaign in the autumn.

After defying all odds to win promotion last time around, San Marino are set to face Albania, Belarus and Finland in League C Group 1.

Now ranked below their Sammarinese counterparts in that competition, Azerbaijan only picked up one point in the most recent Nations League and were relegated to Europe's bottom tier.

So, before entering a League D group also featuring Lithuania and Liechenstein, the Azeris must try to build some momentum after a tough couple of years.

Following their Nations League setback, World Cup qualifying only brought more misery, as veteran coach Fernando Santos was sacked after a 5-0 thumping in Iceland.

A spirited 1-1 draw with Ukraine then saw interim boss Aykhan Abbasov press his claims for a permanent appointment, which was still confirmed despite Azerbaijan finishing last in Group D.

Finally, the new FIFA World Series delivered some sweet relief in March, as they ended a 16-game winless streak by beating St Lucia 6-1 before defeating Sierra Leone on penalties.

Despite witnessing a 2-0 home loss to Malta in his team's first summer friendly, Abbasov will expect to taste victory again on Tuesday.

San Marino International Friendlies form:

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San Marino form (all competitions):

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Azerbaijan International Friendlies form:

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Azerbaijan form (all competitions):

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Team News

San Marino are set to continue with Nicola Nanni up front, most probably flanked by Filippo Berardi and Nicolas Giacopetti, the latter of whom was on target against Bangladesh.

Just one player in the microstate's history has scored more international goals than that trio, though they only have 11 between them.

One of several men playing at little Italian club Pietracuta, Alessandro Golinucci should run operations in midfield, where the experienced Alessandro Golinucci is La Serenissima's most notable absentee.

Meanwhile, Russia-born goalkeeper Emil Balayev was recalled to Azerbaijan's squad this month, subsequently starting against Malta.

Kaiserslautern striker Mahir Emreli also returned and he should lead a three-man attack in Hungary; former Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Renat Dadashov may be consigned to the bench.

Captain and all-time top scorer Emin Mahmudov will hope to force his way back into the starting lineup after being an unused substitute on Friday.

San Marino possible starting lineup:

Colombo; Benvenuti, Cevoli, Pasolini, Tosi; Mularoni, Capicchioni, Zannoni; Berardi, Giacopetti; Nanni

Azerbaijan possible starting lineup:

Balayev; Huseynov, Badalov, Mammadov; Aliyev, Mahmudov, Safarov, Cafarguliyev; Bayramov, Emreli, Aliev

We say: San Marino 0-2 Azerbaijan

After winning both previous meetings - during qualifying for the 2018 World Cup - Azerbaijan will prevail again when these teams meet on neutral turf.

Neither side is accustomed to success, but the Azeris have some players with Champions League experience, are ranked 87 places higher and are usually more competitive.

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