Franciosi gifts a half-hour dream, shattered by VAR and a man down

The superstitious among San Marino supporters will say that Friday the 17th is not a good day to play a match. It would be hard to find disagreement from Nanni and Di Maio, both forced off in the first half of Kazakhstan v San Marino. The first came off around the half-hour mark, the second gritted his teeth and stayed on until the break – at least allowing Costantini to avoid using a second of the three substitution slots already in the opening period. Aside from that, the first half at the Astana Arena revolved entirely around the only shots on target, from Zuev and then Chesnokov – who scored from the edge of the box on 19 minutes. The first effort stemmed from a solo move by the midfielder, who shot with his right and forced Benedettini into action. Di Maio cleared, only to find Chesnokov in his path, who controlled and unleashed a left-footed rocket that gave the San Marino national team goalkeeper no chance. There were no other attempts on target, before or after. The statistics tell us a lot, but not everything: the Astana Arena was a cauldron, the home fans turned out in force for a match that could be historic for Adiev’s men, to the point of drawing Toqaev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, whose presence led to security procedures that affected journalists and the teams themselves, both before and after the game. Nothing, of course, compared to the hotel evacuation the Biancazzurri squad had to endure last night, but on the pitch Costantini’s team showed no sign of being affected. Costantini’s men actually started strongly, pressing high and banking on their opponents’ nervous tension, with Kazakhstan having everything to lose from this game. And indeed the hosts betrayed some nerves in possession in their own defensive third, but the error never quite materialised. Lazzari drove forward on the ball a couple of times, notably on 18 minutes when he carried it past three opponents for fifty metres, reaching the edge of the penalty area before being swallowed up by the yellow wall. After taking the lead, Kazakhstan tried again with a header from Beysebekov. By that point, San Marino had already been forced to take off Nanni – replaced by Vitaioli, the last player to score away from home in a European Qualifiers match. A few minutes later Roberto Di Maio, who had already produced a vital intervention to halt an Aimbetov break, cleared his own box with a back-heel, meeting a fizzing cross from the left at waist height. In the closing stages of the half, San Marino earned two corners in their favour, threatening with inswinging deliveries from Tosi and Capicchioni. The latter also tried his luck on his own on 42 minutes, but his left-footed effort from distance served only to bring the Biancazzurri attacking move to an end. After the restart, Franciosi came on for Di Maio, but the first to make an impact was Lazzari. From a ball won back in midfield, the Victor San Marino midfielder skipped past two players and released Tosi, who was closed down as he went to cross. Shortly afterwards came Kazakhstan’s second, as brilliant as it was hotly contested by the San Marino bench. Chesnokov may have used an arm to tame a long ball from deep, while the rest of the move was all about applauding the left-footed strike from 25 metres that flew into the corner via the inside of the post. After review, VAR did not detect any significant infringement. Nor did it intervene on 58 minutes for a late, heavy challenge by Kenessov on Lazzari in midfield. Kazakhstan then had the chance to kill off the game moments later, as Beysebekov rose highest to meet a Dosmagambetov corner: Benedettini’s save was extraordinary, stretching to his right to turn the danger away. Exactly on the hour mark, Simone Franciosi added his name to the list of San Marino players to have scored in international football. Capicchioni swung a free-kick into the box and, after a rebound, Manuel Battistini struck the post. Franciosi was first to the loose ball and fired home from close range: the Titans now had half an hour to chase an incredible equaliser. And on the balance of play, it would hardly have been undeserved, as underlined by Fabbri’s headed attempt shortly afterwards. In the closing stages, Pancotti, Lunadei and Enrico Golinucci also came on, with the latter two introduced when the result was already settled. Indeed, once again San Marino were left to rue conceding with one of their players down injured on the turf. This time it was Mularoni, after a heavy collision in midfield: as play continued, Kenessov earned a penalty that the referee had not initially awarded. The on-field review initiated by the Austrian VAR team eventually led to Aimbetov scoring from the spot. The night ended with deep disappointment but equal pride in the performance for San Marino. The Titans have now scored twice in back-to-back matches for the first time in over 20 years. Back then it was Andy Selva, against Belgium and Bosnia. Curiously, as with Denmark and Kazakhstan this year, those games also finished 1-2 and 1-3. Scoring again on Monday against Finland would mark an unprecedented achievement for the Biancazzurri – further proof that the growth of San Marino football is now beyond doubt.

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European Qualifiers 2023 | Kazakhstan v San Marino 3-1   KAZAKHSTAN Shatskiy; Kairov (from 54' Skvosrtsov), Malyy, Marochkin, Bystrov (from 54' Yerlanov), Dosmagambetov (from 61' Vorogovskiy); Chesnokov, Beysebekov, Zuev (from 74' Tapalov), Orazov (from 54' Kenessov); Aimbetov Substitutes: Ustimenko, Valiullin, Kassym, Darabayev, Sviridov, Shvyrev Coach:   SAN MARINO E. Benedettini; Ma. Battistini, Fabbri, Di Maio (from 46' Franciosi), Rossi, Tosi; A. Golinucci, Capicchioni (from 90'+4' E. Golinucci), Mularoni (from 90'+4' Lunadei); Lazzari (from 77' Pancotti), Nanni (from 27' Vitaioli) Substitutes: Simoncini, S. Benedettini, D'Addario, Palazzi, Magi, F. Tomassini Coach: Fabrizio Costantini   Referee: Harald Lechner (AUT) Assistants: Andreas Heidenreich (AUT) and Stefan Pichler (AUT) Fourth official: Sebastian Gishamer (AUT) VAR: Alan Kijas (AUT) AVAR: Christian-Petru Ciochirca (AUT) Scorers: 19', 51' Chesnokov, 60' Franciosi, 90'+2 pen. Aimbetov Booked: Mularoni, Kenessov, Fabbri, Yerlanov, Pancotti Attendance: 30,100

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