Futsal, EURO 2026 qualifiers: group of death for San Marino

The Futsal National Team is back on court this year for the qualifiers for UEFA Futsal EURO 2026. In the previous continental campaign, the Biancazzurri of the small-sided game – still led by head coach Roberto Osimani – recorded the best-ever result for any San Marino national team. In Bulgaria they clinched a place in the Play-offs where, in the middle of the pandemic, they faced Denmark, going down by the narrowest of margins. At 14:00, at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, the Titani discovered what awaits them in less than three months’ time. In the second week of April, San Marino will return to the court with three points at stake in each of the three Group B fixtures, at the Preliminary Round stage. It was already known that they could not be drawn against Scotland or Northern Ireland, who shared the same seeding pot as San Marino. The Biancazzurri will battle Austria, Bulgaria and Israel – listed here in ascending order of ranking – for access to the Main Round. The top two teams in this mini-group will book their tickets for the final qualifying phase before the Play-offs – the gateway to the Finals, which will be hosted in Latvia and Lithuania from 18 January to 8 February 2026. It is a genuine group of death, and the numbers confirm it: three seeded teams out of four (Israel, Bulgaria and San Marino), together with Austria – second only to Gibraltar in terms of recent results, with much of the latter’s ranking owing to the head-to-head win over San Marino (2-1) in Hamburg two years ago. “Since I have been in charge of the San Marino National Team,” Osimani commented, “this is without doubt the toughest draw we have ever faced. In fact, it is enough to look at the ranking of each of our opponents to realise that we have been paired with the best (or the worst) that the pots could offer. And I can assure you that Austria are not inferior to Gibraltar; they may even have something extra.” For the head coach, there will be a chance to work with the team as early as next week, when San Marino will travel to Poreč to take part in a tournament in which they could, in theory, have met two of their future European qualifying opponents. That will not be the case, as Malta and Switzerland have been placed in Group C, while Denmark will start directly from the Main Round. On Sunday 4 February, the Titani will round off the tournament against Greenland. “It will be an excellent opportunity to work with the lads, having almost the entire pool of players potentially selectable for the European qualifiers in April,” the coach continued. “The only absence already confirmed is Daniele Maiani; otherwise we will be almost at full strength. We will try to fuel up the engine ahead of one of the most demanding weeks in recent years.”

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