Futsal: Narrow Montenegro win leaves San Marino full of regrets

The Titani make their debut at Hamburg’s CU Arena against the top favourite to finish first in Group A of the 2024 Futsal World Cup qualifiers: Montenegro. The two national teams meet again after more than nine years, following their first and only previous encounter: played in Nice in the 2014 EURO qualifiers, it ended 11-0 to the Balkan side. Since then, only Ilija Mugoša – now captain – remains from the group coached today by Sveto Ljesar. On the San Marino side, only Franciosi and Belloni have stood the test of time, both called up now by Osimani and back then by De Gregorio. San Marino start well, with the right focus and determination, even if Osimani notes in the very early stages a little too much passivity when moving against Montenegro’s prolonged spells of possession. Protti is alert whenever called into action and the first real opposition chance arrives on 7 minutes, with a thunderbolt from Vidaković testing the reflexes of the San Marino keeper. San Marino show themselves on the break, going close in a goalmouth scramble with Cecchini – following the first corner – and then on a counter-attack led by Mattioli. The Sammarinese winger embarks on a coast to coast run that only a brilliant last-ditch sliding recovery by Vukovic prevents from becoming a perfect assist for Belloni. Around the midway point of the half, Montenegro come within a whisker of 1-0 through Ćorović, who is literally struck at the far post by a team-mate’s driven cross. The ball ends up in Protti’s arms, and the keeper then follows in a diving save the diagonal effort from Ilija Mugoša – the culmination of sustained attacking pressure around the Biancazzurri’s defensive perimeter. Protti then has to intervene twice to deny Cimbaljevic and save the subsequent rebound, before stretching to parry a rocket from Vuletic. San Marino withstand the pressure, rarely seeming to lose their shape; in this respect the new faces – especially Moretti, De Angelis and Cecchini – give Osimani greater depth in his rotations, along with energy, legs and competitive edge. Quality is not lacking either, as shown by Pasqualini midway through the 15th minute: he steals the ball off Vukovic and launches himself on the counter all the way into the vicinity of Djurkovic’s goal, nutmegging an opponent on the way. Montenegro escape with a corner and begin to show signs of nerves. San Marino threaten again, this time with Belloni, who toys with Ivan Mugoša before unleashing a powerful strike, thwarted by Djurkovic. The chance that Busignani creates for Felici’s central run is nothing short of sensational with less than two minutes to go before the interval: through on Djurkovic, the winger miscontrols when he might have gone for a first-time finish from inside the area. The half ends with Montenegro in ultra-offensive mode, but they keep running into a vigilant and precise Protti, and pay dearly for Spasojević’s lack of accuracy at the end of a counter-attack that had clearly been started by a foul on De Angelis, ignored by the referees. De Angelis then clips the frame of the Montenegrin goal with a worked side kick: it is the final thrill before the teams head to the dressing rooms with the score at 0-0. This is the third time in San Marino’s history that they have reached half-time at 0-0 in qualifiers for a major tournament, and the third in a row after the now-historic matches in Varna. The Titani also start the second half on the front foot, earning a corner after just five seconds, albeit without reward. This time Montenegro score with their first meaningful attack, and almost without tempo: Vuletic’s long-range thunderbolt catches Protti out, deceived by the movement of an opponent close to the goal line. San Marino do not deflate – far from it: less than a minute after falling behind, Moretti finds himself one-on-one with Djurkovic, but pokes his right-footed effort wide. A brief stoppage for an issue with the scoreboard and game clock breaks up the rhythm on court. The Biancazzurri nonetheless remain fully switched on and continue to execute their game plan, now focused on staying in contention right to the end. At the back, they limit the risks and Protti is called into action only once in the 32nd minute, saving Vukovic’s right-footed effort from a tight angle. At the other end, Mattioli has a go from a free-kick without success, then goes down in the area after a central surge – again without earning a whistle in his favour. Following an initiative by Moretti in the 33rd minute, the ball squirts towards Djurkovic, who grabs it a split second before Toccaceli can reach it. A fine sliding save from Protti moments later averts greater danger from a Montenegro corner routine, and he repeats the feat in the 35th minute on Ivan Mugoša’s central break – after a series of robust challenges, all given in favour of the opponents. The Titani come within a few centimetres of releasing Pasqualini clean through on goal, showing not only that they are still afloat, but that they are fully in the game. As they push forward, Protti’s qualities shine even more – he is decisive again on 37 minutes to deny Cimbaljevic, set free from what had seemed a harmless corner. San Marino prepare the flying goalkeeper for the final two minutes against the highest-ranked team in the mini-tournament. Unthinkable, just a few years ago. The rotation pattern San Marino choose repeatedly does not yield clear chances and, in the closing moments, the Biancazzurri almost commit harakiri: first with a ball mishandled in the area and with an open goal by Busignani, then on Vuletic’s close-range effort – once more blocked by an outstanding Protti, already back in his position. It ends with a narrow victory for Montenegro and, while the regret is entirely on the Sammarinese side and ruthlessness in front of goal remains the main area for improvement, the progress made is clear and substantial. Tomorrow they face hosts Germany at 19:00, live streaming. Full details will be provided on FSGC social channels. 2024 Futsal World Cup Qualifiers | Montenegro-San Marino 1-0   MONTENEGRO Djurkovic, Ćorović, Il. Mugoša, Obradović, Spasojević Substitutes: Sekulić, Popović, Cimbaljevic, Markovic, Vukovic, Iv. Mugoša, Vidaković, Vuletic, Milanovic Head coach: Sveto Ljesar   SAN MARINO Protti, Mattioli, Busignani, Belloni, Felici Substitutes: Cecchetti, Cavalli, Zafferani, De Angelis, Pasqualini, Franciosi, Moretti, Toccaceli, Cecchini Head coach: Roberto Osimani   Referee 1: Ugur Cakmak (TUR) Referee 2: Manuel Wolf (AUT) Referee 3: Ali Jabrayilov (AZE) Timekeeper: Omar Amarkhel (GER) Scorer: 22'32" Vuletic

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