Looking ahead to San Marino v Austria, Cevoli: “The group has recovered from the exertions of Zenica”

San Marino’s National Team will be back in action tomorrow evening at the San Marino Stadium to face Austria on Matchday 4 of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. For the Central Europeans it will be only their second fixture of the qualifying campaign, coming on the back of Saturday night’s narrow home win over Romania (2-1). Earlier that same day, in the afternoon, the Biancazzurri had taken on Bosnia and Herzegovina, delivering a brilliant performance, among the best under Roberto Cevoli. “The team used up a lot of energy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the conditions were extreme as we have already said and the intensity of the match had an impact on the players’ freshness. However, we have had two days to recover, and we’ve done just that,” assured the National Team’s Head Coach. “This evening we’ll have our final training session before the match and we’ll get ready for tomorrow’s important game against Austria. I am certainly not the one discovering tomorrow’s opponents: they are a strong side, with outstanding individuals and they have been doing very well of late. They have a clear team identity and, as they play with a tactical system similar to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s, we have already worked on the ways to counter them as effectively as possible on the pitch. That is a positive aspect, given that we have had much less time to prepare for this fixture than we did for the trip to Zenica.”

Alongside coach Cevoli at the press conference was Giacomo Valentini, ready to make his fourth appearance for the San Marino National Team. “I’ve got good feelings, I feel well and I can’t wait to play. We travelled back straight after the match in Zenica, which allowed us to maximise our recovery after the big effort last Saturday,” the San Marino defender stressed. “Although I didn’t feature in Bosnia and Herzegovina, I can assure you that when matches of this kind are approaching, tiredness disappears quickly. We are fully aware of how important tomorrow’s game is. We are up against a side with great quality and marked aggressiveness on the pitch, especially when pressing. We will prepare for it in the best possible way.”

The meeting with Austria will be the third between the two National Teams in history, with the previous two both won by the Central Europeans. In the only encounter played so far in Serravalle, San Marino were able to celebrate the first of Andy Selva’s eight international goals (1-4), almost a quarter of a century ago. Perhaps it could be a good omen for the forwards called up by Roberto Cevoli who, given the injuries ruling out Matteo Vitaioli (already before the trip to Zenica) and Fausto Salicioni (injured during the match in Bosnia and Herzegovina), has included young Gabriel Capicchioni in his squad list. Having stood out during the week in two friendlies against Malta, in which he scored once and hit the crossbar twice, the 2006-born Rimini striker has received his first official call-up.

These are Roberto Cevoli’s call-ups for San Marino v Austria: