Sensational NAT: Turks beaten too and historic place at the Finals secured

At one point in the morning match, RAT Hungary were 2-0 up, which would have meant that NAT San Marino would have a match point available in the afternoon. Instead RAT Slovenia clawed everything back, fixing the score at 2-2. The upshot? The two sides cancelled each other out in the race to qualify, and the match point gifted to the two teams playing in the afternoon became double rather than single. In simple terms, whoever won between NAT San Marino and RAT Turkey would celebrate reaching the Final Tournament of the UEFA Regions' Cup with a game to spare. A draw would have postponed the verdict to Tuesday. But a draw it was not: NAT San Marino won their second game of the tournament and booked a historic place at the Finals. Never before had this team gone beyond the Intermediate Round. The importance of what is at stake calls for a cautious approach. In the first ten minutes the two sides mainly size each other up, trying to minimise errors and therefore the risk of being caught out. In this respect NAT San Marino fall short of their intentions when they lose the ball in midfield and offer Meydan the chance to drive into the box: the Turkish number 7 opts for a dinked finish – not a bad idea in itself – but the execution is wayward. The first acceleration from Bizzotto’s men is the one that pays off. Benincasa and Bernardi exchange first-time passes to open the lane for Merli, who bursts down the flank and then cuts the ball back for Lisi’s run. Lisi is brought down by Aydin as he comes out. Penalty and yellow card for the Turkish goalkeeper, and from the spot Benincasa sends him the wrong way. RAT Turkey’s instinctive reaction comes via a fine move down the wing that ends with Firat lashing a right-footed effort over. Tavis’ team continue their forcing with plenty of intent, but they lose their shape. So when Parma wins the ball back and Merli immediately launches it forward, they catch a very disorganised and over-high Turkish backline on the hop: Benincasa races into the huge gap down the middle and bears down on goal, only to be wiped out by Aydin, just like Lisi before him. A second penalty and a second yellow for the Turkish keeper, who is replaced in goal by Güneş, coming on for the “sacrificed” Alşahin. The issue is that RAT Turkey take an age to make the switch, while Ciacci, ball in hand, waits impatiently to take the spot kick. The long wait perhaps does his focus no favours; or perhaps, more than anything, it highlights Güneş’s quality. Whatever the case, the facts say that the second Turkish goalkeeper, without a warm-up and with no notice at all, comes on and saves Ciacci’s penalty, keeping his side alive. He also injects them with a fresh dose of confidence, as Tavis’ men then play with an energy and courage that effectively negate the numerical disadvantage. On their first real foray they win a free-kick on the edge of the box, which Meydan takes aiming for the side of the goal not covered by the wall: his fiercely struck effort just clears the angle. Then a simple error in the build-up gifts Usta a chance; from the edge of the area he tries to curl it across goal, threading the ball between defenders’ legs and missing the target by a whisker. From the touchline Bizzotto urges his players to wake up and they promptly respond. Lisi drives through a huge gap in the centre to the edge of the area and then slips in Bernardi, who beats Çetin with his first touch and then finishes with the outside of his boot, but cannot catch out Güneş. Moments later, from a throw-in high up the pitch, Merli produces a perfect arc to drop the ball right into the path of Pancotti, whose volleyed right-foot effort shaves the post. With the natural order somewhat restored in the closing stages of the first half, the home side try to do the same at the start of the second. Once again Merli assumes the role of provider, delivering a delightful ball into the run of Benincasa, who goes through on Güneş but fires straight at the Turkish keeper. This time, though, RAT Turkey no longer have the same fire. So the San Marino Representative keep pressing for 2-0, and they finally find it on the hour mark through Merli, who makes the most of Bernardi’s pass and a clever dummy from Pancotti to bring the ball under control in the box and hammer it violently under the bar. With the pressure finally eased, NAT San Marino immediately start threatening again: Ciacci pinches the ball off Firat and then unleashes a powerful shot towards Güneş’s goal, missing by centimetres. Then Merli sends Benincasa clean through on Güneş again, but the keeper forces the forward wide enough to leave him with no angle, and the shot inevitably goes off target. Even without the third goal, Bizzotto’s men keep firm control of the contest. The ones who lose control, not of the game but of their nerves, are the Turks, already highly prone to protesting before the 2-0 and increasingly agitated as the minutes tick by. In a very short space of time they lose first their captain Çetin (70', already booked, he goes head-to-head with Benincasa and picks up a second yellow) and then Meydan (73', booked two minutes earlier for dissent, he hauls down Lisi and then protests again: red for him as well). The road becomes steadily smoother for the Biancoazzurri, who deserve huge credit for not rising to the bait, fully aware that having three extra men will give them plenty of chances to run riot. Those chances duly arrive in clusters; unfortunately, they lack the required ruthlessness in front of goal. The one to come out brilliantly is Güneş, who in succession denies Bernardi, Lisi, Sartini, Bernardi again and Lisi again, all in one-on-one situations. The Turkish keeper also does well to stop Pancotti, who had shot from a tight but close-range angle, while at the death he is spared by Lisi’s long-range strike, which flashes just over the top corner. The scoreline is tight considering the late chances, but that is the only, utterly negligible blemish on an afternoon that writes NAT San Marino into the history books of Sammarinese football. The final group match, on Tuesday at 14:30 (live on Titani.TV), will effectively be a lap of honour before thoughts and plans turn to the Final Tournament next summer, where, alongside the San Marino Representative, the teams from Spain, Poland, Serbia, Czechia, Finland, Croatia and Switzerland will also take part.

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UEFA Regions' Cup, Intermediate Round 2024 | RAT Turkey – NAT San Marino 0-2   RAT TURKEY Aydin; Çetin, Toka (from 30' Baran (from 64' Pirlant)), Doğan, Tufan; Alşahin (from 23' Güneş), Çay; Böcek (from 64' Er), Firat, Meydan, Usta Substitutes: Bağimsiz, Kaya, Kantar Coach: Ismail Tavis   NAT SAN MARINO De Angelis; Sartori, Moretti, Gori, Parma; Ciacci, Lisi (from 87' Michelotti); Pancotti (from 83' Terenzi), Merli (from 72' Sartini), Bernardi (from 88' Babboni), Benincasa (from 72' Boldrini) Substitutes: Colonna, Bottoni Coach: Luigi Bizzotto   Referee: Visar Kastrati (KOS) Assistants: Fatlum Berisha (KOS) and Ryan Kelsey (NIR) Fourth official: Tim Marshall (NIR) Booked: Aydin, Çetin, Bernardi, Usta, Meydan, Benincasa, Moretti Sent off: Aydin (second yellow), Çetin (second yellow), Meydan (second yellow) Scorers: 14' pen. Benincasa, 59' Merli Note: on 25' Güneş saved a penalty from Ciacci

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