National Team: Costantini to stay on, EURO 2024 draw on Sunday

Fabrizio Costantini will remain on the bench of the San Marino National Team for the qualifying campaign for UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany. The FSGC has in fact renewed its confidence in and mandate to the San Marino Head Coach, who took charge of the Titans just under a year ago. “It goes without saying that I’m extremely happy about the renewal. We’ve started a project and I believe that – aside from one half of football against Estonia, when we were maybe a bit too tired – everything else went pretty well,” Costantini commented. “The team has always managed to compete with every opponent we’ve faced, and that’s certainly a very good sign, far from a given. If we think back to the game against Seychelles, there’s also a hint of regret over a win that slipped away: despite the many absentees in attack, that 0-0 is still a positive result, something that doesn’t happen too often for us and which therefore has to be viewed in a positive light. As I said just now, there is obviously some regret about that match, but I think building on the good feeling we had for almost all of 2022 – including the games with Lithuania, Iceland and Malta, where we were undeniably in the match from start to finish, coming close to or even finding the net – is an excellent starting point.” Behind them now is the UEFA Nations League campaign, played alongside Malta and Estonia, as well as official friendlies with Cape Verde, Lithuania, Iceland and Seychelles. In the November international window, two more international friendlies are to be scheduled to round off 2022 in the best possible way. And this very weekend will open a window on San Marino’s commitments in the year to come. On Sunday 9 October, in fact, the qualifying group draw for EURO 2024 – whose final tournament will be held in Germany – will take place in Frankfurt. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 12:00 and the San Marino FA will be represented on site by President Marco Tura, Secretary General Luigi Zafferani, Head Coach Fabrizio Costantini, Team Manager Simone Bacciocchi and Press Officer Luca Pelliccioni. “For us, the teams in Pots 1 and 2 are virtually untouchable. In those games we’ll be looking to produce our best possible performance, trying to contain and make life difficult for these giants of international football. For obvious reasons, in technical terms the team that comes out of Pot 5 will be the one that interests us and the whole set-up the most: those will be the two matches in which we’ll try to achieve something, bearing in mind that there are also emerging and well-structured sides in that pot. Still, they are in some way the most within reach, even when you look at our recent path. That doesn’t change the fact that we’ll have to approach those games – perhaps even more so – with maximum humility,” assures Costantini. “Beyond that, there are some potential match‑ups that are as fascinating as they are dangerous: the prospect of drawing Portugal, France and Norway – along with their respective stars – could be a major attraction for the public. Personally, though, I would prefer to avoid the reigning world champions, while in Pot 3 the physical and technical qualities of Serbia, as of Norway, are impressive.” In Pot 1, Portugal: “In the end, you inevitably come up against a giant, and if it were the Portuguese, despite the incredible difficulties that hypothetical match would entail, I wouldn’t mind.” San Marino will be placed in Pot 6, along with Andorra and Liechtenstein, and like them is certain to be drawn into a group of six teams. These will not include Germany (already qualified for the final tournament as hosts), Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands or Spain. The latter four will be drawn into five‑team groups, as they will be involved in the upcoming UEFA Nations League Finals. It is precisely the ranking obtained at the end of the newest of UEFA’s competitions that determines the seeding coefficients and draw pots: thus, while there is a real possibility of meeting Portugal or Belgium from Pot 1, all of Europe will be hoping to avoid France and England – both placed in Pot 2. “Facing Malta again wouldn’t be bad, and nor would testing ourselves against Latvia or Gibraltar. All of them are going through a period of growth, as I believe the San Marino National Team is as well in certain respects. I’d like to measure ourselves against them to really understand where we stand in terms of competitiveness compared with sides that are closer to our level,” Costantini concluded.

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