National Team in Albania to round off an intense run of four matches

A final effort – in every sense – for the San Marino National Team, who arrived yesterday in Tirana, where they will face Albania away at the splendid Kombëtare Arena. At the pre-match press conference, Head Coach Roberto Cevoli and defender Dante Rossi focused on maintaining consistency in performances and on managing physical and mental energy during an international window unlike any other.

“To the good performances we are now producing more and more often on the pitch, we need to add greater consistency – both over time and within the 90 minutes themselves. Recently, positive displays have been coming frequently and for some time now,” confirmed coach Cevoli, “but now comes the hard part: we simply cannot afford to let our guard drop even a centimetre because, as difficult as it is to keep raising the bar, it is frighteningly easy to slip backwards. Of course, managing to pick up positive results would give the squad self-belief and extra momentum, and would be a guarantee of greater continuity in the future.” Turning to the opponents, unusually faced twice in the space of a week, the San Marino coach seems clear on what to expect from his counterpart Maran: “Albania are coming off a heavy defeat in Finland, a match also marked by some debatable refereeing decisions. On the other side of the pitch we will find an angry team, and that could be to our detriment if we focus only on their absolute quality and on the conditions around the game. We will be playing in a fantastic stadium which will definitely make itself heard tomorrow, driven by a significant crowd – capable, yes, of creating pressure, but also of spurring us on even more. Overall, I am confident because the lads have recovered well and, aside from a few absences due to knocks or suspensions, everyone is ready both physically and mentally. That is not something to take for granted, considering that all the travelling we have done in these days is also a factor that cannot be overlooked.”

For tomorrow night’s Albania v San Marino match, around 8,000 tickets have already been sold, and the home Football Federation is aiming to reach 10,000 tickets sold by kick-off. The game will be played at the Kombëtare Arena in Tirana, with kick-off at 20:45. The match will be broadcast live and free-to-air on San Marino RTV (ch. 550 DTT). Nicola Nanni and Bartolomeo Riggioni will both miss out due to suspension, while it is highly unlikely that Pietro Marinucci – who was struck down overnight by a viral episode and immediately treated by the National Team’s medical staff – will make it back into the list of 23 called up.

Returning to the press conference, Dante Rossi – one of the most experienced players in this squad – was in full agreement with his Head Coach. “Playing four matches in such a short space of time does not happen every day; in fact, it is something completely new. To cope with it, it is absolutely vital that we are mentally prepared. What is certain is that we are expending a huge amount of energy, running and working extremely hard for this shirt. It is not easy, even purely from a physical point of view, but we can rely on a well-balanced and close-knit group, where every player is ready to put in an extra run for a team-mate and to help each other out on the pitch. From my point of view, we are ready to face a National Team as strong as Albania, with the desire to build on the high-level performances we have produced in our last two competitive fixtures, while primarily looking to iron out some of the mistakes we have made.”

Rossi is a model of professionalism and commitment, and he does not hide the fact that praise for good performances without points on the board is no longer enough. “For the San Marino National Team, every match is a chance to do well and to confirm the trend that shows us growing and improving in so many areas. Wearing this shirt and playing at this level is an honour, and we therefore want to seize every single opportunity that might allow us to bring home prestigious results. We have already put in some very good performances and we are managing to do so more and more often; however, among ourselves – within the squad – we know that this is not enough. We want to give and do more, pushing ourselves to the famous 101% of our potential so that we can finally get some points on the board in this edition of the UEFA Nations League as well.”