Under-21: Italy and San Marino in Group A of Qualifying for Slovakia 2025

The draw to determine the Qualifying Groups for the UEFA Under-21 European Championship Slovakia 2025 took place this morning in Nyon, at UEFA headquarters. Placed in Pot 6 and therefore destined for one of the groups made up of six teams, San Marino were drawn into Group A. As the pots were drawn in ascending order according to the UEFA Ranking, familiar opponents emerged, along with a new one and others the Biancazzurrini had not faced for a long time. This is the case, first and foremost, of Italy: Nicolato’s men are the top seeds in the group. The only previous meetings between the Azzurrini and the Biancazzurrini date back to a two-legged tie in 1989, with both matches ending 2-0 in favour of Italy: in Serravalle the goals came from Rossini and Benedetti, while in the match at the Benelli Stadium in Ravenna Fuser and again the Parma youth product, defender Stefano Rossini, found the net. There have been many more, and more recent, encounters with Latvia at this age group. The very latest also yielded a positive result: the goalless draw in qualifying for this year’s Under-21 EUROs is still fresh in the memory. On 29 March 2022, the Biancazzurrini coached by Matteo Cecchetti wrote another page in the history of Sammarinese football. In the previous match in Riga, Latvia won 2-0 at the end of a game in which the Titans played with great courage. Rewinding the tape of past international fixtures, San Marino and Latvia also crossed paths in the qualifying group for EURO 2009. Those were very balanced contests, with Latvia winning 2-0 at the Skonto Stadium and edging it in Serravalle thanks to a single goal from Kamešs. The very first clashes between the two sides take us back to the early 2000s: after a 2-0 in Serravalle, there was a 4-1 in Liepaja, in which Manuel Marani got on the scoresheet. Present at the draw ceremony at UEFA headquarters, alongside Match Manager Michele Raschi, was head coach Matteo Cecchetti, who gave his immediate reaction: "I’m pleased to have drawn Latvia again, which brings back good and recent memories, given the positive result in our most recent meeting last year. Certainly they will also be waiting for us and I think both games will be fantastic. As for being paired with Italy, it was a wonderful surprise. I’m sure it will be a major event for the whole Republic of San Marino and for our domestic football, to test ourselves against our Italian ‘cousins’. The matches with Norway, Ireland and Türkiye will be no less fascinating. I can say I’m happy with the group; it will be very stimulating for the boys. We’ll make our debut in June in Latvia and we’ll have to be ready, then we’ll round off the year in style by hosting Italy in November. I’m really happy and motivated by the outcome of this draw". There is no previous head-to-head between San Marino and the Republic of Ireland. The British side were drawn into Group A from Pot 2 and will be a tough nut to crack for all the other contenders for a place at Slovakia 2025. Among these, Norway and Türkiye will certainly want to have their say. The Scandinavians return to face San Marino after two meetings, less than a month apart, in autumn 1992. While the match in San Marino ended 3-0, the first ever encounter – played in Lillestrom – finished 3-2 to Norway, despite a brace from Andrea Ugolini. The decisive goal, ten minutes from time, was scored by Alf Inge Håland, father of Erling – the 22-year-old Manchester City striker. The previous meetings with Türkiye were no less exciting: four in total, spanning the mid-1990s. A 4-0 defeat in Istanbul in October 1992 was followed the next spring by a 2-0 home loss in Serravalle – where Hakan Şükür broke the deadlock. Four years later, San Marino and Türkiye met again in qualification for EURO 1998. In Istanbul the hosts won 3-0, while in San Marino the Biancazzurrini had the satisfaction of scoring past Metin Aktas thanks to a strike from Andy Selva in a final scoreline of 4-1. Click here to see San Marino Under-21’s fixtures in qualifying for the UEFA European Championship Slovakia 2025.

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