San Marino 0-4 Belgium: 3 Talking Points | Euro 2020 Qualifiers

#1 Even in defeat, San Marino gave a good account of themselves

San Marino were impressive against Belgium

With a population of just a little over 33,000, the San Marino national team is the second smallest UEFA member nation by population, above Gibraltar.

They are currently ranked bottom of the FIFA rankings, and have spent the most time at the nadir of the standings since the rankings were introduced.

Their record on the international footballing scene makes for pretty grim reading, winning just one of the 155 fixtures they have played, conceding 627 and scoring just 23.

Any fixture against them is largely seen as an easy win for any side on the continent, and San Marino are without a point in any qualification fixture since holding Estonia to a goalless draw in November 2014.

It was virtually impossible to expect them to break that trend against the number one ranked team in the world and third-placed team at the last World Cup, but San Marino gave a good account of themselves in the game.

They managed to muster five shots against Belgium, with three of those being on target, and even won a corner kick (their first in their last four fixtures).

Even though they ultimately fell to another landslide defeat, San Marino can look back on this performance with pride, and use this as momentum moving head.