First Half don end for Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle, San Marino 0, Finland 3 for UEFA Nations League C match. Fourth official has announced 2 minutes of added time.
Finland start with chance. Joel Pohjanpalo header from centre of box saved in bottom left corner by Edoardo Colombo, assisted by Leo Walta with cross. Adrian Svanbäck hit bar with right footed shot from outside box, assisted by Joel Pohjanpalo. Joel Pohjanpalo right footed shot from centre of box saved in centre of goal by Edoardo Colombo, assisted by Adam Markhiyev with through ball. Joel Pohjanpalo right footed shot from centre of box close, but miss to left.
San Marino also get attempt. Alessandro Golinucci left footed shot from outside box miss to left, assisted by Nicolas Giacopetti. Topi Keskinen right footed shot from outside box blocked, assisted by Adam Markhiyev. Corner for Finland, conceded by Samuele Zannoni.
Adam Markhiyev is shown yellow card for bad foul. Foul by Adam Markhiyev, Samuele Zannoni wins free kick in defensive half. Topi Keskinen wins free kick in defensive half, foul by Samuele Zannoni. Offside, San Marino, Filippo Fabbri caught offside. Benjamin Källman wins free kick in attacking half, foul by Lorenzo Capicchioni.
Goal! San Marino 0, Finland 3. Benjamin Källman right footed shot from centre of box to centre of goal, assisted by Adrian Svanbäck.
San Marino welcome Nations League C rivals Finland to Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle on Saturday. Roberto Cevoli’s San Marino come into clash as significant underdogs, ranked 211th in world by FIFA and having prevented loss just once since 2024. That run of 15 matches without win go back to 3-1 victory over Liechtenstein in November 2024, earned courtesy goals from Lorenzo Lazzari, Nicola Nanni and Alessandro Golinucci. That triumph was part of historic Nations League D campaign that saw San Marino secure promotion to League C by earning first two competitive wins in national team history.
Cevoli will be hard-pressed to repeat trick this time, considering level of opposition in side’s group: Finland, Belarus and Albania, and goal will be to avoid suffering enormous losses. No relegation from League C in 2026-27 iteration, due UEFA restructuring of format, and San Marino could play with less fear as result.
Jacob Friis’s Finland are overwhelming favourites to win on Saturday, but head into clash on back of own poor run of form. Eagle-owls, ranked 75th by FIFA, have lost each of last three outings since beating New Zealand 2-0 in late March. Most recent pair of defeats were at hands of Hungary 2-1 and Germany 4-0 in late May and early June. Finland are returning to Nations League with ambition of bouncing back after relegation from League B in 2024-25, and they see showdown against San Marino as golden opportunity to make strong start. Some fans of visitors may be cautious considering dire away record, which features six losses from last seven games on road, but gulf in quality should see Eagle-owls come out on top regardless.
San Marino could start Nicolas Giacopetti up top this weekend, supported by Samuele Zannoni and Samuel Pancotti. Cevoli could opt for trio of Alessandro Golinucci, Marcello Mularoni and Lorenzo Lazzari in midfield, just ahead of centre-backs Dante Rossi and Marco Pasolini. Finland likely led by strike partnership of Benjamin Kallman and Joel Pohjanpalo, with Queens Park Rangers’ Glen Kamara supporting them from midfield. Three-man backline of Leo Vaisanen, Ville Koski and Adam Stahl should be on hand to shield goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, while Onni Valakari and Juho Lahteenmaki operate as wing-backs.
San Marino enter upcoming game placed as number 211 in FIFA world ranking, with gap to opponents Finland, ranked number 75 in world. Last time San Marino faced Finland, Finland claimed 2-1 win at Stadio Olimpico San Marino. San Marino go into match against Finland with 0% winning record in recent meetings, 0-0-4 record in latest encounters. Finland not most scoring team in Nations League C, as they only found back of net five times in six matches, average of just 0.9 goals a game, conceded three times, average of 0.5 per game, managed four clean sheets. In previous three outings, San Marino drew 0-0 with Andorra, before losing 1-2 against Bangladesh and 2-1 against Azerbaijan. San Marino didn’t win any of last six internationals, record one draw and five defeats, conceded 14 and scored four goals. Finland recorded single draw in previous three games, 1-1 against Cape Verde. Germany proved too strong in 4-0 defeat, just like Hungary who won 2-1. Finland claimed two wins against zero draws and four defeats in last six internationals, scoreline reads 12 goals conceded and ten scored.
San Marino won only once in last 10 outings at Stadio Olimpico San Marino, drew two and lost seven in this run. Finland won two, drew two and lost six of last 10 games away from home. Both teams have been poor at keeping opponents from scoring in last 10 games. San Marino managed clean sheet in two of games at home, Finland kept clean sheet in two of last 10. Over 2.5 goals happened three times in past four encounters between San Marino and Finland, with San Marino scoring 0.25 goals on average per game. Finland averaged 4.25 goals, while both teams scored one time. Over 2.5 goals came out eight times in previous ten matches across all tournaments for San Marino, who scored average of 0.5 goals along way. Of last ten games for Finland, six had more than 2.5 goals, while they managed to score average of 1.1 times goals per game.
