San Marino vs Austria

San Marino Stadium forms the backdrop for a ‘David vs Goliath’ 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying encounter between San Marino and Austria. 

San Marino experienced an unprecedented high last year, securing promotion to the UEFA Nations League C after losing just one of their four group matches (W2, D1). Despite that historic achievement, they remain rooted to the bottom of the FIFA World Rankings (#210) and have opened their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with three consecutive defeats.

Saturday’s narrow 1-0 loss to Bosnia was another example of their improved resilience under Roberto Cevoli, who took charge in December 2023. However, the result was hardly unexpected. La Serenissima have now contested 79 World Cup qualifiers without a single win (D2, L77), with their last point in the competition dating all the way back to April 2001 in a draw against Latvia.

Meanwhile, Austria’s involvement in the Nations League playoffs in March postponed the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign. Ralf Rangnick’s side missed a decent opportunity to regain their status in League A as Serbia beat them 3-1 on aggregate. However, they bounced back with a 2-1 home win against Romania in their opening Group H fixture, perhaps setting the tone for their first World Cup qualification since 1998. The Austrians have now won four of their last seven internationals (D2, L1), netting 2+ goals in each triumph during that decent-looking sequence. They can take further confidence from beating San Marino in both previous H2Hs, though the pair last met in 1999.