Thursday will see San Marino host Moldova in what is the battle of the basement in Group D of the UEFA Nations League. San Marino have lost all 4 of their games in the UEFA Nations League and will be playing for pride only. Moldova have slim mathematical chances to top the group but need to win and have other games to go their way. A win for Luxembourg in the other game guarantees them top spot in the group, the ideal result for Moldova is a draw between Luxembourg and Belarus.
You have to admire San Marino for their persistence at International football, their last 30 games read W0 D1 L29 not a record to be proud of, they also have not scored a goal since 2017 either. Moldova are not much better with just 1 win in their last 10 games and that win was a 2-0 win over San Marino, so nothing to write home about.
Moldova were thumped 4-0 by Luxembourg in the opening game of the group, they have since recovered with two 0-0 draws against Belarus and that 2-0 win at home against San Marino. A win in this game could set up a must win last game against Luxembourg but they would also need Belarus to slip up against San Marino, either of these events seems quite unlikely.
San Marino have lost all 4 games as previously mentioned, the opening game was a 5-0 thrashing by Belarus, two 3-0 defeats by Luxembourg sandwiched a 2-0 defeat by Moldova. San Marino are leaking 2 plus goals per game.
The game takes place at the San Marino Stadium and match referee is G. Kominis (Greece), kick off is at 19:45pm GMT on Thursday.
Verdict
This is likely to be a turgid affair and I won't be watching it but on current form its either a draw or a win for Moldova. I am going to go with a 2-0 win to Moldova repeating the result of their previous encounter. Mind you, I am siding with a team without a competitive away win since 2013, so confidence in this outcome is not the highest I have ever had. One fact that might be an omen is that on each of the 3 previous away games against San Marino, Moldova have won 2-0, its a scoreline they seem to like.
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