Historic win gives San Marino 'deserved' Nations League promotion, says Cevoli

San Marino head coach Roberto Cevoli says the team "deserve what they've managed to achieve" after they made history with their Nations League promotion.

San Marino, the world's bottom-ranked team, won their first away match in history as they beat Liechtenstein 3-1 in their final Nations League match on Monday.

It was just the third win in their history, with all of those victories coming against Liechtenstein, with their previous triumphs – a friendly in 2004 and a Nations League game in September – both 1-0 at home.

Aron Sele had given Liechtenstein the lead five minutes before half-time, but second-half goals from Lorenzo Lazzari, Nicola Nanni and Alessandro Golinucci secured the famous victory for the visitors.

"Finishing that first half 1-0 down was an insult to football, but the boys were brilliant and deserved what they've managed to achieve," said Cevoli.

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Marco Tura, the president of San Marino's Football Federation, added: "These boys made history tonight.

"As people, as athletes, as men, they have shown what they are worth. I cried with the boys."

It is the first time San Marino scored more than once in a competitive game, while they had never scored three goals in any match before in their history.

The victory means they have gained promotion to Nations League C, after topping Group D1 with seven points.