Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the UEFA Nations League match.
At the start of the new Nations League, two of the previous competition's bottom-ranked sides will face off: both teams finished last in their respective groups in League D.
San Marino
San Marino, as always, ended their qualification campaign for the major tournament at the bottom of the table, without a single point. However, progress is noticeable: compared to their World Cup 2022 qualifiers, they are conceding less frequently and scoring more often. The record has improved from 1-46 to 3-31. In a recent friendly against Cyprus in June, they also managed to score, though they lost 1:4. The Liechtenstein side should be a more manageable opponent for them.
Liechtenstein
For Liechtenstein, goals have been even harder to come by. They scored just one goal in the Euro qualifiers and only one in the Nations League. Although Andorra, Latvia, and Moldova were the opponents in the Nations League. In their June fixtures, they failed to score against Albania (0:3) and Romania (0:0). Not conceding against a Euro participant was a positive takeaway. Much of the credit goes to the hero of that match, goalkeeper Benjamin Büchel, who made 11 saves against 31 Romanian shots. His experience (64 caps) will be crucial for Liechtenstein in their game against San Marino.
San Marino - Liechtenstein Prediction
The teams have met only four times, with San Marino failing to score in any of these encounters. Their best result was a 0:0 draw in the 2020/21 Nations League, which was an away fixture. At home, they suffered defeats of 0:1 and 0:2. San Marino’s chances of scoring are still slim.
