San Marino Can Qualify For World Cup By Losing Due To FIFA Rule

International minnows San Marino still have a chance of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup - even if they lose their final qualifier.

San Marino are currently the lowest-ranked men's national team in 210th place, and have only picked up two points in the 164 World Cup qualifying matches that they have played in throughout their history.

They are unsurprisingly bottom of the 2026 qualifying group, which also contains Austria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania.

Roberto Cevoli's side were thrashed 10-0 away against Austria, though did only lose by a narrow 1-0 scoreline in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

San Marino travel to Romania for their final World Cup qualifier on November 18.

Romania take on second-placed Bosnia and Herzegovina on November 13 in a game which will have a significant impact on their qualifying hopes.

They currently trail their nearest rivals by three points and a goal difference of minus three, meaning a victory would almost certainly put their play-off chances in their own hands ahead of the San Marino clash.

While it would usually be unthinkable for a nation with zero points in their group, and a goal difference of minus 31, to have any chance of qualifying for the World Cup, a recent change of FIFA's regulations means San Marino can still make it to the United States, Canada and Mexico.

How can San Marino qualify for the 2026 World Cup?

World Cup qualifying is split into two rounds in UEFA qualifying, with the runner-up from each of the 12 teams entering the play-off stage.

Ahead of the most recent Nations League campaign, FIFA announced that the four best-ranked group winners from the Nations League, who do not finish in the top two of their World Cup qualifying group, would also earn a play-off place to take the total to 16.

San Marino were placed into League D1 in the Nations League, alongside Gibraltar and Liechtenstein.

They opened their campaign with a 1-0 home win over Liechtenstein in what was their first competitive victory, 34 years after their first official fixture.

They then lost in Gibraltar but rescued a 1-1 draw against the same opposition at home, with Nicola Nanni scoring a 92nd-minute penalty to equalise.

San Marino then recorded a historic 3-1 win away to Liechtenstein to win League D1 and earn promotion to League C.

That success means they are bottom of the ranking of Nations League group winners that could earn a play-off spot in the World Cup.

Those four spots are currently occupied by Wales, Sweden, Northern Ireland and Romania.

Out of those four sides, Sweden are guaranteed to earn a play-off spot through their Nations League performance, as they cannot finish in the top two of their qualifying group.

But Wales, Northern Ireland and the aforementioned Romania can all still finish second in their respective groups, which would hand the play-off spot to the next highest-ranked Nations League team.

The current Nations League rankings for World Cup 2026 qualifying (Image: Wikipedia/FIFA)

Moldova are next in line to receive that spot, with San Marino below them, meaning two of the above three teams would need to finish second in their group for San Marino to achieve a historic feat.

What complicates matters further is that there are teams ahead in the Nations League rankings that are currently positioned in the top two of the World Cup groups - Germany, Czech Republic and North Macedonia - that could yet drop down the table and take that spot themselves.

But as things stand, a second-placed finish for Romania - which would be aided by victories over both Bosnia and Herzegovina and San Marino - would give San Marino an opportunity to complete one of football's most remarkable achievements.