San Marino aren't the lowest ranked football nation in the world, four teams have no ranking due to inactivity

San Marino have never won a competitive game of football and yet they are still not the lowest ranked team in the world.

San Marino have regularly been branded the worst team in international football, having been on the receiving end of a series of hidings over the years.

Starting from their first recognised fixture in 1986 against Canada, San Marino, with their builder full-backs and IT technician wingers, have played 204 fixtures.

They've lost 194 fixtures, drew nine and won just a single game of football - a friendly fixture victory over Liechtenstein in 2004.

The minnows recently hit headlines when they scored a shock equaliser against Denmark in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Image: Getty

Alessandro Golinucci cancelled out Manchester United star Rasmus Hojlund's opener and sparked incredible scenes at the San Marino Stadium.

Yussuf Poulsen scored the winner for the Danes but it was a spirited performance from San Marino.

In the latest batch of FIFA rankings, published on 26 October, San Marino are right down at the very bottom in 207th position, below Anguilla, US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands.

Image: Getty

However, as per The Sweeper, San Marino are not technically the lowest-ranked because there are four sides unranked because of their inactivity.

American Samoa, Tonga, Samoa and Eritrea all currently have no ranking, yet that is set to change in the near future.

Next month, American Samoa, Tonga and Samoa will be participating at the Pacific Games, while Eritrea have World Cup qualifiers against Morocco and Congo.

Image: Getty

Guam are another small nation near the bottom of the FIFA rankings and they were the first side eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.

The US Island territory, with a tiny population of 18,000, were beaten home and away by Singapore, losing 3-1 on aggregate.

Topics: San Marino

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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