Of all the teams vying for one of the 48 spots in the newly expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup field, it is not an exaggeration to say that San Marino is literally the worst, ranking 210th out of 210 eligible teams in FIFA's men's world rankings .

With a population of just over 34,000 -- making it the fifth-smallest recognized country in the world -- San Marino is actually the larger but significantly less famous of two microstates within Italy (as far as we know, Vatican City does not have a FIFA-recognized squad). Thus far, in its quest to play for the world's soccer championship in North America next summer, La Serenissima have lost every one of their seven World Cup qualifying matches, scoring just one goal and allowing 32.

So, you'd be forgiven for assuming that all hope is lost

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