San Marino once again embarrassed themselves on the centre stage after losing 5-0 to England. The opening World Cup qualifier for England was more like a training session than a competitive match.
In fact were it not for San Marino’s goalkeeper Benedettini, it could have been a cricket score. He saved their blushes on more than one occasion.
So when will San Marino eventually win a competitive match?
San Marino have the unfortunate record of never winning a single competitive game in Fifa and Uefa competitions. The side are currently ranked 210th in the world and sit firmly bottom of the league.
Having watched the likes of San Marino, Anguilla, Gibraltar and others, surely now is the time for change.
We have reached the stage where the lowest ranked nations should play amongst themselves to qualify for the right to play at this level.
One has some sympathy for these lower ranked sides who play with enthusiasm but are just getting constantly outclassed.
It really isn’t doing their confidence any good at all when all they can hope for is not concede and come away with a 0-0 result.
Lets change the qualifying system for big tournaments
On a personal note, I would put the likes of the San Marino’s of this world into different groups and set up their own qualification.
Yes, they wouldn’t be facing the bigger nations but at least they would be playing on an even playing field. This would certainly bring out the best of them and would see more competitive games played.
Chance for the lower nations to face the big fish with confidence
You could have a scenario where the winner of say each group of four would gain entry into the Euro’s and World Cups. They would end up playing bigger nations when the actual tournament kicks in, but by then they would have gained some momentum by winning games.
After all, let’s face it, everybody doesn’t want to see miss matches in either the Euro’s or World Cup.
At the moment it is poor viewing watching so many miss matches. England would not have learned much after beating San Marino last night. A good chance to experiment with some players on the fringes of selection, but nothing else.