San Marino’s first away fixture in UEFA Nations League 2026-27 Group C1 brought back Belarus, the very side against whom the Biancazzurri made their official debut in European football’s youngest national-team competition back in 2018.
The approach shown by Cevoli’s side, who welcomed back Golinucci after his suspension, was positive and proactive. In the 13th minute, a headed lay-off from Nanni set up a run from the captain, which in turn led to a dangerous cross for Giacopetti — cleared just before he could connect. San Marino also looked solid in their own defensive third, as when Cevoli beat Melnichenko to the ball with a sliding clearance after a quick cross from the right flank. Shortly after, Lazzari won a free kick near the edge of the box, which Capicchioni struck hard towards the near post, causing problems for Pavlyuchenko. From a similar set piece, Gromyko came within inches of Colombo’s post, which appeared to be right in the ball’s path. Exactly at the midpoint of the half, San Marino could thank the woodwork: Melnichenko’s header crashed against the crossbar before cannoning off Colombo. The ball stayed dangerously in the box, but the Biancazzurri defence managed to clear the danger. The Titans responded with a surging run from Zannoni and then a through ball for Lazzari, who failed to find the right weight on a pass for the onrushing Nanni. A few minutes later, Capicchioni embarked on a coast-to-coast run that ended with an inaccurate left-footed shot. At the half-hour mark came some bad news: Nanni picked up a yellow card — his second in these three matches — which will rule him out of the trip to Tirana in three days’ time. Five minutes later, Colombo produced a fine save, rushing out to deny Melnichenko once again, who had been set free by a slick exchange of passes on the edge of the area. The match moved quickly, with play swinging from end to end: in the closing stages of the half, forays from Nanni and Capicchioni caused headaches for Belarus’s back line. Just before stoppage time, Goncharenko’s side also threatened from a set piece, but Colombo — who felt he had been fouled unseen by the referee — got away with it thanks to help from Zannoni. And so, at the end of a first half that was fairly even and entertaining, the scoreline remained perfectly balanced, with both goals still intact.
The start of the second half brought one substitution on each side, with Mularoni coming on for Golinucci. Unfortunately, the bigger story was the lightning-fast opener for Belarus — scored on their very first foray forward by Kontsevoi, who did well to shield the ball in the box, turn onto his right foot and slot it into the corner. San Marino responded with tremendous resolve, carving out four scoring chances in as many minutes. First, Zannoni had his effort blocked by an opponent’s legs after being freed on the edge of the box by a clever lay-off from Nanni. From the corner flag, Capicchioni came close to an Olympic goal, kicking off two phenomenal minutes from Pavlyuchenko. Shortly afterwards, following a fine move started by Lazzari, the Belarusian keeper was simply monumental in denying what looked like a certain goal from Zannoni — who had arrived at the far post to finish off the move. Nanni’s follow-up tap-in then brought out another superb save from the man who had become the best player on the pitch, who was also bailed out by the crossbar immediately after his latest stop. The response to Mularoni’s left-footed effort through the middle just after the hour mark was somewhat less demanding. It may be hard to believe, but Shumanski’s wonder-strike in the 65th minute brought a sigh of relief for Goncharenko’s side, who had undeservedly doubled their lead. With Belarus now riding a wave of confidence, the Titans seemed to feel the blow of going 2-0 down, and found themselves unprepared to deal with the introduction of Ebong, who scored from the heart of the box. Before the final whistle, there was also room for a breakaway goal from Kontsevoi, completing his personal brace. The match thus ended with a scoreline far heavier than the balance of play on the pitch would suggest — if anything, the result rewarded a Belarus victory that, until the second goal, had been anything but a foregone conclusion.
UEFA Nations League, Group C1 – Matchday 3 | Belarus – San Marino 4-0
BELARUS (4-4-2)
Pavlyuchenko; Begunov (55′ Kalinin), Volkov, Gomanov, Pechenin; Kontsevoi, Ebong (70′ Bocharov), Yablonskiy, Gromyko (55′ Shumanskiy); Melnichenko (74′ Barkovski), Simanenka (46′ Lisakovich)
Substitutes available: Kudravets, Lapoukhov, Tsikhamirau, Galyata, Kovalev, Malashevich, Lukashov
Head coach: Viktor Gancharenko
SAN MARINO (4-3-1-2)
Colombo; G. Benvenuti (75′ Fabbri), Cevoli, Pasolini, Giocondi (67′ Tosi); Zannoni, L. Capicchioni (83′ Meloni), Golinucci (46′ Mularoni); Lazzari (67′ Pancotti); Giacopetti, Nanni
Substitutes available: Hoël, De Angelis, Rossi, Protti, Salicioni, Della Balda, Bugli
Head coach: Roberto Cevoli
Referee: Alexandros Tsakalidis (GRE)
Assistants: Polychronis Kostaras (GRE), Lazaros Dimitriadis (GRE)
Fourth official: Michail Matsoukas (GRE)
VAR: Spyridon Zampalas (GRE)
AVAR: Ioannis Papadopoulos (GRE)
Goalscorers: 46′ and 88′ Kontsevoi, 65′ Shumanski, 68′ Ebong
Bookings: Nanni, Golinucci, Begunov, Giacopetti, L. Capicchioni, Pasolini, Barkovski, Kalinin
Note: match played at a neutral venue behind closed doors (Budapest, HUN)
