At 9pm, live on San Marino RTV, the first leg of the Conference League third qualifying round kicks off. The yellow-and-blues, handed a reprieve by the draw after their Champions League exit, take on the Kosovar side. Whoever advances will face the winner of Flora Tallinn vs. Inter Escaldes in the play-offs, with the league phase tantalisingly close.
Europe is knocking on Titano’s door once again. This evening at 9pm, at the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle, Tre Fiori face Kosovo’s Drita in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round, broadcast live on San Marino RTV. The return leg is scheduled for Thursday, 13 August, in Kosovo.
San Marino’s champions return to European competition after their first-round Champions League exit at the hands of Northern Ireland’s Larne: a narrow 0-1 defeat in the first leg at the Stadium, followed by a 2-1 comeback loss in Belfast that left plenty of regrets, with Mengucci’s opener and Rea’s second-half red card weighing heavily on the outcome. Yet that elimination brought an unexpected silver lining: the supplementary draw sent the yellow-and-blues straight into the Conference League’s third round, bypassing the first two stages entirely — the same fortunate path Virtus enjoyed a year ago.
It’s an advantage on paper, but one that conceals a real challenge: Tre Fiori go into this match having gone more than three weeks without an official fixture, filling the gap with training sessions, closed-door practice matches and a 29 July friendly against Forlì (lost 3-1, with Federico Benedettini scoring the temporary equaliser). On the other side stands a team well-versed in European competition — physical and well-organised, as gialloblù captain Prandelli himself acknowledged on the eve of the match: Drita are physically strong and know how to play football, and on paper they appear to have the edge.
But that’s precisely what gives this tie its significance. For once, the draw has been kind: whoever advances will meet the winner of the tie between Estonia’s Flora Tallinn and Andorra’s Inter Escaldes in the play-offs — an opponent within reach in a way that’s rarely the case at this level. In other words, Tre Fiori find themselves just two rounds away from a milestone no San Marino side has ever come close to: the league phase of a European competition.
It will take something special, starting tonight, in front of a supportive home crowd. But football — especially in summer, and especially in Europe — has seen plenty of unlikely feats come to pass before. Kick-off is at 9pm: Titano believes.
