San Marino vs Kazakhstan Preview
As San Marino vs Kazakhstan preview is online, as they meet on Euro 2024 qualifers round at stadio Ennio Tardini on Friday meetings.
San Marino could use of the opportunity as they are searching for their first win in the group stage matches when they host Kazakhstan on today night clashings in group H.
Unfortunately San Marino was not able to pull of any points in group H, as Fabrizio Constantini’s men suffered 2-0 defeats against Northern Ireland and Slovennia in March. Northen Ireland have a meeting with Denmark on the Euro 2024 qualifiers league in today meetings.
After record 28% of Possession and a clear shot against Northern Ireland, San Marino just have 23% of the ball while failing to manage a single attempt against Slovenia, showing the team struggles.
San Marino’s first and only win came all the way back on the year 2004, when Serenissima claimed a 1-0 friendly victory over Leichtenstein, but have failed in winning a competitive match since forming in 1986.
Costantini‘s men ended a 19-game losing streak when they held Seychelles to a goalless draw last September, and following a 4-0 defeat to Estonia, San Marino claimed a 1-1 draw with Saint Lucia in November.
Having lost 23 of their previous 25 matches, the smallest UEFA member state by surface area and population would view a draw against Kazakhstan as one of the best results in their history.
Following a deserved 2-1 defeat against Slovenia in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier, Kazakhstan were not expected to enjoy much success against Group H favourites Denmark in their second outing. Slovenia has a meeting with against Finland on Euro 2024 qualifiers round.
When Rasmus Hojlund bagged a first-half brace to hand the Danes a healthy lead in Astana, Kazakhstan appeared to be heading for back-to-back losses, but a spirited comeback saw the hosts turn the game on its head.
Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute before Askhat Tagybergen equalised in the 86th minute, setting the stage for Abat Aymbetov to score the winner in the final minute of normal time.
Team News and Injury
Twenty-one players from San Marino’s 26-man squad play their trade in the Sanmarinese domestic league, while Dante Rossi, Simone Franciosi, Filippo Fabbri, Nicola Nanni and Filippo Berardi are the only exceptions.
Remarkably, the 23 outfield players have just eight international goals between them, with captain Matteo Vitaioli managing a solitary goal in 83 appearances for his country.
La Serenissima have an experienced squad, as eight players have more than 40 caps to their name, although six players are aged 35 or over, including 40-year-old defender Roberto Di Maio.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan will be without the suspended Abat Aymbetov on Friday, as the forward picked up a red card after scoring the winning goal in March’s triumph against Denmark.
Having scored 11 goals in 28 international appearances, CSKA Moscow star Bakhtiyar Zaynutdinov is expected to join Abzal Beysebekov and Askhat Tagybergen in a three-man midfield.
With Magomed Adiyev likely to deploy a 5-3-2 formation, the Astana duo of Abat Aymbetov and Elkhan Astanov look set to occupy the visitors’ forward line, hoping to exploit San Marino’s leaky defence.
Head to Head stats
Kazakhstan and San Marino have played only twice, with the Hawks winning both times. The visitors won their first clash with San Marino 4-0 in June 2019, followed by a 3-1 win away in November that year. Both came as part of Euro 2020 qualifiers. Kazakh defender Gafurzhan Suyumbayev scored once in both clashes with San Marino but hasn’t been called up this time.
Kazakhstan’s 3-2 win over Denmark ended their run of four defeats. Kazakhstan haven’t kept a clean sheet in eight games. San Marino’s last goal came against Saint Lucia in a friendly that ended in a 1-1 draw on November 2022.
San Marino vs Kazakhstan Prediction
San Marino invariably aim to avoid defeat instead of going all out to win, meaning that Fabrizio Costantini will likely set his team up for another damage-limitation job on Friday.
Given that San Marino have scored a solitary goal in their previous 11 outings, Kazakhstan look destined to claim a clean-sheet victory over the world’s lowest-ranked national team.
