STREAKS AND STATS: San Marino only have only taken one point from their last 73 international games – this was the point against Estonia in November 2014. On the other hand, die Mannschaft, have never lost a World Cup qualifier away from home. The DFB Team have remained unbeaten in their last 26 games (21 wins, five draws) and in total, they have only lost twice from 87 matches. Both of these defeats came at home (1985 against Portugal and 2001 against England). In their last 39 competitive games, Germany have lost just twice, the last one coming in the semi final of the European Championships this summer against France (2-0). This encounter was also the last time the current World Champions conceded a goal, meaning they’ve currently gone nine games without conceding a goal.
MILESTONES AND RECORDS: With three wins, eight goals and none conceded, never before have a Germany team started a qualification campaign, for either the European Championships or the World Cup, with three victories and no goals against their name. A win against San Marino on Friday evening will also see Joachim Löw right footballing history. It could be his 95th win as the Germany head coach, taking him past Sepp Herberger and setting a new record. Meanwhile, Thomas Müller can make up ground on Germany’s all-time goalscoring list. He currently sits in eleventh place on 36 goals from 81 international games, just one behind team coordinator Oliver Bierhoff, who notched 37 goals in his 70 games for Germany.
FAIR PLAY AND FAST STARTS: In each of their first three World Cup qualifiers, Germany have scored at least once in the first 15 minutes of the game, which is a record matched by no other team. Germany are also top when it comes to fair play. Joachim Löw’s side have committed just 17 fouls and received one yellow card so far in qualification, few than any other team.
LUCKY 13: In the last two qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland, Germany have gone into 1-0 leads in the 13th minute on both occasions. Julian Draxler netted against the Czech Republic, while Thomas Müller fired Germany into the lead against the Northern Irish.
Jaochim Löw’s team take on San Marino in Serravalle, where Germany celebrated their highest ever away win in their history and hosts San Marino succumbed to their worst ever defeat. Germany take on San Marino on Friday evening in what will be the third meeting of this David and Goliath clash. DFB.de tells you all the facts you need to know.
DIRECT COMPARISON: Germany and San Marino have faced each other twice before. In the first game between the two sides, a qualifier for Euro 2008, Germany secured their third win under Joachim Löw, achieving their highest ever win away from home with a 13-0 victory. The second fixture of the campaign ended in a 6-0 home victory for Germany. The Germans have a higher goals per game ratio against San Marino than any other team, standing at 9.5.
TINY NATION: San Marino are the oldest republic in the world with a history that is thought to stretch as far back as the year 301 A.D. In terms of size, San Marino is a remarkable 6000 times smaller than Germany. With a population of just 30,000 people, the Republic is one of the smallest countries on earth. The capital is also called San Marino and the spoken language is Italian. FIFA have confirmed that there are approximately 2,800 football players in San Marino, compared with the DFB, which has 6.9 million members, a record!
STADIUM: This clash will take place in San Marino’s national stadium in Serravalle. The stadium has had its name since 2014 and with a maximum capacity of 7,000 is the largest arena in the country, as well as being the only ground which fulfills the criteria for UEFA and FIFA. It was originally opened in 1969 as the “Stadio Olimpico” and is where Germany thumped the home side 13-0 in their only match in San Marino.
THREE FOR HUMMELS: The Bayern defender’s only hat-trick in a Germany shirt came on 17th November 2009 in Serravalle playing for Germany U21s against the San Marino U21s in a European qualifier. Thomas Müller was also on target on that occasion.
HUMMELS HAT TRICK: Mats Hummels scored his only hat trick in a Germany jersey on the 17th of November, 2009 in the U21s‘ 11-0 win in Serravalle against San Marino. Thomas Müller was also on the on the scoresheet that day, netting one goal.
DAVID VS. GOALIATH: For San Marino, almost every game is like this. In their history they’ve scored a total of 22 goals. These 22 goals have contributed to 133 losses, four draws and a single win. This triumph came in a friendly against Liechtenstein in April 2004 (1-0). Andy Selva is their top scorer with eight goals. Their biggest defeat was suffered at the hands of Germany in September 2006, when they lost 13-0. In the FIFA World Rankings, San Marino currently lie in 201st place – only ten nations are below them. In their last game, they lost 4-1 against Norway - this goal was the eighth that they’ve scored away from home, while they’ve conceded a total of 354.
SAN MARINO’S COACH: Pierangelo Manzaroli spent his whole club career in San Marino, where he won the championship and the cup twice, and the super cup three times. Between 1991 and 2001, he won 38 caps for his country. His coaching career began at SS Pennarossa and AC Libertas. He then went on to coach the San Marino B team, the U15s and the U21s, before taking charge of the senior team in 2014. He won San Marino’s first point in a European Championship qualifier against Estonia in November of 2014.
STREAKS AND STATS: San Marino only have only taken one point from their last 73 international games – this was the point against Estonia in November 2014. On the other hand, die Mannschaft, have never lost a World Cup qualifier away from home. The DFB Team have remained unbeaten in their last 26 games (21 wins, five draws) and in total, they have only lost twice from 87 matches. Both of these defeats came at home (1985 against Portugal and 2001 against England). In their last 39 competitive games, Germany have lost just twice, the last one coming in the semi final of the European Championships this summer against France (2-0). This encounter was also the last time the current World Champions conceded a goal, meaning they’ve currently gone nine games without conceding a goal.
MILESTONES AND RECORDS: With three wins, eight goals and none conceded, never before have a Germany team started a qualification campaign, for either the European Championships or the World Cup, with three victories and no goals against their name. A win against San Marino on Friday evening will also see Joachim Löw right footballing history. It could be his 95th win as the Germany head coach, taking him past Sepp Herberger and setting a new record. Meanwhile, Thomas Müller can make up ground on Germany’s all-time goalscoring list. He currently sits in eleventh place on 36 goals from 81 international games, just one behind team coordinator Oliver Bierhoff, who notched 37 goals in his 70 games for Germany.
FAIR PLAY AND FAST STARTS: In each of their first three World Cup qualifiers, Germany have scored at least once in the first 15 minutes of the game, which is a record matched by no other team. Germany are also top when it comes to fair play. Joachim Löw’s side have committed just 17 fouls and received one yellow card so far in qualification, few than any other team.
LUCKY 13: In the last two qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Northern Ireland, Germany have gone into 1-0 leads in the 13th minute on both occasions. Julian Draxler netted against the Czech Republic, while Thomas Müller fired Germany into the lead against the Northern Irish.
