San Marino defeated Liechtenstein 1-0 in the fourth division of the Nations League, recording their first competitive victory in 34 years.

Nicko Sensoli scored the only goal of the game in Serravalle, the teenager jumping on a defensive error to send the ball past keeper Benjamin Büchel in the 53rd minute. Liechtenstein’s Fabio Luque Notaro had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half and also had a close-range shot blocked just before Sensoli’s opener.

The hosts held on for eight minutes of injury time to win, prompting wild celebrations for the team currently ranked 210th and last in the FIFA world rankings. San Marino’s victory also means they go top of the Nations League group they share with Liechtenstein and Gibraltar.

The tiny republic surrounded by Italy played its first qualifying match in 1990 and has never won a league match. San Marino’s only previous victory – also a 1-0 win over Liechtenstein – came in a 2004 friendly played before Sensoli was born. The side’s competitive record before Thursday’s victory was nil, draws five, losses 171.

In League A, Cristiano Ronaldo’s 900th career goal was scored Portugal to a 2-1 victory over Croatiawhile Diogo Dalot opened the scoring for the home side and then scored an own goal at the Estádio da Luz.

Dalot put Portugal ahead in the seventh minute when his Manchester United club-mate Bruno Fernandes played a clever pass in his direction. The right-back got past Borna Sosa before curling his shot through the keeper’s legs
Dominik Livakovic.

Ronaldo, who failed to score in Portugal’s five Euro 2024 games, reached his milestone when he met a perfect cross from Nuno Mendes in Lisbon. The 39-year-old was left unmarked and was able to tap home from close range to double the lead in the 34th minute.

Croatia came back four minutes before half-time when Dalot blocked a sliding effort from Sosa into his own net, but a scoreless second half gave Portugal a winning start to their campaign. Roberto Martínez’s side host Scotland on Sunday, while Croatia host Poland, who won 3-2 at Hampden Park.

Spain began their Nations League title defence with a dismal goalless draw away to Serbia in Group A4, ending a nine-match winning streak as the 2024 European Championship champions dropped points for the first time since March.

Spain were playing their first match since beating England 2-1 in the European Championship final in Berlin on July 14. They dominated possession but failed to score in 22 attempts. That left Denmark to top the group after beating nine men Switzerland 2-0 in Copenhagen.

The home side thought they had been awarded a penalty early in the second half when Nico Elvedi was shown a yellow card for knocking down Kasper Dolberg in the penalty area. However, after a VAR review, the referee ruled it a free kick just outside the penalty area and the Swiss defender was shown a red card.

Jonas Wind had the ball in the net in the 72nd minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside, and nine minutes later Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu was brought on for his first cap as his team chased a winning goal. The 19-year-old broke the deadlock a minute later, latching onto a ball from fellow substitute Andreas Skov Olsen and firing home with his right foot.

Any chance for the Swiss to stage a comeback disappeared when captain Granit Xhaka, who had been booked for the goal, was sent off in the 87th minute after receiving his second yellow card. Pierre-Emile Højbjerg then completed the victory with a goal in injury time from an assist by Skov Olsen.

In League C, early goals from Paddy McNair and Daniel Ballard Northern Ireland a 2-0 victory over Luxembourg in a positive display at Windsor Park.

Just 11 minutes in, Ballard won a clearance at the near post from a long throw from Ciaron Brown. The ball fell to McNair, who fired it into the left corner of the net, his seventh goal for Northern Ireland on the night of his 70th international.

Six minutes later George Saville fired a free-kick low towards the near post, with Ballard arriving at the right moment to tap the ball in for his first goal for Windsor Park. Michael O’Neill’s side had further chances in the second half through Josh Magennis and Conor Bradley, but settled for only their second ever Nations League victory.

Northern Ireland top Group C3 after Belarus and Bulgaria played out goalless draws in Hungary. In Group C1, Alexander Isak scored twice Sweden to saw off Azerbaijan 3-1 in Baku, with Tomas Suslov scoring the winning goal Slovakia in Estonia.