How can San Marino still qualify for the 2026 World Cup?
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San Marino can still mathematically qualify for the 2026 World Cup due to their success in the 2024-25 Nations League, despite their poor performance in qualifying.
San Marino, ranked 210th and last in Fifa's world rankings, have lost all seven of their Group H matches in qualifying for next year's World Cup and are guaranteed to finish bottom of their group heading into their final fixture against Romania next month.
However, in the Nations League campaign prior to the start of World Cup qualifying, San Marino finished top of Nations League group D1, putting them in contention for a play-off qualifying spot.
Sixteen European nations will qualify for next summer's World Cup, the 12 group winners in qualifying automatically secure their place.
The 12 runners-up in each group then join the four best Nations League winners, who failed to finish in the top two of the groups in qualifying.
Of the 14 countries to win Nations League groups, Moldova and San Marino are currently the only nations not in line for a spot in the play-offs, but that could still change.
Wales, Romania, Sweden and Northern Ireland are the four sides currently earning play-off spots from Nations League performances.
San Marino need two of those teams to break into the top two of their groups without replacing another Nations League group winner.
It could see a situation where Romania, who are in San Marino's qualifying group, need a win over San Marino - by a significant margin - to move into the top two on the final matchday. Romania may need to improve their goal difference in order to overtake Bosnia and Herzegovina - who they play three days earlier.
For Sweden, they have a slim mathematical chance of breaking into the top two of their qualifying group, meaning the performances of Wales, Northern Ireland and Romania will effectively dictate San Marino's World Cup hopes.
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What happens if San Marino reach Uefa's World Cup play-offs?
San Marino recorded two wins over Liechtenstein to finish top of their 2024-25 Nations League group
Should results go San Marino's way and they end up in the World Cup play-offs, they will enter as one of four pot four teams.
In the format, four paths are drawn and each will consist of one team from each pot, with the best-ranked teams in pot one and the Nations League qualifiers entering in pot four.
Pot four teams, such as San Marino, will be drawn away at a pot one nation in a one-legged semi-final. As it stands, pot one teams could include the likes of Italy and Poland.
Should San Marino see off a pot one team, they would then face the winner of the other semi-final in their path between a pot two and pot three team. If San Marino were to win that, they would qualify for next year's World Cup.
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