IFFHS CONTINENTAL NEWS - UEFA
Picture : Lee Carsley became the first English caretaker coach to win his first game in charge (vs Republic of Ireland 2-0) since Joe Mercer in 1974.
Statistics on Nations League games of 5-7 September
*San Marino have finally achieved their first ever competitive win (1-0 vs Liechtenstein). It was preceded by 177 unsuccessful attempts.
Roberto Cevoli is the coach who led them to this historical feat.
*Overall, it is San Marino’s 2nd ever win, after another 1-0 vs Liechtenstein on 28 April 2004 that was a friendly.
The streak of 141 consecutive games without winning between these two matches is the longest in the whole history of national team football.
*With the 0-0 draw vs Serbia, Spain stopped their impressive run of 13 wins in competitive matches (all in the 2023-24 season, including 6 wins in Euro qualifying phase and 7 wins in Euro finals).
This series started after the draw against Croatia (and victory on penalties) in the final of the last Nations League.
Spain were just one step away from equaling their record of consecutive victories in competitive matches (14 between 2010 and 2011).
*Italy beat France (3-1):
for the first time on French soil since 1954 (also 3-1, in a friendly match),
for the first time on French soil in a competitive match since the 1938 World Cup (again 3-1, in the quarterfinals),
for the first time Italy at the Parc des Princes, after 3 draws and a defeat in the previous 4 attempts.
*France lost after opening the score in each of their last two matches (1-2 v Spain, 1-3 v Italy), doing so in consecutive games for the first time since April-May 1962.
*Bradley Barcola scored the presumably earliest goal (at 13 seconds) in the history of the French national team.
It can be admitted now that two fastest goals in the history of the French team have been against Italy: including Bernard Lacombe's one in the 1978 World Cup (31 seconds).
However, France scored 3 goals in the opening minute before 1933 for which the exact seconds are lacked.