For many writers, watching football in San Marino – Europe’s third-smallest nation – might not be anywhere near the bucket list, but this has always been right at the top for me. I’ve been following their national team for three years, my interest first sparked in 2014 when I was struck by how much it clearly meant to a band of largely semi-professionals to represent their tiny nation at a place like Wembley, something much more important than the 5-0 scoreline that night. Sprinting home in the rain to report on their first-ever competitive win in 2024 remains a career highlight.

After a two-hour flight to Rimini – this nation roughly the size of Dundee has no airport – and a 45-minute bus ride over the Italian border, I’ve arrived in San Marino’s capital, confusingly bearing the same name as the country itself but known locally as Città (city). A cobbled town on top of a mountain, with 11th-century fortresses and a stunning pathway called Witches’ Pass – you half-expect to see Hansel and Gretel climbing a beanstalk.

It’s a setting worthy of any fairy tale, but tonight, just five and a half weeks after Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal in a battle of Ballon d’Or contenders in Budapest, the 2026/27 campaign begins. For 19 years, a Sammarinese team has entered the first round of Champions League qualifying without winning a single tie. In fact, San Marino is one of only three national associations yet to qualify for a UEFA competition group or league phase. Tonight, national champions Tre Fiori launch the 20th bid to end that drought. Their opponents are professional Northern Irish side Larne, but I can’t help but believe in the underdog.

“It’s the people. We all know each other,” says midfielder Luca Censoni when I ask what makes this place special. “We have a small population, so our pool of players is limited. But being such a small country gives us something extra: greater determination, a stronger character and the belief we can compete.”

As we sit in the team’s hotel just a few hours from kick-off, Censoni explains how he leaves his job at a car dealership and heads straight to training three times a week. As one of the club’s most experienced players, he’s remarkably relaxed throughout our interview, but even he can’t conceal his excitement. The fact that he is happily chatting to me just a few hours before the game is an unexpected pleasure; Champions League matchdays are usually spent largely behind closed doors, media access restricted.

“We’re talking about European-level football, and we’re representing San Marino,” says Censoni. “That’s something really special. It’s a fantastic opportunity. It’s a reward for all the hard work we’ve put in.”

Larne are also embarking on their own Champions League dream tonight, and their fans have travelled in force. The majority of the 672 officially in attendance are from County Antrim, painting the place red with banners and flags galore. Despite the odds stacked against Tre Fiori, Larne can offer a curious inspiration. They made history in 2024/25 as the first Northern Irish team to reach the group or league phase of a European club competition – in their case the Conference League – and as such represent the final destination in Sammarinese football’s Sisyphean task.

During the game, I manage to find Daniele, a San Marino superfan I’ve chatted to in the past, with his two friends from La Brigata Mai Una Gioia (The Group Who Have Never Known Joy). Though their sole drum is drowned out by the Larne support, they fly their flag proudly. As we discuss how Tre Fiori’s Alessandro D’Addario can get back into the national team, Larne are controlling the match like the professional outfit they are.

Tre Fiori put up a good fight, typified by their captain Matteo Prandelli and his striking array of tattoos – including a magnificent scorpion on the side of his head – but it’s the defence who are kept busiest. Despite some rearguard heroics from Tom Syku and Alex Sirri, Larne find the opener just before the break through Matthew Lusty’s close-range finish after a free-kick.

Larne’s superiority is evident, and Lusty scores a second in the 77th minute, only for VAR to reprieve the hosts. Tre Fiori tempt fate with a flurry of late chances, including an audacious bicycle kick from Nico Manara, yet the first leg finishes 1-0 to Larne. Even so, you can’t help but think this is a victory for Tre Fiori, too. Getting bogged down in something so facile as the result is to miss the point entirely here.  

As incredible and pulsating as sides like Paris Saint-Germain are, watching a team of bakery owners, couriers and car dealership workers play in the Champions League perfectly encapsulates that Roy of the Rovers romance that first drew us all to football.

Progress might come slowly here – the national team waited more than 200 games for a competitive win – but come it does. And from up here at the top of Monte Titano, looking down on this serene republic which has lived life at its own pace for 1,700 years, the distance between San Marino and Europe’s biggest stages doesn’t quite seem so vast after all.