San Marino (National Football)

American sports fans are accustomed to long droughts, but at least the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs won games when they were searching for World Series glory.

Until Thursday, that was more than the San Marino soccer team could say.

San Marino earned its first-ever competitive win with a 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein during Thursday's UEFA Nations League contest. As ESPN noted, it was the small nation's first win in any game since it defeated the same opponent in a friendly more than 20 years ago in April 2004.

San Marino is now 2-10-199 all-time.

It comes as no surprise, then, that the nation is last in FIFA's world rankings at No. 210. Yet that didn't stop Nicko Sensoli from sending the fans into celebration mode with what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute.

The defense held strong from there and handed Liechtenstein, which is No. 199 in the FIFA world rankings, a stunning loss.

Sky News noted San Marino has a population of just 33,000, so it doesn't have an extensive talent pool to pull from when it comes to forming a team. The majority of the amateur players on the roster have other jobs.

The nation lost by double digits seven times during its 140-match winless streak and even set the European record for going 20 matches without a goal from 2008 to 2012.

But none of that mattered Thursday as Sensoli scored a goal that will be remembered in San Marino for years to come.

The San Marino football team have hit back after suggestions from Germany striker Thomas Muller that it is pointless for them to be involved in qualifying for major tournaments.

After the world champions secured an 8-0 win over the minnows in FIFA World Cup qualifying on Friday, the Bayern Munich man said, per Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror: “I don't understand the point of such uneven games like these, even moreso because of the crowded fixture list.”

The comments angered San Marino director of communications Alan Gasperoni, and he has issued the following 10-point rebuttal to Muller, per Malyon.

"It served to show you that not even against the teams as poor as ours you can't score a goal," read the first point on Gasperoni's list. "...and don't say you weren't pissed when [Aldo] Simoncini stopped you scoring."

"It served to make it clear to your managers (and even at [Franz] Beckenbauer and [Karl-Heinz] Rummenigge) that football is not owned by them but by of all those who love it, among which, like it or not, WE are included," the director of communications continued, before suggesting the match shows some "follow their dreams and not your rules."

Scathingly, Gasperoni also said "it served to confirm that you Germans you will never change and that history has taught you that 'bullying' is not always guarantee of victory."

In the additional points, Gasperoni also referred to the inspiration the match would provide to players from the country, how monies accrued from the match could be used in San Marino and how it would have assisted German starlet Serge Gnabry, who bagged a hat-trick on his full international debut.

On the night, while Muller was left frustrated, Germany’s other stars helped themselves in front of goal, with a treble from Gnabry as well as strikes from Sami Khedira, Jonas Hector (2), Kevin Volland and an own goal from Mattia Stefanelli giving Joachim Low’s side a comfortable victory.

In fairness to Muller, he wasn’t the only high-profile figure to lash out at San Marino. Former Germany striker Rummenigge brazenly stated that “San Marino has got nothing to do with professional football,” per Malyon.

Despite their heavy defeat, the San Marino Twitter feed saw the positives during the game, referring to the 13-0 loss they suffered at the hands of Germany in 2006:

Ten years ago we were 0-7 down already, now it's only 0-3. In another ten years we'll draw against Germany, Mark my words. #SMRger

— San Marino (@soccersanmarino) November 11, 2016

In San Marino’s history, they have only one victory on record, a 1-0 triumph over Liechtenstein in 2004 in a friendly.

The most recent point they won in a competitive match came against Estonia in 2014, when they drew 0-0 in a UEFA European Championship qualifying tie; a goal scored by the team against Norway in October sparked wild celebrations, although the minnows eventually lost 4-1.

Muller, meanwhile, is rated among the finest forwards in the game, having established a stellar reputation with both Bayern and the Germany national team. As noted by Malyon, it’s reported he earns in excess of €4 million (£3.5 million) every year.