San Marino, joint bottom of the world rankings alongside Bhutan, ended a run of 61 consecutive defeats in all competitions when they held Estonia to a goalless draw in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Saturday.

It was also the part-timers’ first point in the European Championship qualifying competition since they began taking part in 1990.

Goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini was the hero as he kept Estonia at bay in the Group E game and helped San Marino keep a clean sheet for only the third time ever.

He denied Sergei Zenjov in the first half before making an excellent stop from Artjom Artjunin’s header and then turning away Ilja Antonov’s strike after the break.

San Marino had previously managed World Cup qualifying points against Turkey and Latvia.

They beat Liechtenstein 1-0 in a friendly in 2004 and had lost every match since then.

Despite Saturday’s success,, they are still waiting for their first goal since Pierangelo Manzaroli replaced Giampaolo Mazza as coach in February.