By Jamie Mason
Every international break brings another collection of headlines. England chase qualification, Argentina look to maintain their dominance, and Europe's biggest nations prepare for their next major tournament.
But elsewhere in international football, the ambition is much simpler.
Just win a match.
For some national teams, victory is something their supporters haven't experienced for years. Every fixture offers fresh hope, yet the wait continues.
It is a side of international football that rarely receives the attention it deserves.
San Marino: Twenty Years Waiting
Perhaps the most famous example is San Marino.
On 28 April 2004, the tiny European nation defeated Liechtenstein 1–0 in an international friendly.
Nobody watching could have imagined how long they would wait for another victory.
Twenty years passed before San Marino finally celebrated again.
On 5 September 2024, Nicko Sensoli scored against Liechtenstein to secure another 1–0 victory, this time in the UEFA Nations League.
According to FIFA, San Marino had gone 140 matches without winning.
For a country accustomed to being described as one of international football's weakest teams, the celebrations were extraordinary.
Two months later, they defeated Liechtenstein 3–1 away from home, earning promotion in the Nations League.
Suddenly, a team that had spent two decades waiting for one victory had achieved two in a matter of months.
It was a reminder that footballing fortunes can change, even after years of disappointment.
Seychelles: When a Draw Becomes a Story
In September 2022, San Marino faced Seychelles in an international friendly.
The match finished 0–0.
For most football supporters, it was an unremarkable result between two nations near the bottom of the world rankings.
But the story behind the fixture was anything but ordinary.
Seychelles had travelled thousands of miles to Europe, enduring a difficult journey before facing a country desperate to end its own lengthy winless run.
The two sides represented different continents but shared a familiar challenge: finding international victories was incredibly difficult.
Seychelles had themselves gone years without a win.
Their meeting illustrated how much effort can go into a fixture that barely registers with the wider football world.
Sometimes, the stories surrounding a match are just as interesting as the result.
Chad: Progress Without the Headlines
In Central Africa, Chad offers another example of a national team whose achievements deserve greater recognition.
Chad have never qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations or FIFA World Cup finals.
Their international history includes difficult qualifying campaigns and long periods without success.
Yet in March 2024, they defeated Mauritius twice, winning 1–0 and 2–1 to progress through an Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifying round.
Those results were unlikely to dominate global football coverage.
But for Chad, they represented something significant: progress, confidence and the opportunity to compete again.
It is easy to judge national teams purely by their rankings or tournament appearances.
It is much harder to appreciate what an occasional victory means without understanding the years that came before it.
The Idea Behind The Imminent Win
That fascination with international football's lesser-known stories inspired me to create The Imminent Win.
The website tracks 217 senior men's national teams, recording how long each has waited for a victory, their previous wins and their upcoming opportunities to end those runs.
It also features a rolling 365-day league, offering another perspective on international performances.
The idea isn't to embarrass struggling countries or celebrate their defeats.
It is to give every nation a place in the conversation.
Football coverage rightly celebrates trophies, records and famous players. But there is another side to the game that deserves recognition.
A victory for a world champion might be expected.
For a country that hasn't won in years, the same result can become a historic moment.
And somewhere in international football, another team is preparing for the match that could finally end its wait.
For its supporters, that next victory might mean everything.
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Jamie Mason is the UK-based founder of The Imminent Win, an independent football website tracking 217 senior men's national teams and the stories behind their results.
www.theimminentwin.com
