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A glance at the day jobs of San Marino's starting XI

Andrew Couldridge / Reuters

Sitting 208th and last in the FIFA rankings, San Marino will be in tough when they meet England at Wembley in Euro 2016 qualifying action on Thursday.

Pierangelo Manzaroli's side boast only one professional player in right-back Mirko Palazzi, who features at Rimini in the Italian fourth division. The rest of San Marino's squad is comprised entirely of footballers who work day jobs to pay the bills, a far cry from England's team which contains a crop of players from top European clubs.

None of this should come as a surprise given San Marino's tiny population of 33,000, but when two sides with such a wide disparity meet, it's always interesting to take a deeper look at the underdog.

Here are the day jobs of San Marino's potential starting XI, according to the BBC:

  • Aldo Simoncini (goalkeeper, 28): accountant
  • Mirko Palazzi (defender, 27): professional football at Rimini
  • Alessandro Della Valle (defender, 32): works in a ceramics shop
  • Fabio Vitaioli (defender, 30): works in a clothing shop
  • Lorenzo Buscarini (defender, 23): student
  • Alex Gasperoni (midfielder, 30): runs a lighting business
  • Matteo Vitaioli (midfielder, 24): factory worker
  • Michele Cervellini (midfielder, 26): lawyer
  • Luca Tosi (midfielder, 23): office clerk
  • Andy Selva (striker, 38): youth football coach
  • Danilo Rinaldi (striker, 26): works in a furniture shop

San Marino lost their opening match in Euro 2016 qualifying 2-0 to Lithuania. 

Should they miraculously defeat England, it will mark only their second win in 25 years of official competition.

Should they score, it will mark only their second goal in six years.

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