San Marino national football team

Though the San Marino Football Federation was formed in 1931, the Federation did not establish a national team until 1986, when a team representing the Federation played against the Canada U-23 team in an unofficial international, which ended in a 1–0 defeat. San Marino gained affiliation to FIFA and UEFA in 1988,^[6] allowing the team to participate in major championships. Before this, Sammarinese players had been considered Italian in international football contexts.^[7]

San Marino's first match in a FIFA-sanctioned competition was against Switzerland on 14 November 1990 in a qualifier for the 1992 European Championships. San Marino lost 4–0 and would lose all eight of their other qualifiers. The team struggled in away matches, losing all by at least four goals. San Marino scored only one goal, which was a penalty in a 3–1 defeat at home by Romania,^[8] and conceded 33 goals in total.^[9]

For their first World Cup qualifying campaign, San Marino were drawn in a group with England, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Turkey. The opening match resulted in a 10–0 defeat to Norway. The return match was less one-sided, finishing 2–0 to the Norwegians. A 4–1 defeat in Turkey saw San Marino score their first goal in a World Cup qualifier (also their first from open play), and a goalless draw against the same opposition on 10 March 1993 gave them their first-ever point. In their final qualifier against England, Davide Gualtieri scored the then-fastest goal in World Cup qualifying history after 8.3 seconds. However, San Marino went on to lose 7–1.^[10] San Marino finished the campaign with one point and conceded 46 goals in 10 matches.^[11]

The team's qualification campaign for UEFA Euro 1996 followed a similar pattern to the previous European championships as they lost every match. A match away to Finland gave San Marino their first goal away from home in the European Championship qualifiers. Still, the team lost 4–1.^[12] Their only other goal came in a 3–1 home defeat by the Faroe Islands; the two wins over San Marino were the only points gained by the Faroe Islands in the group. In the first match, a 3–0 score in Toftir is the Faroe Islands' record competitive win.^[13]

Even by Sammarinese standards, qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup was disappointing. Losing every match by three goals or more, San Marino failed to score a single goal.^[14] This is the only World Cup qualifying tournament in which they have failed to score. Qualification for Euro 2000 again resulted in defeats in every match. The closest San Marino got to gaining a point was against Cyprus, a 1–0 defeat on 18 November 1998.^[15]

In April 2001, San Marino gained their first ever away point, drawing 1–1 with Latvia in Riga.^[16] The team ended the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying group with a new best of three goals, though one of these came in a 10–1 defeat by Belgium. In the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying, San Marino lost all eight matches, failing to score. The closest result was a 1–0 home defeat by Latvia, with the winner scored in the last minute. Latvia went on to qualify for the final tournament.^[17] A 2–2 draw against Liechtenstein in a friendly in August 2003 saw the team set a new national record for most goals scored in a match; only twice since, in a 2–3 loss to Malta in another friendly nine years later, and again in their most recent victory, 3-1 over Liechtenstein in November 2024’s final match of their UEFA Nations League run, have the team scored multiple goals in a game.

In April 2004, San Marino gained their first win after more than 70 attempts, a 1–0 victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly on 28 April 2004 courtesy of a fifth-minute goal by Andy Selva. The match was Martin Andermatt's debut as Liechtenstein manager.^[18] Results during qualification for the 2006 World Cup followed a similar vein to previous qualifying groups. Matches were generally one-sided defeats, except for single-goal defeats at home by Lithuania and Belgium.^[19]

San Marino's opening UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match resulted in a record 13–0 defeat at home by Germany on 6 September 2006.^[20] They scored only twice and conceded fifty-seven goals in losing all twelve matches. However, the home matches against Ireland, Cyprus and Wales were each lost by a single goal.^[21]

In the qualification campaign for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, they lost all ten matches and failed to qualify. They conceded 47 goals in those fixtures, including 10 in a defeat by Poland, which became Poland's highest scoring victory of all time,^[22] and scored just once, in a 3–1 defeat by Slovakia.^[23] The UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers started in a similar way, the first nine matches all being defeats with an aggregate of 49 goals conceded and none scored, their best result being a one-goal loss to Finland at home, with the worst being a heavy 11–0 loss to the Netherlands, which became the Netherlands' highest scoring victory of all time and San Marino's worst-ever away defeat.^[24] This was then followed up by two lighter defeats, a 5–0 home loss against Sweden,^[25] before completing the campaign with a 4–0 away loss to Moldova.^[26]

On 10 September 2013, Alessandro Della Valle scored San Marino's first competitive goal in five years. With the score 1–0 to Poland in the Stadio Olimpico, Della Valle headed in a free-kick in the 22nd minute, beating goalkeeper Artur Boruc at his front post. Poland then regained the lead a minute later and eventually won 5–1.^[27] It was the first international goal of any kind scored by San Marino since the national team lost 3–2 at home to Malta in 2012.^[28]

On 15 November 2014, San Marino drew 0–0 at home against Estonia.^[29] It was the first time in ten years that the team had not lost a match, ending a 61–match losing streak,^[29] and securing the country's first-ever point in a European Championship qualifier.^[29]

In October 2016, Mattia Stefanelli scored for San Marino in their 4–1 loss to Norway.^[30]

On 16 November 2019, Filippo Berardi scored a goal in a 3–1 loss to Kazakhstan in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match—the first goal for San Marino in two years (5–1 vs. Azerbaijan on 4 September 2017) and their first home goal in six years (5–1 vs. Poland on 10 September 2013).^[31]

On 13 October 2020, San Marino recorded their fourth competitive draw and their first since 2014, after their UEFA Nations League match with Liechtenstein ended 0–0.^[32] A month later they made history by holding Gibraltar to a goalless draw, surviving with ten men after Davide Simoncini was sent off. This heralded several firsts for them: the first major tournament in which they had gained more than one point, the first time they had gained more than one point in a calendar year, and the first time that they had gone unbeaten without conceding a single goal in two consecutive competitive matches.^[33]

On 7 December 2020, San Marino was drawn into Group I for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The team failed to get a single point and lost all their matches, including a 0–10 home defeat against England, and with a record of one goal scored, at home against Poland in a 1–7 loss, against 46 conceded.

On 28 March 2022, San Marino played the first official match in its history against a non-European team in a friendly game against Cape Verde played on a neutral venue in Spain, the result being a 2–0 loss.^[34] San Marino then took on a second African side with a much lower standard than the previous one, the 198th ranked Seychelles, whom they hosted in a friendly at Stadio Olimpico on 21 September 2022. San Marino ended an 18-game losing streak with a goalless draw but disappointed overall, failing to capitalize on their chances and win at home against an opponent within its reach, who played defensively in a 4–5–1 formation.^[35][36][37] The 2022–2023 edition of the UEFA Nations League saw the selection again in Group B of League D composed of three teams, but they lost their four games without scoring a goal. As a result, San Marino is the only European team that has not yet scored a goal in three participations.

On 17 October 2023, San Marino scored their first competitive goal in two years against Denmark in a 1–2 loss during UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. They would score again against Kazakhstan on 17 November 2023, losing 3–1, and just three days later they scored again in a 2–1 loss to Finland. This marked the first time San Marino scored in three consecutive games.

On 20 March 2024, San Marino scored in four straight games for the first time in their history after taking a 1–0 lead against Saint Kitts and Nevis, eventually losing 3–1. On 24 March 2024, San Marino ended a 12-game losing run with a 0–0 draw against Saint Kitts.

San Marino played Liechtenstein at home in the first round of the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League on the 5th of September. After a disallowed goal for Liechtenstein in the 30th minute, Nicko Sensoli stole the ball from the Liechtenstein defence and scored to make it 1-0 in the 53rd minute. The Sammarinese then held on to claim a 1-0 victory, their first competitive win since joining FIFA and UEFA. ^[38] A later loss away to Gibraltar and a 1-1 draw salvaged in stoppage time by a Nicola Nanni penalty against the same side left San Marino second in the table, with the ability to advance directly to League C should they beat Liechtenstein away (by virtue of their opponents's two draws).

On 18 November 2024, San Marino played Liechtenstein in Vaduz. Despite being the more dangerous side in the first half, they were heading into the break 0-1 because of an Aron Sale 40th minute goal. After the break, they swiftly equalized with a right-wing attack culminating in Lorenzo Lazzari getting past the defence and beating the goalkeeper. In the 66th minute, San Marino won a penalty and Nanni smoothly converted it for an improbable 2-1 lead. Stunningly, just 10 minutes later, Alessandro Tosi found himself on the left side of the Liechtenstein goal and passed to substitute Alessandro Golinucci, who hit a first-time strike into the net to make it 3–1. In the end, the result stood, which meant San Marino was to be promoted to League C. It was the first time San Marino had scored more than one goal in a competitive fixture, the first time that San Marino had scored more than two goals in any fixture, the first time that San Marino had won a match from a losing position, the first time San Marino won an away match, and the first time San Marino was promoted in a major international competition.^[39]

San Marino play home matches at the San Marino Stadium, a municipally owned stadium in Serravalle, which also hosts the matches of club side San Marino Calcio.^[40] It has a capacity of 7,000.^[41] Crowds are low but there is always a fan group called "Brigata Mai 1 Gioia", mainly composed of Italians from Emilia-Romagna. On occasion, traveling supporters outnumber the Sammarinese support. For example, in the fixture against the Republic of Ireland in February 2007, 2,500 of the 3,294 crowd were Irish supporters.^[42][43]

San Marino has played four "home" matches outside their borders. For World Cup qualifiers against England and the Netherlands in 1993, the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara in Bologna was used, and for UEFA Nations League match against Liechtenstein in 2020 at the Stadio Romeo Neri in Rimini. A fourth match took place in the Nations League against Kazakhstan in June 2023, being played at Ennio Tardini as a new pitch was being laid at San Marino's usual stadium.^[44]

San Marino has the smallest population of any UEFA country.^[41] A 1–0 friendly win against Liechtenstein in 2004 and two UEFA Nations League wins in 2024, again over Liechtenstein, are their only victories to date.^[45]

The national side is mainly composed of amateur players. Only a small number of players are at least semi-professionals, as many hold second jobs outside of the sport. Their 13–0 defeat at home against Germany was a European Championship record^[20] until France eclipsed this in 2023 with a 14–0 victory over Gibraltar.^[46] They have conceded ten goals on seven other separate occasions.^[47]

In the FIFA World Rankings, San Marino traditionally has the lowest rank of any UEFA country. Since the creation of FIFA rankings in 1992, San Marino's average position has been 176th.^[48]

San Marino held the record for the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup qualifying history for 22 years when they stunned England with a goal after only 8.3 seconds in 1993.^[10] England went on to win the match 7–1.

In 2001, Latvia manager Gary Johnson resigned after failing to beat San Marino in a World Cup qualifier.^[49] The Republic of Ireland's 2–1 win over San Marino in February 2007 (from a last-second goal) resulted in scathing press criticism for the Irish team.^[50]

San Marino set a European record when they went over 20 matches without scoring between October 2008 and August 2012.^[51] On 8 September 2015, San Marino scored its first away goal in 14 years when Matteo Vitaioli scored against Lithuania in Euro 2016 qualification.^[52][53]

An interesting result of San Marino's weaknesses is that many people see them as football's biggest underdogs; as a result, they have gained a substantial following online from across the world, including a Twitter account dedicated to covering their games.^[54]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

Current technical staff:^[55]

As of 18 November 2024^[56]

The following players were called up for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Gibraltar and Liechtenstein on 15 and 18 November 2024 respectively.^[57]

Caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2024 after the match against Liechtenstein.^[58]

The following players have been called up within the last 12 months and are still eligible to represent.

As of 18 November 2024^[59]

Players in bold are still active with San Marino.

As of 18 November 2024

• Sport in San Marino
  • Football in San Marino
• San Marino Football Federation
• San Marino national football B team
• San Marino national under-21 football team
• San Marino national under-19 football team
• San Marino national under-17 football team
• San Marino women's national football team

• Official website of the San Marino Football Federation (in Italian)
• Official team page
• San Marino at UEFA
• San Marino at FIFA
• National TV broadcasting football news
• RSSSF Archive of international results 1986–present (list of results)
• RSSSF Archive of international Goals and Caps
• Reports of all official matches