San Marino Calcio SS

San Marino

Nickname(s)	La Serenissima, The Big Club
Association	San Marino Football Federation
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Giampaolo Mazza
Captain	Andy Selva
Most caps	Mirco Gennari, Federico Gasperoni (48)
Top scorer	Andy Selva (8)
Home stadium	Stadio Olimpico
FIFA code	SMR
FIFA ranking	201
Highest FIFA ranking	118 (September 1993)
Lowest FIFA ranking	201 (November 2008)
Elo ranking	194
Home colours Away colours
First international
San Marino 0 - 4 Switzerland  (Serravalle, San Marino; November 14, 1990)
Biggest win
San Marino 1 - 0 Liechtenstein  (Serravalle, San Marino; April 28, 2004)
Biggest defeat
San Marino 0 - 13 Germany  (Serravalle, San Marino; September 6, 2006)

"San Marino football team" redirects here. For the club that competes in Italy's Serie C2, see San Marino Calcio.

The San Marino national football team is the national football team of San Marino, controlled by the San Marino Football Federation. The team has enjoyed very little success, due to the republic's tiny population, the smallest of any UEFA country.

The first official game played by a San Marino team was a 0–4 defeat in a European Championships qualifier to Switzerland in 1990. Previously, a San Marino side had lost 0–1 to a Canadian Olympic team in 1986, but this was not an official match. Since making their competitive bow San Marino have competed in qualifying for every European Championships and World Cup, but have never won a match in either competition. They have only ever won one game, beating Liechtenstein 1–0 in a friendly match on 28 April 2004.

Though the San Marino Football Federation formed in 1931, the federation did not establish a national team until 1986, when a team representing the Federation played Canada's Olympic team in an unofficial international. San Marino gained affiliation to governing bodies FIFA and UEFA in 1988,^[1] allowing the team to participate in major championships. Prior to this, Sammarinese players had been considered Italian in international football contexts.^[2]

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 went to lose all eight qualifiers. The team particularly struggled in away matches, losing every one by at least four goals. San Marino scored only one goal, a penalty in a 3–1 defeat at home to Romania,^[3] and conceded 33 goals in total.

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 hammering at the hands of 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 World Cup goal, and a 0–0 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 fastest goal in World Cup Qualifying history, after 8.3 seconds, though the team went on to lose 7–1.^[4] San Marino finished the campaign with one point and 44 goals conceded.

Qualification for Euro 96 followed a similar pattern to that of the previous European championships, losing every game. A match away to Finland gave San Marino their first goal away from home in the European championships, but the team lost 4–1.^[5] Their only other goal came in a 3–1 home defeat to fellow minnows the Faroe Islands; the two wins over San Marino were the only points gained by the Faroe Islands and the return match, a 3–0 scoreline in Toftir, is the Faroes' record competitive win.^[6]

Even by Sammarinese standards, qualification for the 1998 World Cup was disappointing. Losing every game by three goals or more, San Marino failed to score a single goal. 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 game. The closest game was against Cyprus, a 1–0 defeat on 18 November 1998.

In April 2001 San Marino gained their first ever away point, drawing 1–1 with Latvia in Riga. The team ended the 2002 World Cup qualifying group with a new best of three goals, though one of these came in a 10–1 defeat to Belgium. In Euro 2004 qualifying San Marino lost all eight matches, failing to score. The closest result was a 1–0 home defeat to Latvia, with the winner scored in the last minute.^[5]

In April 2004 San Marino gained their first and thus far only win at the 65th attempt, a 1–0 victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly in 2004 courtesy of a fifth minute goal by Andy Selva. The match was Martin Andermatt's debut as Liechtenstein coach.^[7] Results during qualification for the 2006 World Cup followed a similar vein to previous qualifying groups. Matches were generally one-sided defeats, with the exception of single goal defeats at home to Lithuania and Belgium.

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