San Marino national football team

San Marino

Nickname(s)	La Serenissima
Association	Federazione Sammarinese Giuoco Calcio
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Roberto Cevoli
Captain	Matteo Vitaioli
Most caps	Matteo Vitaioli (91)
Top scorer	Andy Selva (8)
Home stadium	Olympic Stadium of Serravalle
FIFA code	SMR
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	210 (21 December 2023)
Highest	118 (September 1993)
Lowest	211 (November 2018 – July 2019, March 2022 – July 2023)
First international
Unofficial San Marino 0–1 Canada U23 (Serravalle, San Marino; 28 March 1986) Official San Marino 0–4 Switzerland (Serravalle, San Marino; 14 November 1990)
Biggest win
San Marino 1–0 Liechtenstein (Serravalle, San Marino; 28 April 2004)
Biggest defeat
San Marino 0–13 Germany (Serravalle, San Marino; 6 September 2006)

The San Marino national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio di San Marino) represents San Marino in men's international association football competitions. The team is controlled by the San Marino Football Federation and represents the smallest population of any UEFA member. They are currently the lowest-ranked FIFA-affiliated national football team.

The first official match played by a San Marino team was a 4–0 defeat in a European Championship qualifier to Switzerland in 1990. Previously, a San Marino side played an unofficial match against the Canadian U-23 team in 1986, losing 1–0. Since making their competitive debut, San Marino has competed in the qualifiers of every European Championship and World Cup but has never won a match. They have only ever won once, defeating Liechtenstein 1–0 in a friendly match on 28 April 2004.

Until November 2014, San Marino was tied for last place in the FIFA World Rankings. This run lasted since the rankings were given a new calculation methodology. They were tied for last with Bhutan (208th) in the October 2014 rankings, but a 0–0 draw with Estonia in the Euro 2016 qualifiers ended their tenure at the bottom of the rankings. In the same qualifying phase, San Marino scored their first away goal in fourteen years against another Baltic side, Lithuania. When the ranking methodology was revised again, the team fell back to the bottom following a 1–0 loss to Moldova in the Nations League.

San Marino's national team is sometimes considered the worst national side in the sport's history, as they have only ever won once and conceded an average of 4.2 goals per match. However, as a member of UEFA, they face stronger competition than many other low-ranked sides.

History

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 the Canadian U-23 team in an unofficial international, which ended in a 1–0 defeat. San Marino gained affiliation to FIFA and UEFA in 1988, allowing the team to participate in major championships. Before this, Sammarinese players had been considered Italian in international football contexts.

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, 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 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. San Marino finished the campaign with one point and conceded 46 goals in 10 matches.

The team's qualification campaign for 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. 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.

Even by Sammarinese standards, qualification for the 1998 World Cup was disappointing. Losing every match 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 match. The closest San Marino got to gaining a point 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 by Belgium. In 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. 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 once since, in a 2–3 loss to Malta in another friendly nine years later, 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. 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.

San Marino's opening Euro 2008 qualifying match resulted in a record 13–0 defeat at home by Germany on 6 September 2006. 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.

In the qualification campaign for the 2010 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, and scored just once, in a 3–1 defeat by Slovakia. The 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. This was then followed up by two lighter defeats, a 5–0 home loss against Sweden, before completing the campaign with a 4–0 away loss to Moldova.

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. 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.

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

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

On 16 November 2019, Filippo Berardi scored a goal in a 3–1 loss to Kazakhstan in a 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).

On 13 October 2020, San Marino recorded their fourth competitive draw and their first since 2014, after their Nations League match with Liechtenstein ended 0–0. 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.

On 7 December 2020, San Marino was drawn into Group I for the 2022 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. 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. 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 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. They were also their first-ever European Qualifiers in which they were not the worst overall team (Liechtenstein only scored one goal in the tournament, while Gibraltar scored none).

Team image

Kit suppliers

Period	Kit manufacturer
1990–1994	Admiral
1994–2010	Virma
2011–2017	Adidas
2018–2022	Macron
2022–	Errea

Home stadium

San Marino plays home matches at the San Marino Stadium, a municipally owned stadium in Serravalle, which also hosts the matches of club side San Marino Calcio. It has a capacity of 7,000. 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.

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.

Reputation

San Marino has the smallest population of any UEFA country. As of 20 November 2023, the team has never won a competitive fixture. A 1–0 friendly win against Liechtenstein in 2004 remains their sole victory.

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 until France eclipsed this in 2023 with a 14–0 victory over Gibraltar. And they have conceded ten goals on seven other separate occasions.

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.

In 2001, Latvia manager Gary Johnson resigned after failing to beat San Marino in a World Cup qualifier. 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.

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. England went on to win the match 7–1.

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

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.

Results and fixtures

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

2023

2024

Coaching staff

Current technical staff:

Head coach	Roberto Cevoli
Technical assistant	Stefano Ceci
Fitness coach	Tomaso Mazzoli
Goalkeeping coach	Ned Stevens
Team doctor	Pietro Bugli
Physiotherapist	Loris Balzani
Masseur	Tiziano Giacobbi
Official accompanying	Cesare Vitaioli
Match analyst	Lorenzo Vagnini
Warehouseman	Benito Ballato Marco Crescentini Mauro Montanari

Manager history

As of 20 November 2023

Manager	Nat.	Start	End	Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost
Giulio Casali		28 March 1986	20 September 1987	6	0	2	4
Giorgio Leoni		14 November 1990	15 November 1995	29	0	1	28
Massimo Bonini		2 June 1996	10 September 1997	8	0	0	8
Giampaolo Mazza		10 October 1998	15 October 2013	85	1	2	82
Pierangelo Manzaroli		8 June 2014	8 October 2017	28	0	1	27
Franco Varrella		8 September 2018	28 November 2021	34	0	2	32
Fabrizio Costantini		28 November 2021	12 December 2023	20	0	2	18
Roberto Cevoli		15 December 2023	present	0	0	0	0

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers matches against Kazkhstan on 17 November and Finland on 20 November 2023.

Caps and goals correct as of 20 November 2023 after the match against Finland.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Aldo Junior Simoncini	30 August 1986	65	0	Cosmos
23	GK	Elia Benedettini	22 June 1995	48	0	Libertas
12	GK	Simone Benedettini	21 January 1997	8	0	Fiorentino
3	DF	Mirko Palazzi	21 March 1987	74	1	Cosmos
8	DF	Manuel Battistini	11 July 1994	52	0	Virtus
13	DF	Andrea Grandoni	23 March 1997	36	0	La Fiorita
11	DF	Dante Rossi	12 July 1987	30	0	Tropical Coriano
2	DF	Alessandro D'Addario	9 September 1997	29	0	Cosmos
16	DF	Cristian Brolli	28 February 1992	24	0	Folgore
15	DF	Alessandro Tosi	8 April 2001	13	0	Victor San Marino
5	DF	Simone Franciosi	3 September 2001	9	1	Pietracuta
4	DF	Andrea Magi	3 February 2001	3	0	Diegaro
17	MF	Alessandro Golinucci	10 October 1994	50	1	Virtus
22	MF	Marcello Mularoni	8 September 1998	40	0	Cosmos
6	MF	Enrico Golinucci	16 July 1991	39	0	Folgore
21	MF	Lorenzo Lunadei	11 July 1997	35	0	La Fiorita
14	MF	Tommaso Zafferani	19 February 1996	20	0	La Fiorita
20	MF	Lorenzo Lazzari	6 June 2003	11	1	Victor San Marino
19	MF	Lorenzo Capicchioni	19 January 2002	10	0	Sammaurese
7	FW	Matteo Vitaioli (captain)	27 October 1989	91	1	La Fiorita
10	FW	Fabio Tomassini	5 February 1996	33	0	Pietracuta
9	FW	Filippo Berardi	18 May 1997	29	2	Cosmos
18	FW	Samuel Pancotti	31 October 2000	3	0	La Fiorita

Recent call-ups

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
DF	Filippo Fabbri	7 January 2002	23	1	Olbia	v. Kazakhstan, 17 November 2023 SUS
DF	Roberto Di Maio	21 September 1982	9	0	Cosmos	v. Kazakhstan, 17 November 2023 INJ
DF	Michele Cevoli	22 July 1998	20	0	Juvenes/Dogana	v. Denmark, 17 October 2023
MF	Michael Battistini	8 October 1996	25	0	Tre Penne	v. Denmark, 17 October 2023
MF	Luca Ceccaroli	5 July 1995	19	0	Tre Penne	v. Denmark, 17 October 2023
MF	Adolfo Hirsch	31 January 1986	60	0	Fiorentino	v. Slovenia, 10 September 2023
FW	Nicola Nanni	2 May 2000	34	1	Olbia	v. Kazakhstan, 17 November 2023 INJ
FW	Mattia Stefanelli	12 March 1993	19	1	Fiorentino	v. Slovenia, 10 September 2023
FW	Danilo Rinaldi	18 April 1986	51	1	La Fiorita	v. Slovenia, 26 March 2023
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to a non-injury issue.

Records

As of 20 November 2023

Players in bold are still active with San Marino.

Most capped players

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Years
1	Matteo Vitaioli	91	1	2007–present
2	Mirko Palazzi	74	1	2005–present
3	Andy Selva	73	8	1998–2016
4	Davide Simoncini	69	0	2006–present
	Damiano Vannucci	69	0	1996–2012
6	Alessandro Della Valle	65	1	2002–2017
	Aldo Junior Simoncini	65	0	2006–present
8	Simone Bacciocchi	60	0	1998–2013
	Adolfo Hirsch	60	0	2011–present
10	Fabio Vitaioli	55	0	2007–2019

Top goalscorers

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Years
1	Andy Selva	8	73	0.11	1998–2016
2	Filippo Berardi	2	26	0.08	2016–present
	Manuel Marani	2	32	0.06	2003–2012

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990	Did not enter									Did not enter
1994	Did not qualify									10	0	1	9	2	46
1998										8	0	0	8	0	42
2002										8	0	1	7	3	30
2006										10	0	0	10	2	40
2010										10	0	0	10	1	47
2014										10	0	0	10	1	54
2018										10	0	0	10	2	51
2022										10	0	0	10	1	46
2026	To be determined									To be determined
2030
2034
Total	—	0/22	–	–	–	–	–	–		76	0	2	74	12	356

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter									Declined participation
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992	Did not qualify								8	0	0	8	1	33
1996									10	0	0	10	2	36
2000									8	0	0	8	1	44
2004									8	0	0	8	0	30
2008									12	0	0	12	2	57
2012									10	0	0	10	0	53
2016									10	0	1	9	1	36
2020									10	0	0	10	1	51
2024									10	0	0	10	3	31
2028	To be determined								To be determined
2032
Total	0/17	—	–	–	–	–	–	–	86	0	1	85	11	371

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
League phase**													Finals
Season	LG	Grp	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK		Year	Pos.	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad
2018–19	D	2	4th	6	0	0	6	0	16		55th		2019	Did not qualify
2020–21	D	2	3rd	4	0	2	2	0	3		54th		2021
2022–23	D	2	3rd	4	0	0	4	0	9		54th		2023
2024–25	D	To be determined											2025
Total				14	0	2	12	0	28	54th			Total		—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Mediterranean Games

Mediterranean Games record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1951–1983	did not enter
1987	Group stage	3	0	1	2	0	7
1991–present	See San Marino national under-23 team
Total	1/1	3	0	1	2	0	7

List of matches not lost by San Marino

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All-time record

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
Albania	4	0	0	4	0	13	−13	0.00
Andorra	3	0	0	3	0	7	−7	0.00
Austria	2	0	0	2	1	11	−10	0.00
Azerbaijan	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0.00
Belarus	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7	0.00
Belgium	8	0	0	8	3	46	−43	0.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0.00
Bulgaria	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7	0.00
Cape Verde	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	0.00
Croatia	3	0	0	3	0	18	−18	0.00
Cyprus	6	0	0	6	0	18	−18	0.00
Czech Republic	6	0	0	6	0	31	−31	0.00
Denmark	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0.00
England	8	0	0	8	1	52	−51	0.00
Estonia	5	0	1	4	0	9	−9	0.00
Faroe Islands	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0.00
Finland	6	0	0	6	2	23	−21	0.00
Germany	4	0	0	4	0	34	−34	0.00
Gibraltar	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1	0.00
Greece	2	0	0	2	0	2	−2	0.00
Hungary	6	0	0	6	0	26	−26	0.00
Iceland	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0.00
Israel	2	0	0	2	0	12	−12	0.00
Italy	3	0	0	3	0	15	−15	0.00
Kazakhstan	4	0	0	4	2	13	−11	0.00
Kosovo	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3	0.00
Latvia	5	0	1	4	1	9	−8	0.00
Liechtenstein	6	1	2	3	3	6	−3	16.67
Lithuania	5	0	0	5	2	11	−9	0.00
Luxembourg	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6	0.00
Malta	3	0	0	3	2	6	−4	0.00
Moldova	8	0	0	8	0	17	−17	0.00
Montenegro	2	0	0	2	0	9	−9	0.00
Netherlands	6	0	0	6	0	39	−39	0.00
Northern Ireland	6	0	0	6	0	19	−19	0.00
Norway	4	0	0	4	1	24	−23	0.00
Poland	10	0	0	10	2	45	−43	0.00
Republic of Ireland	2	0	0	2	1	7	−6	0.00
Romania	3	0	0	3	1	10	−9	0.00
Russia	4	0	0	4	0	25	−25	0.00
Saint Kitts and Nevis	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—
Saint Lucia	2	0	1	1	1	2	−1	0.00
Scotland	8	0	0	8	0	27	−27	0.00
Serbia and Montenegro	2	0	0	2	0	8	−8	0.00
Seychelles	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.00
Slovakia	4	0	0	4	1	22	−21	0.00
Slovenia	7	0	0	7	0	26	−26	0.00
Spain	4	0	0	4	0	26	−26	0.00
Sweden	4	0	0	4	0	22	−22	0.00
Switzerland	4	0	0	4	0	22	−22	0.00
Turkey	4	0	1	3	1	16	−15	0.00
Ukraine	2	0	0	2	0	17	−17	0.00
Wales	4	0	0	4	1	16	−15	0.00
Total	201	1	8	192	31	813	−782	0.50