The San Marino national football team

The San Marino national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio di San Marino) represents San Marino in men's international football competitions and it is controlled by the San Marino Football Federation (FSGC). The team represents the smallest population of any UEFA member.

The first official game played by a San Marino team was a 4–0 defeat in a European Championships qualifier by Switzerland in 1990. Previously, a San Marino side played an unofficial match against a Canadian Olympic team in 1986, losing 1–0. Since making their competitive debut, San Marino have competed in the qualifiers of every European Championship 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.

Until November 2014, San Marino were tied in last place in the FIFA World Rankings, a run that 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 during the Euro 2016 qualifying rounds ended their tenure at the bottom of the rankings. The national side scored their first away goal in fourteen years against another Baltic side, Lithuania, during the same qualifying rounds. When the ranking methodology got 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 history of the sport, as they have only ever won a single match and conceded an average of 4.2 goals per game, although as a member of UEFA they face stronger competition than many other low-ranked sides.

History

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, which finished in a 1–0 defeat. San Marino gained affiliation to FIFA a

This page also has a version in other languages :  Сборная Сана Марина по футболу (russian)