The team is governed by the San Marino Football Federation and represents the smallest population of any UEFA member.

Since their competitive debut, San Marino has participated in the qualifiers for every European Championship and FIFA World Cup.

[9] For their first World Cup qualifying campaign, San Marino were drawn in a group with England, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Turkey.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

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.

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.

After the break, they swiftly equalized with a right-wing attack culminating in Lorenzo Lazzari getting past the defence and beating the goalkeeper.

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.

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.

Win Draw Loss Fixture Current technical staff:[55] The following players were called up for a training stage in February 2025.