The Montenegro national football team came into existence in 2007, following Montenegro's declaration of independence from the State of Serbia and Montenegro in June 2006. Based in Podgorica, the capital city, the team is governed by the Football Association of Montenegro and plays its home matches at the Podgorica City Stadium, known locally as Stadion pod Goricom.
Montenegro is one of the youngest international sides in the world. The Football Association was granted full UEFA membership on 26 January 2007, and the country was formally admitted as FIFA's 208th member on 31 May 2007. Their first FIFA-recognised match took place on 24 March 2007, a 2–1 friendly victory over Hungary in Podgorica, with striker Mirko Vučinić scoring the country's historic first goal.
The team's most celebrated period came in the early 2010s, often referred to as a 'golden' era. A standout result from this time was a 6–0 demolition of San Marino in September 2012 — still the largest winning margin in the team's history — followed by a memorable 1–0 victory away to Ukraine. These results reflected a squad that punched above its weight for a country of Montenegro's size.
Qualification campaigns have produced mixed outcomes. A notable low point came during UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, when a home match against Russia was abandoned after 67 minutes due to crowd trouble, resulting in a 3–0 forfeit loss awarded to Russia.
As a newly formed nation competing against established football powers, Montenegro's identity is built around resilience and national pride, representing a country of fewer than one million people on the international stage.