Finland took 39 minutes to score the first goal, when Mika Väyrynen finally got the ball past San Marino goalkeeper Aldo Simoncini. Kasper Hämäläinen scored his first goal for the national team after 49 minutes, followed by two goals from former Chelsea striker Mikael Forssell. Hämäläinen replied with his second at 68 minutes.
Soon after, veteran Jari Litmanen, the team's all-time points leader, scored his 32nd goal for the side, followed by one from Roni Porokara and a third from Forssell.
The Group E qualifier may have been Litmanen's last national-team appearance. At 39, he has played on the side for more than half his life. He started on the substitute bench, joining after the halftime break. Another stalwart, Sami Hyypiä, was out with an injury.
San Marino has a smaller population than such Finnish municipalities such as Kerava and Kirkkonummi. Its team has lost its last 50 European qualifying matches.
The match is Finland's fourth European Cup qualifier. It lost the previous three under Scottish manager Stuart Baxter, falling to Netherlands 2-1, Hungary 2-1 and Moldova 2-0.
Coaching the team for this game is assistant manager Olli Huttunen, with Baxter serving in a "consultative" role.
Earlier on Wednesday, Finland slipped further in FIFA's World Rankings to 87th. The team's ranking has plunged by 24 spots in the past two months. Since Baxter took over as manager in 2008, it has slipped from 33rd place in the world body's ranking.
