Liechtenstein national football team

The Liechtenstein national football team (German: Liechtensteinische Fussballnationalmannschaft) is the national football team of the Principality of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a 1–1 draw in 1981. Their first official match came two years later, a 0–1 defeat from Switzerland. Liechtenstein's largest win, a 4–0 win over Luxembourg in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 13 October 2004, was both its first ever away win and its first win in any FIFA World Cup qualifier. Conversely, Liechtenstein is the only country that lost an official match against San Marino, albeit in a friendly match. Liechtenstein suffered its biggest ever loss in 1996, during qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, losing 1–11 to Macedonia (now North Macedonia), the result also being Macedonia's largest ever win to date. The team's head coach is currently Konrad Fünfstück.[3]

Liechtenstein
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Blue-Reds
AssociationLiechtenstein Football Association
(Liechtensteiner Fussballverband)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachKonrad Fünfstück
CaptainNicolas Hasler
Most capsPeter Jehle (132)
Top scorerMario Frick (16)
Home stadiumRheinpark Stadion
FIFA codeLIE
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 203 Steady (15 February 2024)[1]
Highest118 (January 2008, July 2011, September 2011)
Lowest204 (June 2023)
First international
 Liechtenstein 1–1 Malta 
(Daejeon, South Korea; 14 June 1981)
Biggest win
 Luxembourg 0–4 Liechtenstein 
(Luxembourg, Luxembourg; 13 October 2004)
Biggest defeat
 Liechtenstein 1–11 Macedonia 
(Eschen, Liechtenstein; 9 November 1996)
Websitelfv.li

History edit

Liechtenstein are only a relatively recent affiliate to FIFA, and did not participate in any qualifying series until the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers. There they managed to surprise the Republic of Ireland by holding them to a 0–0 draw on 3 June 1995. On 14 October 1998, they managed their first victory in a qualifying campaign after winning 2–1 against Azerbaijan in a Euro 2000 qualifying match.

Since then, the presence of Liechtenstein clubs in the Swiss league system and of a handful of professional players (most notably Mario Frick) has seen the side's competitiveness improve slightly. The Euro 2004 qualifiers saw Liechtenstein improve to the extent they restricted England to 2–0 wins. Also at this time Liechtenstein lost 1–0 against San Marino, considered to be the weakest national team. As of 2023, it is San Marino's most recent (and only) victory. The 2006 World Cup qualifiers, however, brought even better results as two wins over Luxembourg and draws against both Slovakia and Portugal meant that Liechtenstein finished with 8 points.

In the Euro 2008 qualifiers, Liechtenstein beat Latvia through a solitary goal from Mario Frick. The result caused the Latvian manager to resign after the match. They repeated their heroics against Iceland managing to beat them 3–0 on 17 October 2007 for their second qualifying group win. On the 26 March 2008 Liechtenstein had an embarrassing 7–1 loss to fellow small nation in Europe, Malta. This was recorded as Malta's largest win.[4]

The Liechtensteiner Fussballverbund voted Rainer Hasler to be their "Golden Player" — their best player over the last 50 years — to mark UEFA's golden jubilee.

In the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, Liechtenstein secured a scoreless draw against Azerbaijan and a 1–1 draw against Finland, finishing bottom of Group 4 on two points.[5]

In the Euro 2012 qualifiers, Liechtenstein were narrowly beaten 2–1 by Scotland in Hampden Park thanks to a goal by Stephen McManus in the seventh minute of additional time.[6] They produced a shock 2–0 win at home against Lithuania; their goals were scored by Philippe Erne and Michele Polverino.[6] In the following qualifying game, they managed a scoreless draw away to Lithuania.[6]

In 2018, Liechtenstein entered the first ever UEFA Nations League, in group 4 of league D.[7] Their first Nations League match saw Armenia beat them 2–1 away. Liechtenstein were able to claim their first Nations League victory, beating Gibraltar 2–0.[8]

Results and fixtures edit

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 edit

17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Luxembourg   2–0   Liechtenstein Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
15:00 Da. Sinani   59'
Rodrigues  89'
Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 6,806
Referee: Oleksii Derevinskyi (Ukraine)
20 June 2023 (2023-06-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein   0–1   Slovakia Vaduz, Liechtenstein
18:00 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 2,316
Referee: Yigal Frid (Israel)
8 September 2023 (2023-09-08) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Bosnia and Herzegovina   2–1   Liechtenstein Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
20:45
Report
Stadium: Bilino Polje
Attendance: 6,189
Referee: Sayat Karabayev (Kazakhstan)
11 September 2023 (2023-09-11) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Slovakia   3–0   Liechtenstein Bratislava, Slovakia
20:45
Report Stadium: Tehelné pole
Attendance: 13,679
Referee: Sander van der Eijk (Netherlands)
13 October 2023 (2023-10-13) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein   0–2   Bosnia and Herzegovina Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 5,874
Referee: Damian Sylwestrzak (Poland)
16 October 2023 (2023-10-16) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Iceland   4–0   Liechtenstein Reykjavík, Iceland
18:45
Report Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Attendance: 4,317
Referee: Abdulkadir Bitigen (Turkey)
16 November 2023 (2023-11-16) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein   0–2   Portugal Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 5,749
Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden)
19 November 2023 (2023-11-19) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein   0–1   Luxembourg Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 2,241
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)

2024 edit

22 March 2024 Friendly Liechtenstein   0–4   Faroe Islands Marbella, Spain
18:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Marbella Football Center
Attendance: 25
Referee: Jason Lee Barcelo (Gibraltar)
26 March 2024 Friendly Latvia   1–1   Liechtenstein Larnaca, Cyprus
19:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium
Referee: Manfredas Lukjancukas (Lithuania)
4 June 2024 Friendly Albania   v   Liechtenstein TBD, Albania
8 June 2024 Friendly Romania   v   Liechtenstein Bucharest, Romania
Stadium: Stadionul Steaua
5 September 2024 (2024-09-05) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League San Marino   v   Liechtenstein Serravalle, San Marino
20:45 Stadium: Olympic Stadium of Serravalle
8 September 2024 (2024-09-08) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Gibraltar   v   Liechtenstein TBD
18:00
13 October 2024 (2024-10-13) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Liechtenstein   v   Gibraltar Vaduz, Liechtenstein
18:00 Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
18 November 2024 (2024-11-18) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League Liechtenstein   v   San Marino Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion

Manager history edit

 
Martin Stocklasa, the team manager from 2020 to 2023.

Players edit

Current squad edit

The following players were called up for the friendlies matches against Faroe Islands and Latvia on 22 and 26 March 2024 respectively.[9]

Caps and goals are current as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Latvia.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Benjamin Büchel (vice-captain) (1989-07-04) 4 July 1989 (age 34) 63 0   Vaduz
1GK Thomas Hobi (1993-06-20) 20 June 1993 (age 30) 5 0   Balzers
1GK Lorenzo Lo Russo (1993-07-08) 8 July 1993 (age 30) 0 0   Kreuzlingen

2DF Andreas Malin (1994-01-31) 31 January 1994 (age 30) 49 0   Rot-Weiß Rankweil
2DF Niklas Beck (2001-03-25) 25 March 2001 (age 23) 19 0   Eschen/Mauren
2DF Lars Traber (2000-06-12) 12 June 2000 (age 23) 15 0   Vaduz
2DF Martin Marxer (1999-10-04) 4 October 1999 (age 24) 10 0   Muri-Gümligen
3MF Lukas Graber (2001-05-03) 3 May 2001 (age 22) 6 0   Eschen/Mauren
3MF Noah Graber (2001-05-03) 3 May 2001 (age 22) 1 0   Altstätten
3MF David Jäger (2004-07-04) 4 July 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Vaduz

3MF Sandro Wolfinger (1991-08-24) 24 August 1991 (age 32) 63 3   Balzers
3MF Maximilian Göppel (1997-08-31) 31 August 1997 (age 26) 61 2   Eschen/Mauren
3MF Aron Sele (1996-09-02) 2 September 1996 (age 27) 55 0   Eschen/Mauren
3MF Livio Meier (1998-01-10) 10 January 1998 (age 26) 42 1   Eschen/Mauren
3MF Fabio Wolfinger (1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 (age 27) 28 1   Balzers
3MF Marcel Büchel (1991-03-18) 18 March 1991 (age 33) 21 1   SPAL
3MF Simon Lüchinger (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 (age 21) 19 0   Vaduz
3MF Andrin Netzer (2002-01-11) 11 January 2002 (age 22) 16 0   Eschen/Mauren
3MF Severin Schlegel (2004-07-24) 24 July 2004 (age 19) 5 0   Vaduz
3MF Liam Kranz (2003-07-17) 17 July 2003 (age 20) 4 0   Schaan
3MF Jonas Beck (2003-05-19) 19 May 2003 (age 20) 2 0   Schaan
3MF Emanuel Zünd (2004-12-29) 29 December 2004 (age 19) 0 0   Veyrier

4FW Dennis Salanović (1996-02-26) 26 February 1996 (age 28) 58 4   York United
4FW Philipp Ospelt (1992-10-07) 7 October 1992 (age 31) 21 0   Ruggell
4FW Ferhat Saglam (2001-10-10) 10 October 2001 (age 22) 6 0   Vaduz

Recent call-ups edit

The following players were called up in the last 12 months and are still eligible to represent.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Justin Ospelt (1999-09-07) 7 September 1999 (age 24) 4 0   FSV Frankfurt v.   Luxembourg, 19 November 2023
GK Gabriel Foser (2002-09-02) 2 September 2002 (age 21) 0 0   Vaduz v.   Luxembourg, 19 November 2023

DF Jens Hofer (1997-10-01) 1 October 1997 (age 26) 33 0   Ares v.   Luxembourg, 19 November 2023
DF Manuel Mikus (1999-07-13) 13 July 1999 (age 24) 1 0   Balzers v.   Slovakia, 11 September 2023

MF Sandro Wieser (1993-02-03) 3 February 1993 (age 31) 61 2   Vaduz v.   Luxembourg, 19 November 2023
MF Nicola Kollmann (1994-11-23) 23 November 1994 (age 29) 6 0   Ruggell v.   Luxembourg, 19 November 2023
MF Jakob Lorenz (2001-09-11) 11 September 2001 (age 22) 4 0   Vaduz v.   Iceland, 16 October 2023
MF Colin Haas (1996-05-30) 30 May 1996 (age 27) 2 0   Ruggell v.   Iceland, 16 October 2023
MF Seyhan Yildiz (1989-04-30) 30 April 1989 (age 34) 63 1   Eschen/Mauren v.   Slovakia, 11 September 2023
MF Noah Frommelt (2000-12-18) 18 December 2000 (age 23) 21 0   Kosova Zürich v.   Slovakia, 20 June 2023
MF Marco Wolfinger (1989-04-18) 18 April 1989 (age 34) 3 0   Balzers v.   Slovakia, 20 June 2023
MF Marco Marxer (1999-06-02) 2 June 1999 (age 24) 2 0   Höchst v.   Slovakia, 20 June 2023
MF Nicolas Hasler (captain) (1991-05-04) 4 May 1991 (age 32) 94 5   Vaduz v.   Luxembourg, 17 June 2023

FW Julien Hasler (1989-09-22) 22 September 1989 (age 34) 6 0   Triesen v.   Luxembourg, 19 November 2023
FW Kenny Kindle (2003-11-29) 29 November 2003 (age 20) 2 0   Triesen v.   Luxembourg, 19 November 2023
FW Fabio Luque Notaro (2005-08-31) 31 August 2005 (age 18) 3 0   Vaduz v.   Iceland, 16 October 2023
FW Philipp Gaßner (2003-08-30) 30 August 2003 (age 20) 6 0   Dornbirn v.   Slovakia, 20 June 2023

Notes:

  • PRE = Preliminary squad
  • INJ = Injured
  • SUS = Suspended for a match

Player records edit

As of 26 March 2024[10]
Players in bold are still active with Liechtenstein.

Most appearances edit

 
Peter Jehle is Liechtenstein's most capped player at 132 capps.
Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Peter Jehle 132 0 1998–2018
2 Mario Frick 125 16 1993–2015
3 Martin Stocklasa 113 5 1996–2014
4 Franz Burgmeier 112 9 2001–2018
5 Nicolas Hasler 94 5 2010–present
6 Thomas Beck 92 5 1998–2013
7 Martin Büchel 91 2 2004–2021
8 Michele Polverino 79 6 2007–2019
9 Daniel Hasler 78 1 1993–2007
10 Martin Telser 73 1 1996–2007

Top goalscorers edit

 
Mario Frick is Liechtenstein's all-time record goalscorer at 16 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Mario Frick 16 125 0.13 1993–2015
2 Franz Burgmeier 9 112 0.08 2001–2018
3 Michele Polverino 6 79 0.08 2007–2019
4 Nicolas Hasler 5 94 0.05 2010–present
Thomas Beck 5 92 0.05 1998–2013
Martin Stocklasa 5 113 0.04 1996–2014
7 Dennis Salanović 4 58 0.07 2014–present
8 Yanik Frick 3 30 0.1 2016–present
Sandro Wolfinger 3 63 0.05 2013–present
10
Noah Frick 2 20 0.1 2019–present
Benjamin Fischer 2 23 0.09 2005–2011
Mathias Christen 2 36 0.06 2008–2014
Fabio D'Elia 2 50 0.04 2001–2010
Maximilian Göppel 2 61 0.03 2016–present
Sandro Wieser 2 61 0.03 2008–present
Michael Stocklasa 2 71 0.03 1998–2012
Martin Büchel 2 91 0.02 2004–2021

Competitive record edit

FIFA World Cup edit

FIFA World Cup Qualification
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA Result Pld W D* L GF GA
1930 to 1974 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1978 to 1994 Did not enter Did not enter
  1998 Did not qualify 6/6 10 0 0 10 3 52
    2002 5/5 8 0 0 8 0 23
  2006 6/7 12 2 2 8 13 23
  2010 6/6 10 0 2 8 2 23
  2014 6/6 10 0 2 8 4 25
  2018 6/6 10 0 0 10 1 39
  2022 6/6 10 0 1 9 2 34
      2026 To be determined To be determined
      2030
  2034
Total 0/12 70 2 7 61 25 219
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

UEFA European Championship edit

UEFA European Championship record Qualification record
Year Result Pld W D* L GF GA Result Pld W D* L GF GA
  1960 to   1972 Not a UEFA member Not a UEFA member
  1976 to   1992 Did not enter Did not enter
  1996 Did not qualify 6/6 10 0 1 9 1 40
    2000 6/6 10 1 1 8 2 39
  2004 5/5 8 0 1 7 2 22
    2008 7/7 12 2 1 9 9 32
    2012 5/5 8 1 1 6 3 17
  2016 5/6 10 1 2 7 2 26
  2020 6/6 10 0 2 8 2 31
  2024 6/6 10 0 0 10 1 28
    2028 To be determined To be determined
    2032
  2036
Total 0/20 78 5 9 64 22 235
*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

UEFA Nations League edit

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 4 6 1 1 4 7 12   52nd
2020–21 D 2 4 1 2 1 3 2   51st
2022–23 D 1 6 0 0 6 1 11   55th
2024–25 D To be determined
Total 16 2 3 11 11 25 51st

Head-to-head record edit

In literature edit

Prompted by the team's poor record in competitive games, British writer Charlie Connelly followed the entire qualifying campaign for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. As recorded in the subsequent book Stamping Grounds: Liechtenstein's Quest for the World Cup, Liechtenstein lost all eight games without scoring a goal.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Konrad Fünfstück neuer Nationaltrainer" (in German). Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  4. ^ Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Malta beat Liechtenstein 7-1". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Liechtenstein and Finland football teams played to a 1:1 draw, 9 September 2009". eu-football.info. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b c "Liechtenstein missing goal hero Philippe Erne". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  7. ^ UEFA.com. "UEFA Nations League - Standings". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  8. ^ "Liechtenstein - UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Aufgebot Liechtensteiner Fussballverband" (PDF). lfv.li (in German). Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  10. ^ Garin, Erik. "Liechtenstein - Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  11. ^ Connelly, Charlie (11 June 2014). Stamping Grounds : Exploring Liechtenstein and its World Cup Dream. ISBN 9780349141121. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.

External links edit