Liechtenstein national football team
Nickname(s) | The Blues-Reds | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Liechtenstein Football Association (Liechtensteiner Fussballverband) | ||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | ||
Head coach | Martin Stocklasa | ||
Captain | Nicolas Hasler | ||
Most caps | Peter Jehle (132) | ||
Top scorer | Mario Frick (16) | ||
Home stadium | Rheinpark Stadion | ||
FIFA code | LIE | ||
| |||
FIFA ranking | |||
Current | 200 3 (24 October 2024)[1] | ||
Highest | 118 (January 2008, July 2011, September 2011) | ||
Lowest | 192 (March 2022) | ||
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) |
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, the result also being Macedonia's largest ever win to date.
History
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. 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.[3]
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.[4]
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.[5] They produced a shock 2–0 win at home against Lithuania; their goals were scored by Philippe Erne and Michele Polverino.[5] In the following qualifying game, they managed a scoreless draw away to Lithuania.[5]
In 2018, Liechtenstein entered the first ever UEFA Nations League, in group 4 of league D.[6] 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.[7]
Recent results and forthcoming fixtures
2021
25 March 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Liechtenstein | 0–1 | Armenia | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) | Report | Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Referee: Julian Weinberger (Austria) |
28 March 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | North Macedonia | 5–0 | Liechtenstein | Skopje, North Macedonia |
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) |
|
Report | Stadium: Toše Proeski Arena Referee: Mykola Balakin (Ukraine) |
31 March 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Liechtenstein | 1–4 | Iceland | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim (Sweden) |
3 June 2021 Friendly | Switzerland | 7–0 | Liechtenstein | St. Gallen, Switzerland |
18:00 UTC+2 |
|
Report | Stadium: Kybunpark Attendance: 0 Referee: Nejc Kajtazović (Slovenia) |
7 June 2021 Friendly | Faroe Islands | 5–1 | Liechtenstein | Tórshavn, Faroe Islands |
19:45 UTC±0 |
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Report |
|
Stadium: Tórsvøllur Referee: Ívar Orri Kristjánsson (Iceland) |
2 September 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Liechtenstein | 0–2 | Germany | St. Gallen, Switzerland |
20:45 CEST (UTC+02:00) | Report | Stadium: Kybunpark Referee: Fábio Veríssimo (Portugal) |
5 September 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Romania | 2–0 | Liechtenstein | Bucharest, Romania |
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) | Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Stadium: Arena Națională Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine) |
8 September 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Armenia | 1–1 | Liechtenstein | Yerevan, Armenia |
18:00 CEST (UTC+2) |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium Referee: Duje Strukan (Croatia) |
8 October 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Liechtenstein | 0–4 | North Macedonia | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 CEST (UTC+2) | Report | Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland) |
11 October 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Iceland | 4–0 | Liechtenstein | Reykjavík, Iceland |
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) |
|
Report | Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur Referee: Ioannis Papadopoulos (Greece) |
11 November 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Germany | 9–0 | Liechtenstein | Wolfsburg, Germany |
20:45 CET (UTC+01:00) | Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Stadium: Volkswagen Arena Referee: Ivana Martinčić (Croatia) |
14 November 2021 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | Liechtenstein | 0–2 | Romania | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
18:00 | Report (FIFA) Report (UEFA) |
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia) |
2022
25 March 2022 Friendly | Liechtenstein | 0–6 | Cape Verde | San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain |
20:45 | Report |
|
Stadium: Pinatar Arena Referee: Dario Bel (Croatia) |
29 March 2022 Friendly | Faroe Islands | 1–0 | Liechtenstein | San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain |
20:45 |
|
Report | Stadium: Pinatar Arena Referee: Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar) |
3 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Liechtenstein | 0–2 | Moldova | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 | Report |
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Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia) |
6 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Latvia | v | Liechtenstein | |
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3) | Report |
10 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Andorra | v | Liechtenstein | Andorra la Vella, Andorra |
20:45 | Report | Stadium: Estadi Nacional |
14 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Liechtenstein | v | Latvia | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 | Report | Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion |
22 September 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Liechtenstein | v | Andorra | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 | Report | Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion |
25 September 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League | Moldova | v | Liechtenstein | |
15:00 (19:00 UTC+6 or 16:00 UTC+3) | Report |
Manager history
- Erich Bürzle (1990)
- Dietrich Weise (1990–1996)
- Alfred Riedl (1997–1998)
- Erich Bürzle (1998)
- Ralf Loose (1998–2003)
- Walter Hörmann (2003–2004)
- Martin Andermatt (2004–2006)
- Urs Meier (2006)
- Hans-Peter Zaugg (2006–2012)
- Rene Pauritsch (2013–2018)
- Helgi Kolviðsson (2018–2020)
- Martin Stocklasa (2020–)
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League matches against Moldova, Latvia, Andorra and again Latvia between 3 and 14 June 2022.[8]
Caps and goals are current as of 3 June 2022, after the match against Moldova.
Recent call-ups
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 | Armando Majer | 12 May 1999 | 0 | 0 | Eschen/Mauren | v. Romania, 14 November 2021 |
DF | Jens Hofer | 1 October 1997 | 23 | 0 | Biel-Bienne | v. Faroe Islands, 29 March 2022 |
DF | Roman Spirig | 7 January 1998 | 5 | 0 | Chur 97 | v. Faroe Islands, 29 March 2022 |
DF | Martin Marxer | 4 October 1999 | 3 | 0 | Ostermundigen | v. Faroe Islands, 29 March 2022 |
DF | Lars Traber | 12 June 2000 | 1 | 0 | Brühl | v. Faroe Islands, 29 March 2022 |
DF | Maximilian Göppel | 31 August 1997 | 48 | 2 | Eschen/Mauren | v. Romania, 14 November 2021 |
DF | Alexander Marxer | 4 April 1994 | 3 | 0 | Eschen/Mauren | v. Iceland, 11 October 2021 |
DF | Manuel Mikus | 13 July 1999 | 0 | 0 | Balzers | v. Germany, 2 September 2021PRE |
MF | Menderes Caglar | July 20, 1999 | 0 | 0 | Balzers | v. Iceland, 11 October 2021 |
FW | Dennis Salanović | 26 February 1996 | 49 | 4 | Oulu | v. Faroe Islands, 29 March 2022 |
FW | Benjamin Vogt | June 28, 1999 | 1 | 0 | Balzers | v. Romania, 14 November 2021 |
FW | Pascal Koller | 30 April 1999 | 0 | 0 | Widnau | v. Romania, 14 November 2021 |
FW | Philippe Erne | 14 December 1986 | 35 | 1 | Balzers | v. Germany, 2 September 2021PRE |
Notes:
- PRE = Preliminary squad
- INJ = Injured
- SUS = Suspended for a match
Player records
- As of [9]
- Players in bold are still active and available for selection.
|
Most capped players
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 | Thomas Beck | 92 | 5 | 1998–2013 |
6 | Martin Büchel | 91 | 2 | 2004–2021 |
7 | Nicolas Hasler | 84 | 5 | 2010– |
8 | Michele Polverino | 79 | 6 | 2007–2019 |
9 | Daniel Hasler | 78 | 1 | 1993–2007 |
10 | Martin Telser | 73 | 1 | 1996–2007 |
Top goalscorers
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 | 84 | 0.06 | 2010– |
Thomas Beck | 5 | 92 | 0.05 | 1998–2013 | |
Martin Stocklasa | 5 | 113 | 0.04 | 1996–2014 | |
7 | Dennis Salanović | 4 | 49 | 0.08 | 2014– |
8 | Yanik Frick | 3 | 26 | 0.12 | 2016– |
9 | |||||
Noah Frick | 2 | 14 | 0.14 | 2019– | |
Benjamin Fischer | 2 | 23 | 0.09 | 2005–2011 | |
Mathias Christen | 2 | 36 | 0.06 | 2008–2014 | |
Maximilian Göppel | 2 | 48 | 0.04 | 2016– | |
Sandro Wolfinger | 2 | 50 | 0.04 | 2013– | |
Fabio D'Elia | 2 | 50 | 0.04 | 2001–2010 | |
Sandro Wieser | 2 | 53 | 0.04 | 2008– | |
Michael Stocklasa | 2 | 71 | 0.03 | 1998–2012 | |
Martin Büchel | 2 | 91 | 0.02 | 2004–2021 |
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Result | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
1930 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 | |||||||||||||
Total | 0/22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | 70 | 2 | 7 | 61 | 25 | 219 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Result | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | Result | Pld | W | D* | L | GF | GA | |
1960 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 | To be determined | To be determined | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||
Total | 0/16 | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | 68 | 5 | 9 | 54 | 21 | 207 |
- *Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
UEFA Nations League
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 | TBA | To be determined | |||||||
Total | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 51st |
Head-to-head record
Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albania | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 |
Andorra | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Armenia | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 |
Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 |
Austria | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 36 | −35 |
Azerbaijan | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 |
Belarus | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 31 | −29 |
Cape Verde | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -6 |
China | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Croatia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | −6 |
Czech Republic | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 |
Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | −13 |
England | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 |
Estonia | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | −8 |
Faroe Islands | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 17 | −13 |
Finland | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 |
Georgia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
Germany | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 38 | −35 |
Gibraltar | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
Greece | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | −7 |
Hungary | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | −10 |
Iceland | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 24 | −18 |
Indonesia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 |
Israel | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | −7 |
Italy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | −20 |
Latvia | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 15 | −11 |
Lithuania | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | −5 |
Luxembourg | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 |
Malaysia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
Malta | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 14 | −11 |
Moldova | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
Montenegro | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −3 |
North Macedonia | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 42 | −37 |
Northern Ireland | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 17 | −11 |
Poland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
Portugal | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 35 | −32 |
Qatar | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
Republic of Ireland | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 14 | −14 |
Romania | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 30 | −29 |
Russia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 15 | −14 |
San Marino | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 |
Saudi Arabia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 |
Scotland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 |
Slovakia | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 26 | −25 |
Spain | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 39 | −39 |
Sweden | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | −9 |
Switzerland | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 28 | −27 |
Thailand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
Togo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 |
Turkey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 |
United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 |
Wales | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | −8 |
Total | 218 | 18 | 29 | 176 | 97 | 618 | −521 |
In literature
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.[10]
References
- ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
- ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Malta beat Liechtenstein 7-1". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^ "Liechtenstein and Finland football teams played to a 1:1 draw, 9 September 2009". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^ a b c "Liechtenstein missing goal hero Philippe Erne". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ^ UEFA.com. "UEFA Nations League - Standings". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^ "UEFA league D4".
- ^ https://www.lfv.li/fileadmin/user_upload/Dateien/Nationalmannschaften/A-Nationalmannschaft/Aufgebote-Nationalmannschaft/2022/Aufgebot_Liechtenstein_Juni-2022.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Garin, Erik. "Liechtenstein - Record International Players". RSSSF.
- ^ Connelly, Charlie (2014-06-11). Stamping Grounds : Exploring Liechtenstein and its World Cup Dream. ISBN 9780349141121.