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 North Macedonia, the result also being Macedonia's largest ever win to date. The team's head coach is currently Rene Pauritsch, who has taken the role as caretaker following the departure of Martin Stocklasa to FC Vaduz.[2]

Liechtenstein
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)The Blue-Reds
AssociationLiechtenstein Football Association
(Liechtensteiner Fussballverband)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachRene Pauritsch (Caretaker)
CaptainNicolas Hasler
Most capsPeter Jehle (132)
Top scorerMario Frick (16)
Home stadiumRheinpark Stadion
FIFA codeLIE
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 199 Decrease 1 (6 April 2023)[1]
Highest118 (January 2008, July 2011, September 2011)
Lowest199 (April 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

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.[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 20 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]

Results and fixtures

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

2022

3 June 2022 (2022-06-03) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Liechtenstein  0–2  Moldova Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 903
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)
6 June 2022 (2022-06-06) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Latvia  1–0  Liechtenstein Riga, Latvia
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)
Report Stadium: Daugava Stadium
Attendance: 5,966
Referee: Mario Zebec (Croatia)
10 June 2022 (2022-06-10) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Andorra  2–1  Liechtenstein Andorra la Vella, Andorra
20:45
Report
Stadium: Estadi Nacional
Attendance: 932
Referee: Nejc Kajtazović (Slovenia)
14 June 2022 (2022-06-14) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Liechtenstein  0–2  Latvia Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 885
Referee: Aleksandar Stavrev (North Macedonia)
22 September 2022 (2022-09-22) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Liechtenstein  0–2  Andorra Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 914
Referee: Juxhin Xhaja (Albania)
25 September 2022 (2022-09-25) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Moldova  2–0  Liechtenstein Chişinău, Moldova
15:00 (19:00 UTC+6 or 16:00 UTC+3)
Report Stadium: Zimbru Stadium
Attendance: 5,774
Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France)
16 November 2022 (2022-11-16) Friendly Gibraltar  2–0  Liechtenstein Gibraltar
19:00 Report Stadium: Victoria Stadium
Referee: Ahmad Alali (Kuwait)

2023

23 March 2023 (2023-03-23) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Portugal  4–0  Liechtenstein Lisbon, Portugal
20:45 (19:45 UTC±0)
Report Stadium: Estádio José Alvalade
Attendance: 45,378
Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway)
26 March 2023 (2023-03-26) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein  0–7  Iceland Vaduz, Liechtenstein
18:00 Report Ólafsson 3'
Haraldsson 38'
Gunnarsson 48', 68', 73' (pen.)
Guðjohnsen 85'
Ellertsson 87'
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
Attendance: 1,692
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (Denmark)
17 June 2023 (2023-06-17) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Luxembourg  v  Liechtenstein Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
15:00 Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
20 June 2023 (2023-06-20) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein  v  Slovakia Vaduz, Liechtenstein
18:00 Report Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
8 September 2023 (2023-09-08) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Bosnia and Herzegovina  v  Liechtenstein Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
20:45 Report Stadium: Bilino Polje
11 September 2023 (2023-09-11) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Slovakia  v  Liechtenstein Trnava, Slovakia
20:45 Report Stadium: Štadión Antona Malatinského
16 October 2023 (2023-10-16) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Iceland  v  Liechtenstein Reykjavík, Iceland
18:45 Report Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
16 November 2023 (2023-11-16) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein  v  Portugal Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion
19 November 2023 (2023-11-19) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein  v  Luxembourg Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion

Manager history

Martin Stocklasa, the team manager from 2020 to 2023.

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Portugal and Iceland on 23 and 26 March 2023 respectively.[8]

Caps and goals are current as of 26 March 2023, after the match against Iceland.


No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Benjamin Büchel (1989-07-04) 4 July 1989 53 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz
12 1GK Justin Ospelt (1999-09-07) 7 September 1999 4 0 Austria Dornbirn
21 1GK Lorenzo Lo Russo (1993-07-08) 8 July 1993 0 0 Switzerland Freienbach

3 2DF Marco Wolfinger (1989-04-18) 18 April 1989 3 0 Liechtenstein Balzers
4 2DF Lars Traber (2000-06-12) 12 June 2000 6 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz
6 2DF Andreas Malin (1994-01-31) 31 January 1994 42 0 Austria Rot-Weiß Rankweil
15 2DF Seyhan Yildiz (1989-04-30) 30 April 1989 62 1 Liechtenstein Eschen/Mauren
20 2DF Sandro Wolfinger (1991-08-24) 24 August 1991 55 2 Liechtenstein Balzers
22 2DF Martin Marxer (1999-10-04) 4 October 1999 4 0 Switzerland Muri-Gümligen
23 2DF Jens Hofer (1997-10-01) 1 October 1997 28 0 Switzerland Solothurn

2 3MF Niklas Beck (2001-03-25) 25 March 2001 10 0 Liechtenstein Eschen/Mauren
5 3MF Simon Lüchinger (2002-11-28) 28 November 2002 10 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz
7 3MF Andrin Netzer (2002-01-11) 11 January 2002 9 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz II
8 3MF Aron Sele (1996-09-02) 2 September 1996 46 0 Switzerland Chur 97
10 3MF Sandro Wieser (captain) (1993-02-03) 3 February 1993 55 2 Liechtenstein Vaduz
13 3MF Jakob Lorenz (2001-09-11) 11 September 2001 3 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz
14 3MF Livio Meier (1998-01-10) 10 January 1998 32 1 Liechtenstein Eschen/Mauren
16 3MF Fabio Wolfinger (1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 23 1 Liechtenstein Balzers
17 3MF Noah Frommelt (2000-12-18) 18 December 2000 21 0 Switzerland Kosova Zürich
18 3MF Nicolas Hasler (captain) (1991-05-04) 4 May 1991 93 5 Liechtenstein Vaduz

9 4FW Noah Frick (2001-10-16) 16 October 2001 20 2 Switzerland Montlingen
11 4FW Ridvan Kardesoglu (1996-10-12) 12 October 1996 10 0 Austria Nenzing
19 4FW Philipp Gaßner (2003-08-30) 30 August 2003 5 0 Austria Dornbirn

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 Gabriel Foser (2002-09-02) 2 September 2002 0 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
GK Tim-Tiado Öhri (2003-12-15) 15 December 2003 0 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
GK Thomas Hobi (1993-06-20) 20 June 1993 5 0 Liechtenstein Balzers v.  Latvia, 14 June 2022
GK Claudio Majer (1996-03-23) 23 March 1996 0 0 Liechtenstein Eschen/Mauren v.  Latvia, 14 June 2022

DF Maximilian Göppel (1997-08-31) 31 August 1997 51 2 Liechtenstein Eschen/Mauren v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
DF Rafael Grünenfelder (1999-03-20) 20 March 1999 16 0 Liechtenstein Balzers v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
DF Jonas Hilti (2000-03-22) 22 March 2000 1 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
DF Manuel Mikus (1999-07-13) 13 July 1999 1 0 Liechtenstein Balzers v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
DF David Tschupp (2002-11-19) 19 November 2002 0 0 Switzerland Kickers Luzern v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
DF Fabian Unterrainer (2001-06-05) 5 June 2001 0 0 Austria ASKÖ Donau Linz v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
DF Lukas Graber (2001-05-03) 3 May 2001 5 0 Liechtenstein Eschen/Mauren v.  Moldova, 22 September 2022
DF Marco Marxer (1999-06-02) 2 June 1999 2 0 Austria Höchst v.  Moldova, 22 September 2022
DF Daniel Brändle (1992-01-23) 23 January 1992 43 0 Germany SV Pullach v.  Latvia, 14 June 2022

MF Alessio Hasler (2005-07-07) 7 July 2005 0 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
MF Silvan Schiess (2003-07-11) 11 July 2003 0 0 Switzerland Rapperswil-Jona v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
MF Severin Schlegel (2004-07-24) 24 July 2004 0 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
MF Nicola Kollmann (1994-11-23) 23 November 1994 6 0 Liechtenstein Ruggell v.  Latvia, 14 June 2022
MF Noah Graber (2001-05-03) 3 May 2001 1 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz II v.  Latvia, 14 June 2022

FW Dennis Salanović (1996-02-26) 26 February 1996 50 4 Spain CF Talavera v.  Portugal, 23 March 2023 INJ
FW Fabio Luque Notaro (2005-08-31) 31 August 2005 0 0 Liechtenstein Vaduz v.  Gibraltar, 16 November 2022
FW Yanik Frick (1998-05-27) 27 May 1998 30 3 Switzerland Montlingen v.  Latvia, 14 June 2022
FW Philipp Ospelt (1992-10-07) 7 October 1992 17 0 Liechtenstein Ruggell v.  Latvia, 14 June 2022

Notes:

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

Player records

As of 26 March 2023[9]
Players in bold are still active and available for selection.

Most capped players

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 93 5 2010–
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

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 93 0.05 2010–
Thomas Beck 5 92 0.05 1998–2013
Martin Stocklasa 5 113 0.04 1996–2014
7 Dennis Salanović 4 50 0.08 2014–
8 Yanik Frick 3 30 0.1 2016–
9
Noah Frick 2 20 0.1 2019–
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 51 0.04 2016–
Sandro Wieser 2 55 0.04 2008–
Sandro Wolfinger 2 55 0.04 2013–
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
Uruguay 1930 to United States 1994Did not enter Did not enter
France 1998Did not qualify 6/6100010352
South Korea Japan 2002 5/58008023
Germany 2006 6/7122281323
South Africa 2010 6/610028223
Brazil 2014 6/610028425
Russia 2018 6/6100010139
Qatar 2022 6/610019234
Canada Mexico United States 2026To be determined To be determined
Total0/22 70276125219
*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
France 1960 to Sweden 1992Did not enter Did not enter
England 1996Did not qualify 6/610019140
Belgium Netherlands 2000 6/610118239
Portugal 2004 5/58017222
Austria Switzerland 2008 7/712219932
Poland Ukraine 2012 5/58116317
France 2016 5/610127226
Europe 2020 6/610028231
Germany 2024To be determined To be determined
Total0/16 68595421207
*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 6114712Same position52nd
2020–21 D 2 412132Same position51st
2022–23 D 1 6006111Same position55th
2024–25 D To be determined
Total 16 2 3 11 11 25 51st

Head-to-head record

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

  1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  2. "Martin Stocklasa wird Trainer beim FC Vaduz". www.lfv.li (in German). Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  3. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Malta beat Liechtenstein 7-1". Times of Malta. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  4. "Liechtenstein and Finland football teams played to a 1:1 draw, 9 September 2009". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  5. "Liechtenstein missing goal hero Philippe Erne". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 September 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  6. UEFA.com. "UEFA Nations League - Standings". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  7. "Liechtenstein - UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com.
  8. https://www.lfv.li/fileadmin/user_upload/Dateien/Nationalmannschaften/A-Nationalmannschaft/Aufgebote-Nationalmannschaft/Aufgebot_Maerz-2023.pdf
  9. Garin, Erik. "Liechtenstein - Record International Players". RSSSF.
  10. Connelly, Charlie (2014-06-11). Stamping Grounds : Exploring Liechtenstein and its World Cup Dream. ISBN 9780349141121.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.