Liechtenstein national football team

Liechtenstein
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)
Highest	118 (January 2008, July 2011, September 2011)
Lowest	196 (October 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

2022

25 March 2022 (2022-03-25) Friendly	Liechtenstein	0–6	Cape Verde	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
20:45		Report	G. Tavares 18', 38', 45+1' Semedo 34' Bebé 73', 83'	Stadium: Pinatar Arena Referee: Dario Bel (Croatia)

29 March 2022 (2022-03-29) Friendly	Faroe Islands	1–0	Liechtenstein	San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
20:45	Johannesen 39'	Report		Stadium: Pinatar Arena Referee: Jason Barcelo (Gibraltar)

3 June 2022 (2022-06-03) 2022–23 UEFA Nations League	Liechtenstein	0–2	Moldova	Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45		Report	Nicolaescu 5' (pen.) Bolohan 90+1'	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)	Zjuzins 73'	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	Aláez 78' (pen.) Rubio 82'	Report	Meier 90+3'	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	Gutkovskis 20', 28'	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	Rosas 4' Cervós 80'	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)	Stînă 90+2', 90+4'	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	R. Chipolina 14' Walker 21' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Victoria Stadium Referee: Ahmad Alali (Kuwait)

2023

23 March 2023 (2023-03-23) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Portugal	v	Liechtenstein	TBD, Portugal
20:45 (19:45 UTC±0)		Report		Stadium: TBD

26 March 2023 (2023-03-26) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Liechtenstein	v	Iceland	Vaduz, Liechtenstein
18:00		Report		Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion

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

13 October 2023 (2023-10-13) UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying	Liechtenstein	v	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45		Report		Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion

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

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 friendly match against Gibraltar on 16 November 2022.^[8]

Caps and goals are current as of 16 November 2022, after the match against Gibraltar.^[9]

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Benjamin Büchel	(1989-07-04) 4 July 1989 (age 35)	51	0	Vaduz
1GK	Justin Ospelt	(1999-09-07) 7 September 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Dornbirn
1GK	Gabriel Foser	(2002-09-02) September 2, 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Vaduz
1GK	Lorenzo Lo Russo	(1993-07-08) 8 July 1993 (age 31)	0	0	Freienbach
1GK	Tim-Tiado Öhri	(2003-12-15) 15 December 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Vaduz

2DF	Seyhan Yildiz	(1989-04-30) 30 April 1989 (age 35)	60	1	Eschen/Mauren
2DF	Maximilian Göppel	(1997-08-31) 31 August 1997 (age 27)	51	2	Eschen/Mauren
2DF	Andreas Malin	(1994-01-31) 31 January 1994 (age 30)	41	0	Rot-Weiß Rankweil
2DF	Jens Hofer	(1997-10-01) 1 October 1997 (age 27)	26	0	Biel-Bienne
2DF	Rafael Grünenfelder	(1999-03-20) 20 March 1999 (age 25)	16	0	Balzers
2DF	Martin Marxer	(1999-10-04) 4 October 1999 (age 25)	4	0	Muri-Gümligen
2DF	Lars Traber	(2000-06-12) 12 June 2000 (age 24)	4	0	Vaduz
2DF	Marco Wolfinger	(1989-04-18) 18 April 1989 (age 35)	3	0	Balzers
2DF	Jonas Hilti	(2000-03-22) 22 March 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Vaduz
2DF	Manuel Mikus	(1999-07-13) 13 July 1999 (age 25)	1	0	Balzers
2DF	David Tschupp	(2002-11-19) 19 November 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Kickers Luzern
2DF	Fabian Unterrainer	(2001-06-05) 5 June 2001 (age 23)	0	0	ASKÖ Donau Linz

3MF	Nicolas Hasler (captain)	(1991-05-04) 4 May 1991 (age 33)	91	5	Vaduz
3MF	Aron Sele	(1996-09-02) 2 September 1996 (age 28)	44	0	Chur 97
3MF	Livio Meier	(1998-01-10) 10 January 1998 (age 26)	30	1	Eschen/Mauren
3MF	Fabio Wolfinger	(1996-11-05) 5 November 1996 (age 28)	21	1	Balzers
3MF	Noah Frommelt	(2000-12-18) 18 December 2000 (age 23)	19	0	Kosova Zürich
3MF	Niklas Beck	(2001-03-25) March 25, 2001 (age 23)	8	0	Vaduz
3MF	Simon Lüchinger	(2002-11-28) November 28, 2002 (age 21)	8	0	Vaduz
3MF	Jakob Lorenz	(2001-09-11) September 11, 2001 (age 23)	2	0	Vaduz
3MF	Alessio Hasler	(2005-07-07) 7 July 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Vaduz
3MF	Silvan Schiess	(2003-07-11) July 11, 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Rapperswil-Jona
3MF	Severin Schlegel	(2004-07-24) July 24, 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Vaduz

4FW	Dennis Salanović	(1996-02-26) 26 February 1996 (age 28)	50	4	Lahti
4FW	Noah Frick	(2001-10-16) 16 October 2001 (age 23)	19	2	Montlingen
4FW	Ridvan Kardesoglu	(1996-10-12) 12 October 1996 (age 28)	10	0	Nenzing
4FW	Philipp Gassner	(2003-08-30) 30 August 2003 (age 21)	3	0	Dornbirn
4FW	Fabio Luque Notaro	(2005-08-31) 31 August 2005 (age 19)	0	0	Vaduz

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	Thomas Hobi	(1993-06-20) 20 June 1993 (age 31)	5	0	Balzers	v. Latvia, 14 June 2022
GK	Claudio Majer	(1996-03-23) 23 March 1996 (age 28)	0	0	Eschen/Mauren	v. Latvia, 14 June 2022

DF	Sandro Wolfinger	(1991-08-24) 24 August 1991 (age 33)	53	2	Balzers	v. Moldova, 22 September 2022
DF	Lukas Graber	(2001-05-03) 3 May 2001 (age 23)	5	0	Eschen/Mauren	v. Moldova, 22 September 2022
DF	Marco Marxer	(1999-06-02) 2 June 1999 (age 25)	2	0	Höchst	v. Moldova, 22 September 2022
DF	Daniel Brändle	(1992-01-23) 23 January 1992 (age 32)	43	0	SV Pullach	v. Latvia, 14 June 2022
DF	Roman Spirig	(1998-01-07) 7 January 1998 (age 26)	5	0	Chur 97	v. Faroe Islands, 29 March 2022

MF	Andrin Netzer	(2002-01-11) January 11, 2002 (age 22)	8	0	Vaduz II	v. Moldova, 22 September 2022
MF	Nicola Kollmann	(1994-11-23) 23 November 1994 (age 29)	6	0	Ruggell	v. Latvia, 14 June 2022
MF	Noah Graber	(2001-05-03) May 3, 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Vaduz II	v. Latvia, 14 June 2022

FW	Yanik Frick	(1998-05-27) 27 May 1998 (age 26)	30	3	Montlingen	v. Latvia, 14 June 2022
FW	Philipp Ospelt	(1992-10-07) 7 October 1992 (age 32)	17	0	Ruggell	v. Latvia, 14 June 2022

Notes:

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

Player records

As of ^[10]

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	Nicolas Hasler	91	5	2010–
6	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

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	91	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	19	0.11	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	53	0.04	2008–
	Sandro Wolfinger	2	53	0.04	2013–
	Michael Stocklasa	2	71	0.03	1998–2012
	Martin Büchel	2	91	0.02	2004–2021

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
FIFA World Cup record								Qualification record
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

Year	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Result	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
UEFA European Championship record								Qualification record
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	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

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Albania	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6
Andorra	4	1	0	3	2	5	-3
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	6	1	2	3	4	6	-2
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	11	1	1	9	4	18	−14
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	4	1	1	2	2	5	-4
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	223	18	29	181	98	627	−529

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.^[11]

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_WOF_November.pdf
^ "Gibraltar-Liechtenstein". soccerway.com.
^ Garin, Erik. "Liechtenstein - Record International Players". RSSSF.
^ Connelly, Charlie (2014-06-11). Stamping Grounds : Exploring Liechtenstein and its World Cup Dream. ISBN 9780349141121.

External links

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.

[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.

[euro_2012-5] "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] "UEFA league D4".

[8] ttps://www.lfv.li/fileadmin/user_upload/Dateien/Nationalmannschaften/A-Nationalmannschaft/Aufgebote-Nationalmannschaft/2022/Aufgebot_Liechtenstein_WOF_November.pdf

[9] "Gibraltar-Liechtenstein". soccerway.com.

[10] Garin, Erik. "Liechtenstein - Record International Players". RSSSF.

[11] Connelly, Charlie (2014-06-11). Stamping Grounds : Exploring Liechtenstein and its World Cup Dream. ISBN 9780349141121.

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