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]
Nickname(s) | The Blue-Reds | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Association | Liechtenstein Football Association (Liechtensteiner Fussballverband) | |||
Confederation | UEFA (Europe) | |||
Head coach | Konrad Fünfstück | |||
Captain | Nicolas Hasler | |||
Most caps | Peter Jehle (132) | |||
Top scorer | Mario Frick (16) | |||
Home stadium | Rheinpark Stadion | |||
FIFA code | LIE | |||
| ||||
FIFA ranking | ||||
Current | 203 (15 February 2024)[1] | |||
Highest | 118 (January 2008, July 2011, September 2011) | |||
Lowest | 204 (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) | ||||
Website | lfv.li |
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]
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
17 June 2023 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | Liechtenstein | 0–1 | Luxembourg | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 | Report |
|
Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Attendance: 2,241 Referee: Stéphanie Frappart (France) |
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 2024–25 UEFA Nations League | San Marino | v | Liechtenstein | Serravalle, San Marino |
20:45 | Stadium: Olympic Stadium of Serravalle |
8 September 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League | Gibraltar | v | Liechtenstein | TBD |
18:00 |
13 October 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League | Liechtenstein | v | Gibraltar | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
18:00 | Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion |
18 November 2024 2024–25 UEFA Nations League | Liechtenstein | v | San Marino | Vaduz, Liechtenstein |
20:45 | Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Benjamin Büchel (vice-captain) | 4 July 1989 | 63 | 0 | Vaduz | |
GK | Thomas Hobi | 20 June 1993 | 5 | 0 | Balzers | |
GK | Lorenzo Lo Russo | 8 July 1993 | 0 | 0 | Kreuzlingen | |
DF | Andreas Malin | 31 January 1994 | 49 | 0 | Rot-Weiß Rankweil | |
DF | Niklas Beck | 25 March 2001 | 19 | 0 | Eschen/Mauren | |
DF | Lars Traber | 12 June 2000 | 15 | 0 | Vaduz | |
DF | Martin Marxer | 4 October 1999 | 10 | 0 | Muri-Gümligen | |
MF | Lukas Graber | 3 May 2001 | 6 | 0 | Eschen/Mauren | |
MF | Noah Graber | 3 May 2001 | 1 | 0 | Altstätten | |
MF | David Jäger | 4 July 2004 | 0 | 0 | Vaduz | |
MF | Sandro Wolfinger | 24 August 1991 | 63 | 3 | Balzers | |
MF | Maximilian Göppel | 31 August 1997 | 61 | 2 | Eschen/Mauren | |
MF | Aron Sele | 2 September 1996 | 55 | 0 | Eschen/Mauren | |
MF | Livio Meier | 10 January 1998 | 42 | 1 | Eschen/Mauren | |
MF | Fabio Wolfinger | 5 November 1996 | 28 | 1 | Balzers | |
MF | Marcel Büchel | 18 March 1991 | 21 | 1 | SPAL | |
MF | Simon Lüchinger | 28 November 2002 | 19 | 0 | Vaduz | |
MF | Andrin Netzer | 11 January 2002 | 16 | 0 | Eschen/Mauren | |
MF | Severin Schlegel | 24 July 2004 | 5 | 0 | Vaduz | |
MF | Liam Kranz | 17 July 2003 | 4 | 0 | Schaan | |
MF | Jonas Beck | 19 May 2003 | 2 | 0 | Schaan | |
MF | Emanuel Zünd | 29 December 2004 | 0 | 0 | Veyrier | |
FW | Dennis Salanović | 26 February 1996 | 58 | 4 | York United | |
FW | Philipp Ospelt | 7 October 1992 | 21 | 0 | Ruggell | |
FW | Ferhat Saglam | 10 October 2001 | 6 | 0 | Vaduz |
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 | 7 September 1999 | 4 | 0 | FSV Frankfurt | v. Luxembourg, 19 November 2023 |
GK | Gabriel Foser | 2 September 2002 | 0 | 0 | Vaduz | v. Luxembourg, 19 November 2023 |
DF | Jens Hofer | 1 October 1997 | 33 | 0 | Ares | v. Luxembourg, 19 November 2023 |
DF | Manuel Mikus | 13 July 1999 | 1 | 0 | Balzers | v. Slovakia, 11 September 2023 |
MF | Sandro Wieser | 3 February 1993 | 61 | 2 | Vaduz | v. Luxembourg, 19 November 2023 |
MF | Nicola Kollmann | 23 November 1994 | 6 | 0 | Ruggell | v. Luxembourg, 19 November 2023 |
MF | Jakob Lorenz | 11 September 2001 | 4 | 0 | Vaduz | v. Iceland, 16 October 2023 |
MF | Colin Haas | 30 May 1996 | 2 | 0 | Ruggell | v. Iceland, 16 October 2023 |
MF | Seyhan Yildiz | 30 April 1989 | 63 | 1 | Eschen/Mauren | v. Slovakia, 11 September 2023 |
MF | Noah Frommelt | 18 December 2000 | 21 | 0 | Kosova Zürich | v. Slovakia, 20 June 2023 |
MF | Marco Wolfinger | 18 April 1989 | 3 | 0 | Balzers | v. Slovakia, 20 June 2023 |
MF | Marco Marxer | 2 June 1999 | 2 | 0 | Höchst | v. Slovakia, 20 June 2023 |
MF | Nicolas Hasler (captain) | 4 May 1991 | 94 | 5 | Vaduz | v. Luxembourg, 17 June 2023 |
FW | Julien Hasler | 22 September 1989 | 6 | 0 | Triesen | v. Luxembourg, 19 November 2023 |
FW | Kenny Kindle | 29 November 2003 | 2 | 0 | Triesen | v. Luxembourg, 19 November 2023 |
FW | Fabio Luque Notaro | 31 August 2005 | 3 | 0 | Vaduz | v. Iceland, 16 October 2023 |
FW | Philipp Gaßner | 30 August 2003 | 6 | 0 | Dornbirn | v. Slovakia, 20 June 2023 |
Notes:
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 35 | −32 |
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 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 21 | −17 |
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 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 35 | −29 |
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 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 19 | −14 |
Lithuania | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | −5 |
Luxembourg | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 7 | +5 |
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 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 41 | −38 |
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 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 30 | −29 |
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 | 232 | 15 | 28 | 189 | 92 | 659 | −567 |
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]