Liechtenstein national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Liechtenstein women's 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.

Liechtenstein

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
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	200 3 (24 October 2024)
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

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 away win and its first win in any FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Conversely, Liechtenstein is the only country that has lost official matches against San Marino – one in a 2004 friendly, and twice in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League. Liechtenstein suffered its biggest ever loss in 1996, during 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, 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.

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 UEFA 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. The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers 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 UEFA 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 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.

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 FIFA 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.

In the UEFA 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. They produced a shock 2–0 win at home against Lithuania; their goals were scored by Philippe Erne and Michele Polverino. In the following qualifying game, they managed a scoreless draw away to Lithuania.

In the qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the Blue-Reds were humiliated at home in their opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina (1–8). The team loses many of its qualifying matches and earns its only two points in draws against Latvia and Slovakia. The team finished bottom of its group.

For the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in France, Liechtenstein managed to finish second-bottom of the group and take five points, managing a goalless draw at home against Montenegro, an away win against Moldova, one goal to nil, thanks to Franz Burgmeier's ninth goal and then a 1–1 home draw in the return against the same Moldovans, the group's red lanterns with three fewer units.

During the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, The Blue-Reds lost all 10 of their matches and finished bottom of their group with no points scored and just one goal scored (away against Israel) compared to 39 conceded.

In 2018, Liechtenstein entered the first ever UEFA Nations League, in group 4 of league D. 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 at home. Liechtenstein finished bottom of their group with just one win and a draw, also at home, against Armenia (2–2).

During the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, Liechtenstein managed to pick up two points thanks to two draws, one away to Greece (1–1) and the other at home to Armenia (1–1), but finished bottom of their group with 2 goals scored and 31 conceded.

In the 2020–21 edition of the Nations League, Liechtenstein failed to gain promotion to League C, with a single win (2–0 at San Marino), two draws (0–0 at home to San Marino and 1–1 at Gibraltar) and one defeat (0–1 at home to Gibraltar, their direct rival who eventually gained promotion). The Blue-Reds disappointed by failing to win a single match at home, once again falling behind Gibraltar in the standings as they had done in the previous edition, and being dominated overall in the goalless draw with San Marino.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers once again saw Liechtenstein finish bottom of their group, with just one point from a 1–1 draw away to Armenia, and 9 defeats, with 2 goals scored and 34 conceded.

The 2022–23 edition of the UEFA Nations League was also a disappointment for Liechtenstein, who finished bottom of their group with 6 defeats in as many games played and just one goal scored, away against Andorra (1–2), their worst record in this competition in 3 editions.

Liechtenstein began 2024 with four friendly matches, losing two and drawing two. One of the draws came away from home against Romania a few days prior to UEFA Euro 2024, a tournament which Romania had qualified for undefeated.

Liechtenstein began their 2024–25 Nations League campaign with a 0–1 loss away to San Marino after a Liechtenstein goal was denied through offside, handing the Sammarinese their first competitive victory. Following this, Liechtenstein proceeded to draw Gibraltar twice (2–2 away and 0–0 at home with a decisive penalty missed in the stoppage time during the return match against Gibraltar) before losing to San Marino again, this time 1–3 in Vaduz, finishing bottom of Group D1 on 2 points. Between the two draws with Gibraltar, Liechtenstein ended a 41-game winless streak with a 1–0 victory over Hong Kong.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Liechtenstein national football team results (2020–present)

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

2024

Liechtenstein v Faroe Islands

22 March 2024 Friendly	Liechtenstein	0–4	Faroe Islands	Marbella, Spain
18:00 UTC+1		Report	P. Petersen 3', 45+1' Justinussen 49' A.Svensson 90+2'	Stadium: Marbella Football Center Attendance: 25 Referee: Jason Lee Barcelo (Gibraltar)

Latvia v Liechtenstein

26 March 2024 Friendly	Latvia	1–1	Liechtenstein	Larnaca, Cyprus
19:00 UTC+2	Krollis 11'	Report	Ošs 1' (o.g.)	Stadium: Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium Referee: Manfredas Lukjancukas (Lithuania)

Albania v Liechtenstein

3 June 2024 Friendly	Albania	3–0	Liechtenstein	Szombathely, Hungary
20:00	Broja 31' Asani 47' Muçi 67'	Report		Stadium: Haladás Sportkomplexum Attendance: 200 Referee: Bence Csonka (Hungary)

Romania v Liechtenstein

8 June 2024 Friendly	Romania	0–0	Liechtenstein	Bucharest, Romania
21:00		Report		Stadium: Stadionul Steaua Attendance: 25,097 Referee: Menelaos Antoniou (Cyprus)

San Marino v Liechtenstein

5 September 2024 (2024-09-05) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	San Marino	1–0	Liechtenstein	Serravalle, San Marino
20:45	Sensoli 53'	Report		Stadium: Olympic Stadium of Serravalle Attendance: 914 Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)

Gibraltar v Liechtenstein

8 September 2024 (2024-09-08) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Gibraltar	2–2	Liechtenstein	Europa Point, Gibraltar
18:00	Walker 8' Scanlon 90+7'	Report	Saglam 53' Hasler 90+14' (pen.)	Stadium: Europa Sports Park Attendance: 681 Referee: Kristo Tohver (Estonia)

Liechtenstein v Hong Kong

10 October 2024 Friendly	Liechtenstein	1–0	Hong Kong	Vaduz, Liechtenstein
19:30 UTC+2	Hasler 16'	Report		Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Attendance: 1,332 Referee: Désirée Grundbacher (Switzerland)

Liechtenstein v Gibraltar

13 October 2024 (2024-10-13) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Liechtenstein	0–0	Gibraltar	Vaduz, Liechtenstein
18:00 UTC+2		Report		Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Attendance: 1,510 Referee: Horațiu Feșnic (Romania)

Malta v Liechtenstein

14 November 2024 (2024-11-14) Friendly	Malta	2–0	Liechtenstein	Ta' Qali, Malta
19:00 UTC+1	Degabriele 51' Büchel 54' (o.g.)	UEFA Soccerway		Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Gustavo Correia (Portugal)

Liechtenstein v San Marino

18 November 2024 (2024-11-18) 2024–25 UEFA Nations League	Liechtenstein	1–3	San Marino	Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 UTC+1	Sele 40'	Report	Lazzari 46' Nanni 66' (pen.) Golinucci 76'	Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion Attendance: 1,157 Referee: Jérémie Pignard (France)

Manager history

Martin Stocklasa, the team manager from 2020 to 2023.

• 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 (2020–2023)
• Rene Pauritsch (2023)
• Konrad Fünfstück (2023–)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly against Malta and the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League match against San Marino on 14 and 18 November 2024 respectively.

Caps and goals are current as of 18 November 2024, after the match against San Marino.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Benjamin Büchel (vice-captain)	(1989-07-04) 4 July 1989	70	0	Vaduz
	1GK	Gabriel Foser	(2002-09-02) 2 September 2002	0	0	Eschen/Mauren
	1GK	Lorenzo Lo Russo	(1993-07-08) 8 July 1993	0	0	Balzers
	2DF	Maximilian Göppel	(1997-08-31) 31 August 1997	69	2	YF Juventus
	2DF	Sandro Wieser	(1993-02-03) 3 February 1993	66	2	Vaduz
	2DF	Niklas Beck	(2001-03-25) 25 March 2001	24	0	Balzers
	2DF	Lars Traber	(2000-06-12) 12 June 2000	18	0	Vaduz
	2DF	Martin Marxer	(1999-10-04) 4 October 1999	16	0	Düdingen
	2DF	Lukas Graber	(2001-05-03) 3 May 2001	7	0	Eschen/Mauren
	2DF	Felix Oberwaditzer	(2006-03-14) 14 March 2006	3	0	SCR Altach
	3MF	Nicolas Hasler (captain)	(1991-05-04) 4 May 1991	99	7	Vaduz
	3MF	Sandro Wolfinger	(1991-08-24) 24 August 1991	70	3	Balzers
	3MF	Aron Sele	(1996-09-02) 2 September 1996	63	1	YF Juventus
	3MF	Livio Meier	(1998-01-10) 10 January 1998	49	1	Eschen/Mauren
	3MF	Fabio Wolfinger	(1996-11-05) 5 November 1996	32	1	Balzers
	3MF	Marcel Büchel	(1991-03-18) 18 March 1991	29	1	SPAL
	3MF	Simon Lüchinger	(2002-11-28) 28 November 2002	26	0	Vaduz
	3MF	Kenny Kindle	(2003-11-29) 29 November 2003	9	0	Vaduz
	3MF	Liam Kranz	(2003-07-17) 17 July 2003	8	0	Schaan
	3MF	Severin Schlegel	(2004-07-24) 24 July 2004	6	0	Vaduz
	3MF	Emanuel Zünd	(2004-12-29) 29 December 2004	3	0	Veyrier
	3MF	Alessio Hasler	(2005-07-07) 7 July 2005	2	0	Vaduz
	4FW	Dennis Salanović	(1996-02-26) 26 February 1996	62	4	York United
	4FW	Philipp Ospelt	(1992-10-07) 7 October 1992	23	0	Ruggell
	4FW	Andrin Netzer	(2002-01-11) 11 January 2002	18	0	Balzers
	4FW	Ferhat Saglam	(2001-10-10) 10 October 2001	14	1	Brühl
	4FW	Fabio Luque Notaro	(2005-08-31) 31 August 2005	11	0	Vaduz
	4FW	Jonas Beck	(2003-05-19) 19 May 2003	4	0	Schaan

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	Justin Ospelt	(1999-09-07) 7 September 1999	5	0	FSV Frankfurt	v. Romania, 8 June 2024
GK	Thomas Hobi	(1993-06-20) 20 June 1993	5	0	Balzers	v. Latvia, 26 March 2024
DF	Andreas Malin	(1994-01-31) 31 January 1994	49	0	Rot-Weiß Rankweil	v. Malta, 14 November 2024PRE
DF	Noah Graber	(2001-05-03) 3 May 2001	1	0	Altstätten	v. Albania, 3 June 2024PRE
MF	Marco Marxer	(1999-06-02) 2 June 1999	4	0	Balzers	v. Gibraltar, 13 October 2024
MF	David Jäger	(2004-07-04) 4 July 2004	1	0	Vaduz	v. Romania, 8 June 2024
MF	Jonas Weissenhofer	(2006-07-25) 25 July 2006	0	0	Vaduz	v. Romania, 8 June 2024

Notes:

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

Player records

As of 18 November 2024

Players in bold are still active with Liechtenstein.

Most appearances

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	99	7	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

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	Nicolas Hasler	7	99	0.07	2010–present
4	Michele Polverino	6	79	0.08	2007–2019
5	Thomas Beck	5	92	0.05	1998–2013
	Martin Stocklasa	5	113	0.04	1996–2014
7	Dennis Salanović	4	62	0.06	2014–present
8	Yanik Frick	3	30	0.1	2016–2022
	Sandro Wolfinger	3	70	0.04	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
	Sandro Wieser	2	66	0.03	2008–present
	Maximilian Göppel	2	69	0.03	2016–present
	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 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

UEFA European Championship record									Qualifying 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
Total	0/13	–	–	–	–	–	–		—	78	5	9	64	22	235

*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	1	To be determined
Total			16	2	3	11	11	25	51st

Head-to-head record

As of 18 November 2024

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD
Albania	4	0	0	4	0	9	−9
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	8	1	4	3	6	8	-2
Greece	5	0	1	4	1	8	−7
Hong Kong	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
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	6	0	1	5	3	16	−13
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	7	0	1	6	1	30	−29
Russia	5	0	0	5	1	15	−14
San Marino	8	3	2	3	7	7	0
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	240	19	31	193	96	670	−574

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.

External links

• Liechtensteiner Fussballverbund
• Liechtenstein at UEFA
• Liechtenstein at FIFA
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• Die Elf – documentary film about Liechtenstein national team (archived 20 August 2013)