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Liechtenstein national football 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 World Cup qualifier on 13 October 2004, was both its first away win ever and its first win in any World Cup qualifier.
In 1996, Liechtenstein suffered its biggest ever loss, an 11-1 thrashing at the hands of Macedonia.
The team's record in competitive games was so poor it prompted British writer Charlie Connelly to follow the entire qualifying campaign for the 2002 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.
Liechtenstein's coach Martin Andermatt was up until recently the manager of the Liechtenstein team FC Vaduz, which, like all the country's clubs, plays in the Swiss league system, specifically the Challenge League. He was appointed in March 2004, taking over from Ralf Loose.
Four days before Liechtenstein scored its first win in World Cup qualifying, the team made even more headlines with a stunning 2-2 draw in Vaduz in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against Portugal, the losing finalists in Euro 2004. Before this result, Liechtenstein had lost all of its previous 20 World Cup qualifiers.
On June 2nd, 2006, Liechtenstein lost to Togo 1-0, a team who is in the 2006 World Cup. On the 7th of June, they lost to Australia (a friendly just before the 2006 WC) 3-1, having led 1-0 early in the match after an Australian own goal.
History
Liechtenstein are only a relatively recent affiliate to FIFA, and did not participate in any qualifying series until the Euro 96 qualifiers. There they managed to surprise the Republic of Ireland by holding them to a 0-0 draw, but quickly gained a reputation as one of Europe's whipping boys, highlighted by an 11-1 defeat to Macedonia in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers.
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 enormously. 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 two draws against Slovakia and Portugal meant that Liechtenstein finished with 8 points although they were beaten 7-0 by Slovakia.
World Cup record
European Championship record
Notable players
External links
- RSSSF archive of international results 1981-
- RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
European national football teams | Football in Liechtenstein
Liechtensteiner Fussballnationalmannschaft | Selección nacional de fútbol de Liechtenstein | Équipe du Liechtenstein de football | Nazionale di calcio del Liechtenstein | נבחרת ליכטנשטיין בכדורגל | Lihtenšteinas futbola izlase | Liechtensteini labdarúgó-válogatott | Liechtensteins voetbalelftal | Reprezentacja Liechtensteinu w piłce nożnej | Seleção Liechtensteiniense de Futebol | Сборная Лихтенштейна по футболу | Liechtensteins herrlandslag i fotboll
"Liechtenstein national football team"