Liechtenstein 2000-02 GK Benchworn
Liechtenstein 2006-08 GK Matchworn/prepared Peter Jehle
Liechtenstein 2018-20 Away
If the Sun just went out, I’m sorry, this GK shirt is just that massive. Strange feeling and fairly plain in colour, it also uses Liechtenstein’s old badge, with the body of the crown being blue. Numbers and badge are printed onto the fabric and the black on the sleeves contains some of the most seriously heavy duty padding you’ll ever see. Or maybe that’s just the size of the thing again.
Believed to be match prepared or benchworn for whoever Liechtenstein’s backup GK was for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers (going for the good old Sunday League tactic of larger GK blocks more of the goal), Liechtenstein managed a credible 1-0 home loss to Austria and 2-0 to Spain but conceded 23 goals across 8 games without scoring. Very much a campaign to forget, and the only one in their history in which they didn’t score.
Gold is cool. Period. Transfer badge, horrible white Adidas detailing aside, this shirt is a great example of how to use a template. The sleeve padding helps the black stand out and it has grips on the front side of the sleeves to help you grasp the ball. To top it off, it is squad signed, with identifiable signatures from the likes Daniel Frick, Thomas Beck, Martin Telser and Martin Büchel. Probably the friendly against Switzerland, where they lost 3-0.
This design was used in 2008 Euros qualification where there were 7 team groups. Despite finishing bottom of the group (by a single point), they amassed 7 points in their second best qualification campaign in their history. Drawn with Spain, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Latvia and Iceland they lost home and away to all but Iceland and Latvia, though some results were closer than you might expect. They scored away against Sweden and Northern Ireland and only lost 2-0 at home to Spain. Edging Latvia by 1 goal and drawing 1-1 away to Iceland would’ve been reasonable enough but they also thrashed Iceland 3-0 in Vaduz to cap a solid campaign but failing to steal 6th spot.
UEFA’s Kit Assistance Program kicked off in style and Liechtenstein were no exceptions. The FA badge had a larger version of itself heat pressed around it, the entire bottom of the shirt has Vaduz Castle heat pressed across it and the rest of the design is simple and clean. Macron’s collar style is certainly a little strange and the transfer flag on the back can get lost in the shirt colour a little but this is truly a great shirt to add to any collection.
Used across the 2018-19 Nations League and the Euro 2020 qualifiers (I think they’re STILL using it too), they finished bottom of both groups. Narrow away losses in Gibraltar and Armenia overturned their home win and draw respectively for the Nations League and another home draw against Armenia was their only Euros qualifying point aside from a spectacular away 1-1 draw in Greece. Their first Euros qualification without a win since 2004.
As you may have deduced, 2006 WCQ was not a typical Liechtenstein campaign at all, though sadly it was a highlight rather than a lowlight. They had never won a WCQ match until 2006 and haven’t repeated that since. 4 draws (Finland, Azerbaijan, Latvia and Slovakia) round off their poor World Cup qualifying record. Euro qualification hasn’t regularly been much better, though they’ve always gotten at least a point. The two highlights are 2008 qualifying where they scored 7 points (including 4 from my beloved Iceland and a home win against Latvia) along with 2016 qualification where an away win in Moldova meant they didn’t finish last in the group. Their 2018-19 Nations League campaign was also poor, with a respectable draw against Armenia and a home win against Gibraltar overshadowed by no other points, finishing below Gibraltar and granting them their first ever home win. They remain the only team to concede more than 1 goal in a match against San Marino (2003 friendly) and the only team to lose to them (2004 friendly).
Their women’s side just about exists, with them starting from youth to build up to a senior side. They will become the penultimate UEFA member to play a full international, with a friendly organised against Gibraltar. Men’s youth football hasn’t gone well, with the senior side consistently outperforming their youth counterparts. The U21s avoided defeat for the first time in 2019, but are still bottom of their qualifying group, and the U19s and U17s have only gotten results off Gibraltar in recent years. An U19 women’s side tried to qualify for the 2019 UEFA Championship but conceded 29 without reply, though only lost 3-0 to Greece.
No team has ever competed in national futsal or beach soccer for Liechtenstein.
Similar results are expected for Liechtenstein in 2022 qualifying, depending on their group, they’re unlikely to be expected to finish anywhere other than bottom. They’ll get a result or two but can they push for more?
Adam's National Shirt Collection 