Liechtenstein, the world's 192nd-ranked men's football team according to FIFA rankings, will look for an unusual victory when they face 180th-ranked Moldova.
Follow Us
In a clash of European minnows, Liechtenstein hosts Moldova at the Rheinpark Stadion on Friday in the opening matchday of the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League. After being relegated last year, the visitors have joined their hosts in the bottom tier of the tournament, League D, and will be trying to return to the third tier as soon as possible. Due to their lowly rankings, both teams will fancy a chance against each other. Liechtenstein, the world’s 192nd-ranked men’s football team according to FIFA rankings, will look for an unusual victory when they face 180th-ranked Moldova.
Liechtenstein had a great opportunity for promotion during the 2020-21 campaign. They were placed in Group 2 of League D alongside lowly San Marino and Gibraltar – the only European teams ranked below them. However, they were unable to make the most of the opportunity. This time though, Liechtenstein, coached by Martin Stocklasa, have a much more difficult challenge at hand, as they are placed in a group that also features Latvia and Andorra. Despite the difficult challenge lying ahead of them, the home side will fancy its chances of winning its opening match on Friday.
However, their recent record isn’t impressive after the team lost 13 of their last 14 games. Their only positive is that their opponent on Friday is neither in a good form. In the March play-outs, Kazakhstan sent Moldova down to League D of the Nations League. Even though Moldova won the second leg 1-0, they eventually lost the tie in a penalty shootout. Their previous victory was last year in June against Azerbaijan. Both sides’ poor run of recent results means anything is possible on Friday.
READ MORE – Mexico vs Uruguay: International Friendly Live Stream, and Probable Lineups
There is not much going in the way of injuries for both sides going into this clash. Nicolas Hasler, who has 84 caps, will captain Liechtenstein and the team’s attack will be led by Yanik Frick and Noah Frick. Possibly starting in a 5-3-2 formation, they will be up against experienced players in striker Ion Nicolaescu and midfielder Vadim Rata. The visitors’ defence will be well marshaled by experienced centre-back Igor Armas. The major surprise omission for them is in midfield where Artur Ionita is left out.
Liechtenstein possible line-up: Buchel, Yildiz, S. Wolfinger, Malin, Grunenfelder, Hilti, Sele, Hasler, Meier, N. Frick, Y. Frick
Moldova possible line-up: Namasco, Posmac, Bolohan, Dumbravanu, Revenco, Cojocaru, Reabciuk, Rata, Ginsari, Caimacov, Nicolaescu
The UEFA Nations League match between Liechtenstein and Moldova will take place at the Rheinpark Stadion on Saturday, 12:15am IST.
Select UEFA Nations League 2022-23 matches will be telecast live on the Sony TEN network in India. Besides, live streaming of these matches will be available on SonyLIV and JioTV apps and OTT platforms in India.
