LIECHTENSTEIN vs SPAIN, Vaduk, 03/09/10

When it comes to underdog stories, it doesn’t come much bigger than Liechtenstein versus Spain, as the minnows have the rare chance to become champions of the world.

Liechtenstein, with a population of only around 36,000 and ranked 141st in the FIFA World Rankings, are regarded my many as the whipping boys of international football. In each of their World Cup and European Championship qualifying campaigns they have finished in last place in the group, the 2006 World Cup being the only exception where they finished one place higher. With most of their players playing with Liechtensteiner clubs, there are few if any recognizable players in their squad, although Mario Frick will be their biggest threat as the nation’s highest-ever goalscorer with 14 goals (a statistic that really highlights the gap betwewn the two nations).

Their history in the UFWC is marginally more respectable. They have competed twice in the UFWC before, the first of which was an 8-2 defeat against Germany. Interestingly, the other match was against Spain in the same home venue as this Friday, where they only lost 2-0, so an upset is far from impossible, and a victory for the challengers will not only mean they become the UFWC champions by beating the undisputed champions of the world, but they will become the smallest nation to ever hold the title, overtaking the Netherlands Antilles, the current holders of that honour.

But their Spanish opponents will not make that an easy feat to achieve. Spain are the World Cup and UFWC Champions, deservedly earning them the title of undisputed world champions. They have named argubally the strongest squad possible for this qualifier and their following friendly against Argentina, comprising some of the biggest names in world football. However Spain only barely retained the title in their last title match with a last-minute equalizer, and this is football, so anything can happen. Deservedly, though, the Spainsh are strong favourites to retain the title, with Liechtenstein 66/1 to overcome possibly the biggest obstacle they will ever face.

If the home team manage to defy the odds and win the UFWC title, their first title defence will be away to Scotland four days later. And if Spain defend the title, they will contest a delicious match against Argentina on the same day.

In our last look at a classic UFWC mis-match in the run-up to Liechtenstein vs Spain we remember a Dutch demolition of lowly Malta…

CLASSIC UFWC TITLE MATCH:
Malta 0-8 Netherlands, 19 December 1990
European Championships qualifier, Ta’Qali Stadium, Valletta
Scorers: Van Basten (5), Bergkamp (2), Winter

Malta has repelled many foreign forces during the course of its history, but this visit from UFWC and Euro champs the Netherlands ended in crushing defeat.

Football was introduced to the Mediterranean island by British soldiers in the mid-1800s, and the Maltese set up a football association in 1863 – the same year that the English FA was formed. But Malta didn’t start playing international football until 1957, and didn’t play a UFWC title match until 1971.

The Malta team of 1990 was a relatively vintage one, featuring several of the country’s all-time most-capped players and top goalscorers, including David Carabott and Carmel Busuttil. But wins were scarce for one of the smallest nations in world football, and they had no chance against the fearsome Dutch, led by the attacking trio of Dennis Bergkamp, Marco van Basten and captain Ruud Gullit.

The Oranje had briefly been UFWC champs following their Euro 88 win, but had only just recaptured the title with a 2-0 win over Greece.

Here in Valletta, van Basten had a hat-trick within 23 minutes, on his way to a five-goal haul. Aron Winter made it 4-0 in the second half, before Bergkamp got two, and van Basten got two more – the last from the penalty spot.

Poor Malta had been trounced by eight full goals. The Netherlands held on to the title until March 1992, when they were beaten by Portugal.

The next UFWC title match, on 3 September, will see current champs Spain take on Liechtenstein. Anything can happen over 90 minutes, but, let’s be honest, it would be the biggest shock in the 138-year history of the UFWC if Liechtenstein managed to beat the undisputed official and unofficial champions. Not that we won’t be watching with anticipation – we do love the sniff of a potential upset here at the UFWC.

But, assuming that Spain do manage to successfully retain the title, what happens next? The good news is that things get even more exciting. Spain’s next match, four days later, is a friendly against Argentina – currently managerless following the departure of Diego Maradona. Argentina are ranked third in the all-time UFWC rankings – the highest-ranked non-British team in the competition – but haven’t held the title since 1998. Can they halt Spain’s reign?

If Spain manage to see off Argentina, they’ll face Lithuania on 8 October. And if they survive that encounter, their next game sees them face all-time UFWC champions Scotland on 12 October. So that would be the current WC and UFWC champions versus the all-time UFWC champions. Quite a prospect.

Spain’s next match is against Portugal – another tempting match. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. What if lowly Liechtenstein manage to play the game of their lives and beat Spain? Well, they’d become the smallest nation ever to have held the UFWC title, and they’d make their first title defence against… Scotland.

So, whatever happens over the next couple of months, they look like being very exciting for UFWC watchers.

Another UFWC title mismatch involving a footballing minnow as we wait for the game between Liechtenstein and Spain…

CLASSIC UFWC TITLE MATCH:
England 5-0 Cyprus, 16 April 1975
European qualifier, Wembley Stadium, London
Scorers: Macdonald (5)

England were unofficial world champions, having taken the title from official champions West Germany a month earlier in a 2-0 win. Newcastle United striker Malcolm MacDonald scored his first ever international goal in that game, and ‘Supermac’ would be the star of the show against tiny Cyprus.

The England line-up was full of star names, including Peter Shilton, Colins Todd and Bell, Alans Hudson and Ball, Mick Channon and Kevin Keegan. Cyprus’s star man was captain and reigning Cypriot player of the year Andreas Stylianou, the APOEL striker who boasted a scoring record of almost one goal every two games for his club, but had only scored once in his entire international career. Of the 31 international matches Stylianou had played, Cyprus had lost 29. This really was a game of sharks against minnows.

Tiny Cyprus, with a population around 50 times smaller than England’s, had only played one previous UFWC title match, being drubbed 7-1 by Austria in 1968. They weren’t expected to qualify for the European Championships from a group also containing Czechoslovakia and Portugal, but England most certainly were.

More than 68,000 fans turned up at Wembley stadium for this one. The pitch was typical of many found in England in the 70s – muddy and full of divots, resembling a ploughed farmer’s field in places.

Although Macdonald had scored against Germany in the previous game, relations between the striker and England manager Don Revie were strained. According to Macdonald, Revie told him before the match, ‘If you don’t score in this game I’ll never pick you again.’ Macdonald responded by scoring five.

The first was a header from a Hudson cross. A Keegan pull-back and a mis-hit Macdonald shot made it 2-0 by half-time. Keegan set up the hat-trick goal, too, on 48 minutes – a close-range header for Macdonald. Numbers four and five were solid headers from right wing crosses, with the Cyprus defence obligingly remaining at a respectful distance. Macdonald also hit the post and had a goal disallowed for offside.

Like Steve Bloomer almost 90 years before him, Supermac had scored five goals in a UFWC title match. The scoreboard read ‘Congratulations – Supermac 5 Cyprus 0′. Revie was less complimentary, hurrying off down the tunnel with his head buried in his jacket lapels and his hands in his pockets. Macdonald pointed at the scoreboard and shouted after him, ‘Read it and weep, you bastard’. Amazingly, Supermac never scored goal for England in an oddly truncated international career.

England beat Cyprus again – narrowly this time – 1-0 courtesy of a Keegan goal, in Limassol in the return fixture, but, after losing 2-1 to Czechoslovakia in Bratislava, they relinquished the UFWC title and missed out on Euro qualification. Instead it was the Czechs who took the UFWC title into the 1976 European Championships in Yugoslavia.