Why Liechtenstein Has Europe’s Strangest National Team

Video Podcast: A deep dive into Liechtenstein's national football team - the weirdest in Europe. Plus a German player's secret double life and an Italian coach's ingenious disguise. Liechtenstein have the strangest national football team in Europe. They have no domestic league to develop players, sometimes take just one fan to away matches and, for years, had just one professional footballer. So how do they make it work? Why is it so hard to generate support for the team? And what change to international football might improve their fortunes? In this episode, we put the micro-state under the microscope and examine how Europe’s richest country is also home to its strangest national football team. Plus, the German winger with a secret double life and the Italian coach who disguised himself as a priest. Equator's 2026 World Cup course with David Goldblatt: https://www.equator.org/courses/world... Stamping Grounds by Charlie Connelly: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stamping-Gro... Chapters: 00:00 – Intro 01:03 – Liechtenstein at the FIFA Series 08:07 – Europe’s strangest national team 18:41 – Sudan’s bizarre 12th-tier call-up 20:21 – Puerto Rico’s tournament triumph 23:08 – Equator’s 2026 World Cup Masterclass 27:22 – The German winger with a double life 30:07 – Italy’s coach disguised as a priest Listen to The Sweeper: • Apple Podcasts: bit.ly/AppleSweeper • Spotify: bit.ly/SpotifySweeper Follow The Sweeper: • Twitter: x.com/SweeperPod • Instagram: instagram.com/sweeperpod • Facebook: facebook.com/SweeperPod Support The Sweeper • Join The Sweeper on⁠ Patreon⁠ • Support The Sweeper on ⁠Buy Me A Coffee⁠ The Sweeper team • Hosts: Lee Wingate and Paul Watson • Editor: Ralph Foster