We've nothing to be scared of, says the history man

Road to Euro 2004: Little Liechtenstein have scored 22 times in 22 years, and Martin Stocklasa has hit four of them

Liechtenstein excels in a number of fields. It has eye-catching scenery, evident around the capital, Vaduz, where England travel on Saturday in search of vital qualifying points for Euro 2004. Standing on the bumpy, patched-up pitch at the 3,500-seater Rheinpark Stadium you can see mountains on all sides, an historic castle in the forested hills and the levee shadowing the adjacent Rhine.

It also does banking with gusto. The number of registered companies (78,000) comfortably outstrips the population (32,000) in this tax haven. So what if the whispers suggest that Liechtenstein profits from the kind of business that the Swiss reject as dubious? The per capita income is high, ditto the standard of living, and crime rarely means more that a bit of low level white-collar fraud.

Football, however, has never been a strength. There is no league in Liechtenstein and its seven village clubs play in the lower reaches of Swiss competitions. At international level, the principality has contested 61 matches since 1981. They have won four times, a statistic that looks ever more meagre when you know that two of the wins came in unofficial games 22 years ago against Indonesia and Malaysia and another came in 1982 against a second-string Chinese XI. The only competitive success was achieved in October 1998, when Azerbaijan were beaten 2-1 in a Euro 2000 qualifier. The nation's goal tally has obviously been pitiful. They have scored 22 times in 22 years.

All of this makes Martin Stocklasa's recent contribution to the cause outstanding. Although he plays in midfield, he is Liechtenstein's joint top marksman ever, with four goals. His last goal came in the Euro 2004 qualifier against Macedonia. With his side trailing 1-0 at home deep into injury time, the 23-year-old stormed forward to snatch the equaliser. The home fans were ecstatic. Liechtenstein had not scored in a competitive game for four years, since that win over Azerbaijan. Now they also had a point.

Stocklasa's other three goals also came last year, remarkably in the space of 38 minutes in a 3-3 friendly against the giants of Luxembourg. The treble saw him claim his place in history as the only Liechtensteiner ever to score an international hat-trick.

"It was an incredible day," he said. "Especially as I don't score that many goals. But it would be equally incredible if we score any against England, any of us. I'm really looking forward to it. It's the game of the year, no doubt. We see the English players on the television, world stars like Owen and Beckham, playing every week in the Premiership. That they're coming here is a dream come true."

Stocklasa, who moved to FC Vaduz last year after three years with FC Zurich, is one of a growing number of Liechtenstein professionals. Although the squad for next week features a plumber (defender Martin Telser), a wine maker (defender Harry Zech, who has been known to cry off international duty because his grapes were ripening), and a variety of teachers, bank clerks and students, it also contains six full-time players.

Stocklasa and his younger brother, Michael, a defender with Vaduz, are two. Club-mate Ronny Buchel, a midfielder, is another, as is captain Daniel Hasler, who plays for FC Wil in Switzerland.

The two highest-profile professionals are Mario Frick, a former Serie A striker with Verona who now plays for Ternana in Serie B, and Peter Jehle, an international veteran of 21, who is another certain starter next week despite being only the reserve goalkeeper at Grasshoppers in Zurich.

"Many people ask if we are scared about England," said Stocklasa. "We have nothing to be scared of. We've played before against Spain, Germany, Romania, many big football nations. For Euro 2004 we've played Turkey, who came third in the World Cup last year. So in that respect we are not scared."

Liechtenstein lost 5-0 to Turkey, but Stocklasa says such results must be taken in context. "In Liechtenstein you need to see things a little bit different," he said. Effort and spirit are paramount, never more so than this week.

"It's our first game against England, the motherland of the game. That's special. So is the massive interest from the media and all the talk about hooligans, and the number of fans who might come. But we're not scared.

"We'll try to give 100 per cent and if the other team give a bit less than that we have a chance. One point would be a great result for us. If we played 100 games against England it would be natural to lose 98 or 99 of them. Then one day, chances might come when something happens.

"If we score then it's a success for us. We are a young team, an average age of only 21 or 22. Michael Owen is the same age as me and already an established star. But over 90 minutes we hope to challenge them. That's the way we're going to play."

Surprisingly, given the giant-killing possibilities of Liechtenstein's campaigns, Stocklasa says that his compatriots are not especially passionate about the game. "The acceptance [of football] is not that big. People round here have everything they want already. They have good jobs, money, nice lives. In other places, maybe people look to football for their lucky moments. Here they don't need those lucky moments."

Of course "they" do not include Stocklasa, who excels at "lucky moments". England beware.