Sporting Kansas City defender Nico Hasler will join the Liechtenstein Men’s National Team for the resumption of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying during FIFA’s international window next week.
Hasler and Liechtenstein are set to host a pair of Group J matches at Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz, facing Armenia on Saturday, Oct. 12, before welcoming four-time World Cup champion Italy on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Both contests will kick off at 1:45 p.m. CT.
Hasler, 28, will join Liechtenstein following Sporting’s MLS regular season finale against FC Dallas on Sunday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The Decision Day clash is set for 3 p.m. CT with live coverage on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports GO, ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish). Hasler has started seven of nine MLS appearances since joining Sporting in early April from the Chicago Fire.
Group J of Euro qualifying is one of 10 groups that will determine which teams participate in UEFA Euro 2020, which is scheduled to take place in 12 cities across 12 different European countries during the summer of 2020. Liechtenstein are one of six nations in a group that also includes Armenia, Italy, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Finland. Teams square off in a home-and-away, double-round-robin format through November, with the top two finishers in the group advancing to the tournament finals.
Hasler started in Liechtenstein’s first six Euro qualifiers this spring, notably assisting the game-tying goal in a 1-1 draw at Greece on Sept. 8 that gave the microstate its first point in qualifying. Liechtenstein has yet to reach the finals of a UEFA Euro tournament and did not become a participating FIFA affiliate until 1976.
As one of the country’s most decorated players this decade, Hasler has scored three goals in 63 caps for the Liechtenstein Men’s National Team since 2010 and was named Liechtensteiner Footballer of the Year in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He has been an integral member of Liechtenstein’s national team since debuting for the senior side in 2010.
