Sixth-Tier Regular Bruno Poitner Now a Liechtenstein International

The 19-year-old SV Fellbach player earned Liechtenstein eligibility through his father and reached the senior squad after a trial session, with a June 2026 debut in Andorra.

On an ordinary weekend, 19-year-old Bruno Poitner turns out for SV Fellbach in the Verbandsliga, the sixth tier of German football, against opponents such as TSV Oberensingen, Sportfreunde Schwäbisch Hall and Bietigheim-Bissingen. When international windows come around, he moves onto an entirely different stage as a member of the Liechtenstein national team.

His latest involvement came during the current break, in the Nations League, where Liechtenstein played out a 0-0 draw with Azerbaijan last Thursday. Poitner was named among the substitutes and stayed on the bench for the entire 90 minutes without coming on.

His path into the squad runs through his family. Poitner holds Liechtenstein citizenship by way of his father, and he represents a country of just under 50,000 people.

Speaking to the German outlet Bild, the teenager explained how the contact with the federation began. After discussing the idea with his parents several times, the family got in touch with the association and passed along details about him. An invitation to a trial training session followed, along with further training opportunities, and about two months later he traveled with the U19 side to European Championship qualifiers, where he debuted against France.

That U19 appearance, in November 2024, finished as a 7-0 loss to the French, but it stayed with Poitner. He said the player he was up against that day was Joane Gadou, who joined Borussia Dortmund in the summer for 20 million euros, and he told Bild it felt remarkable to see where that generation of players had since ended up.

The step up to the senior team came under head coach Konrad Fünfstück, who previously led 1. FC Kaiserslautern and has guided Liechtenstein since June 2023. Poitner made his full international debut in June 2026, a 2-0 defeat away to Andorra, and he described hearing the anthem on the pitch for the first time as a moment he felt nobody could take away from him.

A VfB Stuttgart supporter, Poitner offered a frank view of the standard inside the national squad. In his comparison, the team's overall footballing level sits close to that of SV Fellbach, equivalent to the Verbandsliga or Oberliga in Germany, although several squad members are clearly stronger, having already played in the Regionalliga, while FC Vaduz's professionals compete in the Swiss Super League.

Away from the game, Poitner completed his Abitur at the start of the year and has begun a movement science degree in Stuttgart. With Liechtenstein he is fielded as a striker rather than in his usual midfield role, and his stated objectives are to keep earning minutes, stay involved, secure his place in the squad and, at some point, score goals at international level.

Elsewhere in this international window, Germany play away to Greece on Sunday, October 4, with kickoff scheduled for 2:45 PM EDT at Toumba Stadium.