Football is clearly the number one sport in Liechtenstein in terms of the number of active players and public and media interest.  Two events stand out in the history of Liechtenstein football.  On 29 March 2003, the Liechtenstein national team lost 2-0 to England in a close-fought encounter.  That match stood out for two reasons. First of all, the country was challenged to meet all of the necessary security arrangements for the match. Secondly, the national team impressed with its performance against the favourites from England, and was rather unfortunate not to record a better result.  More recently, the Alpine nation has recorded creditable results against top sides with increasing frequency, most likely as a result of improving standards across the game as a whole. In July 2003, the European U-19 Championship was held in Liechtenstein.  This small country organised the event to perfection, and was rewarded with some excellent football.