If Winston Churchill was correct to observe that “success consists of going from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm” then Luxembourg deserve to be red hot favourites to win the 2026 World Cup.
Ireland and Luxembourg are two of only three countries to have participated in all 21 Fifa World Cup qualifying campaigns with only Luxembourg failing to qualify every single time. Luxembourg have never qualified for the European Championships either, coming close in 2024 when they received a record 17 points in qualifying despite being thrashed 9-0 and 6-0 by group-topping Portugal.
Their performance in the Nations League gave Luxembourg a play-off spot. And the possibility of qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in their 112-year footballing history created such excitement that all 9,300 tickets to the Stade de Luxembourg sold out in minutes.
There was, however, one slight catch. The potential play-off final was dependent on Luxembourg winning a semi-final away to Georgia five days earlier, which they lost 2-0.
Luxembourg manager Luc Holtz is the second-longest-serving national coach in Europe, earning promotion from managing the under-21 team in August 2010. Holtz will view playing Ireland as a perfect final warm-up for September when Luxembourg host Northern Ireland in their opening World Cup 2026 qualifier.
In September 2013, Luxembourg beat Northern Ireland 3-2, securing a first home victory in a World Cup qualifier for over 40 years. Holtz has even happier memories of facing the Republic of Ireland, whose qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup began (and in reality ended) with a 1-0 defeat to Luxembourg at an empty Aviva Stadium thanks to a late Gerson Rodrigues goal.
In November 2021, Ireland won the return fixture 3-0 in their only previous visit to the Stade de Luxembourg. Sitting on the Luxembourg bench that day was goalkeeper Timothy Martin, who now plays for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland First Division and who has played for the Red Lions at under-21 level.
Despite being his country’s record goal scorer the inclusion of Rodrigues in Holtz’s squad to face Ireland is hugely controversial, as in April the Luxembourg court of appeal upheld an 18-month suspended prison sentence imposed on him for domestic violence and assault.
Unfortunately, the greatest player to ever represent the Grand Duchy never won a senior cap for them. Former Barcelona and Juventus star Miralem Pjanić spent much of his childhood in Luxembourg playing for them at under-17 and under-19 before declaring for Bosnia & Herzegovina.
A recent, more complicated tug of war was fought over Ryan Johansson, who was born in Luxembourg to an Irish mother and a Swedish father and represented all three countries in international age-group football. In 2021, Johansson played five times for the Ireland under-21 side, with his last cap coming in a 1-1 draw away to Luxembourg in a Euro qualifier. However, the former Bayern Munich prodigy is not expected to win a senior cap anytime soon, playing for SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the third tier of German football.
The recent performances of Luxembourg teams in European club competitions have risen dramatically from an exceptionally low base. In 1971, FC Jeunesse Hautcharage lost 21-0 on aggregate to Chelsea in the first round of the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
A year later, Feyenoord matched the West Londoners’ feat, defeating another Luxembourg side Rumelange 21-0 on aggregate in the Uefa Cup. More than half a century later, these remain record European defeats.
Things were much closer in 2015 when UCD secured their first (and only) European victory, beating F91 Dudelange. This created such excitement on campus that Kevin Burke wrote One Night in Dudelange, surely the only book written about a Europa League first qualifying round tie.
UCD won 1-0 at Belfield before advancing on away goals after losing 2-1 in Dudelange. UCD were the last side ever to qualify for Europe through Fair Play, but ironically had to play the majority of the return in Luxembourg with only 10 men after receiving an early red card. UCD’s historic victory was celebrated across Irish soccer with a former Cork City chairman suggesting: “They’ll be dancing in the streets of the Applied Physics lab tonight.”
Unsurprisingly, a less enthusiastic view was taken in Luxembourg, with one newspaper headline declaring that UCD stood for Une Catastrophe Dudelange. F91 Dudelange overcame the disappointment of being eliminated from Europe by a team of students, becoming the first side from Luxembourg to reach the group stage of the Europa League in 2018, where they hosted AC Milan in their opening match.
F91 Dudelange finally got their revenge on the League of Ireland in 2023 when they defeated St Patrick’s Athletic 5-3 on aggregate in the Europa Conference League.
Crucial to Luxembourg’s huge improvement in recent years is having a nucleus of key players starting regularly for leading clubs across Europe. Danel Sinani plays for St Pauli, having previously represented Norwich City and Huddersfield Town. Record cap holder and long-term captain Laurent Jans plays with SK Beveren. However, their best player remains midfielder Leandro Barreiro, who recently won the Portuguese League Cup with Benfica.
The Red Lions’ long wait to qualify for a big tournament may soon end. In March, Luxembourg beat Sweden 1-0 in a friendly, having lost 8-0 the last time the countries met in 2017. A key factor in this remarkable improvement is the emergence of several outstanding youngsters, including teenage goalkeeper Tiago Pereira Cardoso, who recently broke into the Borussia Mönchengladbach first team.
Mind you, experience of club football is not a precondition to playing for the Luxembourg national team. Exceptional 16-year-old Brian Madjo (Metz) made his debut in the victory over Sweden without making a first team appearance for his club − an achievement likely to be matched by fellow 16-year-old starlet Enzo Duarte (Borussia Dortmund) against Ireland.
