Luxembourg national football team

The Luxembourg national football team (nicknamed the Red Lions; Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch Foussballnationalequipe, French: Équipe du Luxembourg de football, German: Luxemburgische Fußballnationalmannschaft) is the national football team of Luxembourg, and is controlled by the Luxembourg Football Federation. The team plays most of its home matches at the Stade de Luxembourg in Luxembourg City.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Luxembourg women's national football team.
Luxembourg
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)D'Roud Léiwen
Les Lions Rouges
Die Roten Löwen
(The Red Lions)
AssociationLuxembourg Football Federation
(Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachLuc Holtz
CaptainLaurent Jans
Most capsMario Mutsch (102)
Top scorerLéon Mart (16)
Home stadiumStade de Luxembourg
FIFA codeLUX
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 91 Increase 1 (6 April 2023)[1]
Highest82 (September 2018)
Lowest195 (August 2006)
First international
 Luxembourg 1–4 France 
(Luxembourg, Luxembourg; 29 October 1911)
Biggest win
 Luxembourg 6–0 Afghanistan 
(Brighton, England; 26 July 1948)
Biggest defeat
 Germany 9–0 Luxembourg 
(Berlin, Germany; 4 August 1936)
 Luxembourg 0–9 England 
(Luxembourg, Luxembourg; 19 October 1960)
 England 9–0 Luxembourg 
(London, England; 15 December 1982)
Websiteflf.lu

Luxembourg has participated in every FIFA World Cup qualifiers since those for the 1934 World Cup and in UEFA European Championship qualifiers since those for Euro 1964. As of 2020, they have never qualified for any of these major tournaments. Luxembourg is the nation with the most qualifying campaigns in both of these competitions without ever making it to the finals. However, they did compete in six Olympic football events between 1920 and 1952.[2]

History
The Luxembourg national football team in 1920 (above), and in 2015

Luxembourg played their first ever international match on 29 October 1911, in a friendly match against France; it resulted in a 1–4 defeat.[2] Their first victory came on 8 February 1914, also in a match against France, which they won 5–4.[2]

The national side of Luxembourg competed in six Olympic football events between 1920 and 1952, and survived the preliminary round twice (in 1948 and 1952).[2] In between, Luxembourg started participating at qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, but as of 2018 they still never qualified.

Starting in 1921, the Luxembourg national A-selection would play 239 unofficial international matches until 1981, mostly against other countries' B-teams like those of Belgium, France, Switzerland and West Germany, as well as a team representing South-Netherlands.[3]

The Luxembourg team in 1969, before a World Cup qualifier

After their last Olympic tournament in 1952, the national team also started playing in qualifying groups for UEFA European Championships, but could not reach the major European tournament end stages. The only time that the team was close to qualify was for a European or World Championship was for the Euro 1964. In the first qualification round they defeated the Netherlands with a score of 3–2 on aggregate after two matches. A Dutch newspaper commented this stunt after the second match with "David Luxembourg won with 2–1 [against Goliath Netherlands]".[4] In the round of eight, Luxembourg and Denmark fought for a spot in the final tournament. The winner was decided after three matches; Denmark was the winner with a total aggregate score of 6–5.

When the national team does win a competitive match, they are often celebrated by national media and fans, as was the case after a 2–1 win against Switzerland in 2008.[5]

On 3 September 2017, Luxembourg held France to a 0–0 draw at Stadium Municipal in Toulouse, France.[6] It was the first time France had failed to win against Luxembourg since 1914, when Luxembourg won, 5–4.[7][8] On 10 November 2017, Luxembourg pulled off an upset by defeating Hungary 2–1 in a friendly.[9] On 28 March 2021, Luxembourg beat the Republic of Ireland in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match with a goal from Gerson Rodrigues in the 85th minute.[10]

Kit

Traditionally, the badge on Luxembourg's team outfit displays a shield very similar to Luxembourg's lesser coat of arms, a red lion on a white-blue striped background – hence the team's nickname Red Lions. In modern times, the team played home games in entirely red strips, in accordance with their nickname, and wore white as away colour.

Home stadium

As of 1 September 2021, the Luxembourg national team adopted Luxembourg City's, Stade de Luxembourg the country's national stadium, as its home venue. Formerly, the team played at the Stade Josy Barthel, where, at counting in August 2015, it had played 235 games, including unofficial matches.[11] It is also used for rugby union and athletics.

Results and fixtures
Main article: Luxembourg national football team results

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2022
4 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Lithuania  0–2  Luxembourg Vilnius, Lithuania
18:00 (19:00 UTC+3) Report
  • Sinani 44', 87'
 Stadium: LFF Stadium
Attendance: 3,009
Referee: David Fuxman (Israel)
7 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Faroe Islands  0–1  Luxembourg Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
20:45 (19:45 UTC+1) Report
Stadium: Tórsvøllur
Attendance: 2,313
Referee: Rob Hennessy (Republic of Ireland)
11 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Luxembourg  0–2  Turkey Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 Report
Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 9,374
Referee: António Nobre (Portugal)
14 June 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Luxembourg  2–2  Faroe Islands Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45
Report
Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 5,325
Referee: Michael Fabbri (Italy)
22 September 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Turkey  3–3  Luxembourg Istanbul, Turkey
20:45 (21:45 UTC+3)
Report
Stadium: Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium
Attendance: 12,708
Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)
25 September 2022 2022–23 UEFA Nations League Luxembourg  1–0  Lithuania Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45
Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 5,340
Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Georgia)
17 November 2022 Friendly Luxembourg  2–2  Hungary Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:00
Report
Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 3,571
Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium)
20 November 2022 (2022-11-20) Friendly Luxembourg  0–0  Bulgaria Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
15:00 Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 4,718
Referee: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania)

2023
23 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Slovakia  0–0  Luxembourg Trnava, Slovakia
20:45 Report Stadium: Štadión Antona Malatinského
Attendance: 3,523
Referee: Rade Obrenovič (Slovenia)
26 March 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Luxembourg  0–6  Portugal Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 Report
Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 9,231
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
9 June 2023 Friendly Luxembourg  v  Malta Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:15 Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
17 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Luxembourg  v  Liechtenstein Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
15:00 Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
20 June 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Bosnia and Herzegovina  v  Luxembourg Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
20:45 Report Stadium: Bilino Polje
8 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Luxembourg  v  Iceland Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
11 September 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Portugal  v  Luxembourg TBD, Portugal
19:45 Report Stadium: TBD
13 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Iceland  v  Luxembourg Reykjavík, Iceland
18:45 Report Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
16 October 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Luxembourg  v  Slovakia Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
16 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Luxembourg  v  Bosnia and Herzegovina Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 Report Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
19 November 2023 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Liechtenstein  v  Luxembourg Vaduz, Liechtenstein
20:45 Report Stadium: Rheinpark Stadion

Current staff
Current Luxembourg manager Luc Holtz

The crew that guides the Luxembourg national team includes following members:[12]

Position Name
Technical Director Luxembourg Manuel Cardoni
Head coach Luxembourg Luc Holtz
Assistant coach Luxembourg Mario Mutsch
Goalkeeping coach Luxembourg Rui Forte
Fitness coach Luxembourg Claude Origer
Doctor Luxembourg Dr. Patrick Dang
Luxembourg Dr. Lara Heinz
Physiotherapists Luxembourg Erwan Deshoux
Luxembourg Gilles Hoffmann
Germany Alexander Kähler
Video analyst France Clément Gonin
Equipment manager Luxembourg Léon Huss
Luxembourg Jos Koecher
Luxembourg Romain Sailer

Coaching history

The following managers have been in charge of Luxembourg's national squad:[13]

Players
Main article: List of Luxembourg international footballers

In 2004, the Luxembourg Football Federation selected Louis Pilot as their Golden Player, Luxembourg's greatest player of the past 50 years.[14]

Current squad

The following players were called up for the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Slovakia on 23 March 2023 and Portugal on 26 March 2023.[15]

Caps and goals as of 26 March 2023 after the match against Portugal.[16][17]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Anthony Moris (1990-04-29) 29 April 1990 55 0 Belgium Union SG
12 1GK Ralph Schon (1990-01-20) 20 January 1990 17 0 Luxembourg Wiltz 71
23 1GK Tiago Pereira Cardoso (2006-04-07) 7 April 2006 0 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
2 2DF Maxime Chanot (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 59 3 United States New York City FC
3 2DF Enes Mahmutovic (1997-05-22) 22 May 1997 23 0 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia
7 2DF Lars Krogh Gerson (1990-02-05) 5 February 1990 92 4 Norway Kongsvinger
13 2DF Dirk Carlson (1998-04-01) 1 April 1998 46 0 Austria St. Pölten
15 2DF Tim Hall (1997-04-15) 15 April 1997 4 0 Hungary Újpest
17 2DF Mica Pinto (1993-06-04) 4 June 1993 28 1 Netherlands Sparta Rotterdam
18 2DF Laurent Jans (Captain) (1992-08-05) 5 August 1992 92 1 Germany Waldhof Mannheim
22 2DF Marvin da Graça (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 26 3 Austria Austria Wien
2DF Eldin Dzogovic (2003-06-08) 8 June 2003 1 0 Germany Magdeburg
4 3MF Florian Bohnert (1997-11-09) 9 November 1997 36 1 France Bastia
8 3MF Christopher Martins (1997-02-19) 19 February 1997 57 1 Russia Spartak Moscow
9 3MF Danel Sinani (1997-04-05) 5 April 1997 53 9 England Wigan Athletic
11 3MF Vincent Thill (2000-02-04) 4 February 2000 47 3 Sweden AIK
14 3MF Dejvid Sinani (1993-04-02) 2 April 1993 1 0 Luxembourg F91 Dudelange
16 3MF Leandro Barreiro (2000-01-03) 3 January 2000 45 2 Germany Mainz 05
19 3MF Mathias Olesen (2001-03-21) 21 March 2001 10 0 Germany Köln
20 3MF Timothé Rupil (2003-06-12) 12 June 2003 7 0 Germany Mainz 05
21 3MF Sébastien Thill (1993-12-29) 29 December 1993 32 2 Germany Hansa Rostock
5 4FW Alessio Curci (2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 2 1 Germany Mainz 05
6 4FW Yvandro Borges Sanches (2004-05-24) 24 May 2004 18 1 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
10 4FW Gerson Rodrigues (1995-06-20) 20 June 1995 53 15 Saudi Arabia Al Wehda

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Luxembourg squad during last 12 months and are still eligible for selection.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Eldin Latik (2002-12-22) 22 December 2002 0 0 Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn v.  Lithuania, 25 September 2022
DF Sofiane Ikene (2005-02-27) 27 February 2005 1 0 Germany Nürnberg v.  Bulgaria, 20 November 2023
DF Fabio Lohei (2005-04-12) 12 April 2005 1 0 France Metz v.  Bulgaria, 20 November 2023
DF Eric Veiga (1997-02-18) 18 February 1997 6 0 Portugal Vilafranquense v.  Lithuania, 25 September 2022
MF Diogo Pimentel (1997-07-16) 16 July 1997 1 0 Luxembourg UNA Strassen v.  Bulgaria, 20 November 2023[18]
MF Aldin Skenderovic (1997-06-28) 28 June 1997 27 0 Luxembourg F91 Dudelange v.  Lithuania, 25 September 2022
MF Olivier Thill (1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 40 3 Turkey Eyüpspor v.  Faroe Islands, 14 June 2022
FW James Alves Rodrigues (2004-05-06) 6 May 2004 0 0 Italy Venezia v.  Bulgaria, 20 November 2023
FW Selim Turping (2004-11-12) 12 November 2004 0 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach v.  Bulgaria, 20 November 2023
FW Maurice Deville (1992-07-31) 31 July 1992 61 3 Luxembourg Swift Hesperange v.  Lithuania, 25 September 2022
FW Michael Omosanya (1999-12-15) 15 December 1999 2 0 Germany Eintracht Trier v.  Lithuania, 25 September 2022
FW Edvin Muratović (1997-02-15) 15 February 1997 11 1 Luxembourg RFCU v.  Faroe Islands, 14 June 2022

RET Player retired from the national team.

Player records
As of 26 March 2023[19]
Players in bold are still active with Luxembourg.

Most capped players
Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Mario Mutsch[lower-alpha 1] 101 4 2005–2019
2 Daniel da Mota[lower-alpha 2] 100 7 2007–present
3 Jeff Strasser 98 7 1993–2010
4 Lars Krogh Gerson[lower-alpha 3] 92 4 2008–present
René Peters[lower-alpha 4] 92 3 2000–2013
Laurent Jans[lower-alpha 5] 92 1 2012–present
7 Jonathan Joubert 90 0 2006–2017
8 Eric Hoffmann[lower-alpha 6] 88 0 2002–2014
9 Carlo Weis[lower-alpha 7] 85 1 1978–1998
10 Aurélien Joachim[lower-alpha 8] 80 15 2005–2019

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Léon Mart 16 24 0.67 1933–1945
2 Gustave Kemp[lower-alpha 9] 15 20 0.75 1938–1945
Gerson Rodrigues 15 53 0.28 2017–present
Aurélien Joachim[lower-alpha 8] 15 80 0.19 2005–2019
5 Camille Libar 14 24 0.58 1938–1947
6 Nicolas Kettel[lower-alpha 10] 13 56 0.23 1946–1959
7 François Müller[lower-alpha 11] 12 27 0.44 1949–1954
8 Léon Letsch 11 48 0.23 1947–1963
9 Gilbert Dussier 9 39 0.23 1971–1978
Danel Sinani 9 53 0.17 2017–present

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Did not enter Did not enter
Italy 1934 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 15
France 1938 2 0 0 2 2 7
Brazil 1950 2 0 0 2 4 8
Switzerland 1954 4 0 0 4 1 19
Sweden 1958 4 0 0 4 3 19
Chile 1962 4 1 0 3 5 21
England 1966 6 0 0 6 6 20
Mexico 1970 6 0 0 6 4 24
West Germany 1974 6 1 0 5 2 14
Argentina 1978 6 0 0 6 2 22
Spain 1982 8 0 0 8 1 23
Mexico 1986 8 0 0 8 2 27
Italy 1990 8 0 1 7 3 22
United States 1994 8 0 1 7 2 17
France 1998 8 0 0 8 2 22
South Korea Japan 2002 10 0 0 10 4 28
Germany 2006 12 0 0 12 5 48
South Africa 2010 10 1 2 7 4 25
Brazil 2014 10 1 3 6 7 26
Russia 2018 10 1 3 6 8 26
Qatar 2022 8 3 0 5 8 18
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/22 — — — — — — 142 8 10 124 78 451

UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 Did not enter Declined participation
Spain 1964 Did not qualify 5 1 3 1 8 8
Italy 1968 6 0 1 5 1 18
Belgium 1972 6 0 1 5 1 23
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976 6 0 0 6 7 28
Italy 1980 6 0 1 5 2 17
France 1984 8 0 0 8 5 36
West Germany 1988 8 0 1 7 2 23
Sweden 1992 6 0 0 6 2 14
England 1996 10 3 1 6 3 21
Belgium Netherlands 2000 8 0 0 8 2 23
Portugal 2004 8 0 0 8 0 21
Austria Switzerland 2008 12 1 0 11 2 23
Poland Ukraine 2012 10 1 1 8 3 21
France 2016 10 1 1 8 6 27
European Union 2020 8 1 1 6 7 16
Germany 2024 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/16 — — — — — — 111 8 11 98 51 319

UEFA Nations League
UEFA Nations League record
Year Division Group Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 2 2nd6312114Rise44th
2020–21 C 1 2nd631275Same position39th
2022–23 C 1 2nd632197Same position37th
2024–25 C To be determined
Total18945271637th

Olympic Games
Hectic phase during the goal-rich Olympic defeat against Belgium in 1928 (5–3)
Olympic Games record[2]
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Belgium 1920Round 1100103Squad
France 1924Round 2100102Squad
Netherlands 1928Round 1100135Squad
Nazi Germany 1936100109Squad
United Kingdom 1948210176Squad
Finland 1952210165Squad
Total82061630—

All-time record

As of 26 March 2023 after the match against Portugal, the Luxembourg national team playing record is as follows:[2]

PlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainst
43545563342791156

Head to head record

As of 26 March 2023 after the match against Portugal.

Footnotes
  1. Mario Mutsch also played in Luxembourg's match against Belgium in 2014 however Belgium used 7 substitutions rendering the match unofficial according to FIFA regulations
  2. Daniel da Mota also played in Luxembourg's match against Belgium in 2014 however Belgium used 7 substitutions rendering the match unofficial according to FIFA regulations
  3. Lars Gerson also played in Luxembourg's match against Belgium in 2014 however Belgium used 7 substitutions rendering the match unofficial according to FIFA regulations
  4. René Peters also played and scored against Faroe Islands in 2004 however this was not recognised as a full A-international by FIFA
  5. Laurent Jans also played in Luxembourg's match against Belgium in 2014 however Belgium used 7 substitutions rendering the match unofficial according to FIFA regulations
  6. Eric Hoffmann also played and scored against Faroe Islands in 2004 however this was not recognised as a full A-international by FIFA
  7. Carlo Weis also played in three matches against France Amateur, West Germany B and France B however these are not recognised as full A-internationals by FIFA
  8. Aurélien Joachim also played and scored in Luxembourg's match against Belgium in 2014 however Belgium used 7 substitutions rendering the match unofficial according to FIFA regulations
  9. Gustave Kemp also played a match at the 1936 Summer Olympics however this is not recognised as a full A-international by FIFA
  10. Nicolas Kettel also played and scored at the 1948 Summer Olympics however these matches are not recognised as full A-internationals by FIFA
  11. François Müller also played at the 1952 Summer Olympics however these matches are not recognised as full A-internationals by FIFA

    See also

    References
    1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 6 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
    2. Barrie Courney (4 Dec 2014). "Luxembourg – List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
    3. Barrie Courtney (8 Mar 2005). "Luxembourg – List of Unofficial International matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
    4. "Schwartz' droombeeld werd nachtmerrie voor publiek". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 31 Oct 1963. Retrieved 23 Aug 2015.
    5. "RTL Lëtzebuerg". De Journal. 7 September 2008.
    6. "World Cup qualifying recap as France are held by Luxembourg and Belgium qualify for Russia 2018". Mirror. 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
    7. Luxembourg vs. France 5–4, date 08/02/1914
    8. "France coach Didier Deschamps was left "infuriated" by his side's failures in front of goal in their goalless draw with Luxembourg, a result labelled "historic" by his opposite number". BBC Sport. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
    9. "Nikolic scores as Hungary falls 2-1 to Luxembourg in international friendly | Chicago Fire FC".
    10. "Awful Ireland embarrassed in defeat at home to Luxembourg". The 42. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
    11. "Stade Josy Barthel, Lëtzebuerg". eu-football.info. Retrieved 23 Aug 2015.
    12. "Staff". www.flf.lu. Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
    13. "Les entraîneurs nationaux du Luxembourg" (in French). profootball.lu. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
    14. "Golden Players take centre stage". UEFA. Archived from the original on 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
    15. "LUC HOLTZ NOMME 24 ROUT LÉIWEN" [Luc Holtz names 24 Red Lions]. FLF.lu (in French). Luxembourg Football Federation. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
    16. "Luxembourg-Portugal| UEFA Nations League 2023 | UEFA.com". UEFA.
    17. "Most Luxembourg Caps - EU-Football.info". eu-football.info.
    18. "[BGL Ligue] Pimentel : «Ils nous ont dit que certains sponsors avaient dégagé»".
    19. Mamrud, Roberto. "Luxembourg - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
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