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 Josy Barthel in Luxembourg City.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Luxembourg women's national football team.
Luxembourg
Nickname(s)d'Roud Léiwen
Les Lions Rouges
Die Roten Löwen
(The Red Lions)
AssociationLuxembourg Football Federation
(Lëtzebuerger Foussballfederatioun)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachLuc Holtz
CaptainLaurent Jans
Most capsMario Mutsch (102)
Top scorerLéon Mart (16)
Home stadiumStade Josy Barthel
FIFA codeLUX
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 98 (16 July 2020)[1]
Highest82 (September 2018)
Lowest195 (August 2006)
First international
 Luxembourg 1–4 France 
(Luxembourg City; 29 October 1911)
Biggest win
 Luxembourg 6–0 Afghanistan 
(Brighton, United Kingdom; 26 July 1948)
Biggest defeat
 Germany 9–0 Luxembourg 
(Berlin, Germany; 4 August 1936)
 Luxembourg 0–9 England 
(Luxembourg City; 19 October 1960)
 England 9–0 Luxembourg 
(London, United Kingdom; 15 December 1982)

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 2018, they 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]

Uniform

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
Stade Josy Barthel

The Luxembourg national team normally plays its home matches at the Stade Josy Barthel in Luxembourg City, the national stadium of Luxembourg. At this location, the national team played 235 games by August 2015, including unofficial games.[10] It is also used for rugby union and athletics.

Originally called Stade Municipal after its construction in 1928–1931, it was entirely rebuilt in 1990. Since July 1993, it has carried the name of Josy Barthel, the 1500m gold medalist at the 1952 Olympics and Luxembourg's only Olympic gold medal winner.[11] The stadium is also home to the biggest athletics club in the country, CAL Spora Luxembourg. The spectator capacity is 8,000;[12] some seats are under cover, some in the open air.

Management

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

Current staff
Current Luxembourg manager Luc Holtz

The crew that guides the Luxembourg national team includes following members:[14]

Position Name
ManagerLuc Holtz
Goalkeeping coachFrank Thieltges
Physical coachClaude Origer
Technical directorReinhold Breu
Team doctorsMarc Reuter
Robert Huberty
PhysiotherapistsYannick Zenner
Ben Moes

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.[15]

Current squad

The following players were called up for the Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Serbia on 14 November 2019 and Portugal on 17 November 2019.[16]

Caps and goals as of 17 November 2019, after the match against Portugal.
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Anthony Moris (1990-04-29) 29 April 1990 28 0 Union Saint-Gilloise
12 1GK Ralph Schon (1990-01-20) 20 January 1990 11 0 Wiltz 71
23 1GK Emanuel Cabral (1996-08-02) 2 August 1996 0 0 Fola Esch
7 2DF Lars Krogh Gerson (1990-02-05) 5 February 1990 75 4 IFK Norrköping
18 2DF Laurent Jans (Captain) (1992-08-05) 5 August 1992 64 1 Metz
6 2DF Chris Philipps (1994-03-08) 8 March 1994 55 0 Lommel
2 2DF Maxime Chanot (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 39 3 New York City
4 2DF Kevin Malget (1991-01-15) 15 January 1991 34 2 Swift Hesperange
13 2DF Dirk Carlson (1998-04-01) 1 April 1998 23 0 Karlsruher SC
8 2DF Marvin da Graça (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 7 1 Unattached
3 2DF Tim Hall (1997-05-15) 15 May 1997 3 0 Gil Vicente
5 2DF Vahid Selimović (1997-04-03) 3 April 1997 2 1 OFI
10 3MF Vincent Thill (2000-02-04) 4 February 2000 29 3 Metz
17 3MF Gerson Rodrigues (1995-06-20) 20 June 1995 24 3 Dynamo Kyiv
15 3MF Olivier Thill (1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 22 2 Ufa
14 3MF Danel Sinani (1997-04-05) 5 April 1997 21 3 Norwich City
23 3MF Florian Bohnert (1997-11-09) 9 November 1997 16 1 Mainz 05
16 3MF Leandro Barreiro (2000-01-03) 3 January 2000 16 1 Mainz 05
19 3MF Aldin Skenderovic (1997-06-28) 28 June 1997 13 0 Progrès Niederkorn
9 4FW Daniel da Mota (1985-09-11) 11 September 1985 99 7 Racing-Union
22 4FW Aurélien JoachimRET (1986-08-10) 10 August 1986 80 15 Differdange 03
20 4FW David Turpel (1992-10-19) 19 October 1992 52 6 Swift Hesperange
11 4FW Stefano Bensi (1988-08-11) 11 August 1988 50 5 Fola Esch
21 4FW Maurice Deville (1992-07-31) 31 July 1992 41 3 Saarbrücken

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Luxembourg squad during last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Tim Kips (2000-11-01) 1 November 2000 0 0 F91 Dudelange v.  Serbia, 10 September 2019
DF Christopher Martins (1997-02-19) 19 February 1997 38 1 Young Boys v.  Serbia, 10 September 2019
MF Mathias Olesen (2001-03-21) 21 March 2001 0 0 Köln v.  Serbia, 10 September 2019
FW Alessio Curci (2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 0 0 Mainz 05 v.  Denmark, 15 October 2019

RET Player retired from the national team.

Previous squads
  • At the Summer Olympics: 1920 · 1924 · 1928 · 1936 · 1948 · 1952

Most capped players
See also: List of Luxembourg international footballers

As of 17 November 2019 after the match against Portugal.[17]

# Player Caps Period
1 Mario Mutsch 102 2005–2019
2 Daniel da Mota 99 2007–
3 Jeff Strasser 98 1993–2010
4 René Peters 93 2000–2013
5 Jonathan Joubert 90 2006–2017
6 Eric Hoffmann 89 2002–2014
7 Carlo Weis 87 1978–1998
8 Aurélien Joachim 80 2005–2019
9 François Konter 77 1955–1969
10 Lars Krogh Gerson 75 2008–

Top goalscorers

As of 17 November 2019 after the match against Portugal.[17]

# Player Goals Period
1 Léon Mart 16 1933–1945
2 Gustave Kemp 15 1938–1945
2 Aurélien Joachim 15 2005–2019
4 Camille Libar 14 1938–1947
5 Nicolas Kettel 13 1946–1959
6 François Müller 12 1949–1954
7 Léon Letsch 11 1947–1963
8 Gilbert Dussier 9 1971–1978

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup record FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 Did not enter Did not enter
1934 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 2 15
1938 2 0 0 2 2 7
1950 2 0 0 2 4 8
1954 4 0 0 4 1 19
1958 4 0 0 4 3 19
1962 4 1 0 3 5 21
1966 6 0 0 6 6 20
1970 6 0 0 6 4 24
1974 6 1 0 5 2 14
1978 6 0 0 6 2 22
1982 8 0 0 8 1 23
1986 8 0 0 8 2 27
1990 8 0 1 7 3 22
1994 8 0 1 7 2 17
1998 8 0 0 8 2 22
2002 10 0 0 10 4 28
2006 12 0 0 12 5 48
2010 10 1 2 7 4 25
2014 10 1 3 6 7 26
2018 10 1 3 6 8 26
2022 To be determined To be determined
2026
Total — 0/21 — — — — — — 134 5 10 119 69 433

UEFA European Championship
UEFA European Championship record UEFA European Championship qualifying record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1960 Did not enter Declined participation
1964 Did not qualify 5 1 3 1 8 8
1968 6 0 1 5 1 18
1972 6 0 1 5 1 23
1976 6 0 0 6 7 28
1980 6 0 1 5 2 17
1984 8 0 0 8 5 36
1988 8 0 1 7 2 23
1992 6 0 0 6 2 14
1996 10 3 1 6 3 21
2000 8 0 0 8 2 23
2004 8 0 0 8 0 21
2008 12 1 0 11 2 23
2012 10 1 1 8 3 21
2016 10 1 1 8 6 27
2020 8 1 1 6 7 16
2024 To be determined To be determined
Total — 0/16 — — — — — — 111 8 11 98 51 319

Olympic Games
Hectic phase during the goal-rich Olympic defeat against Belgium in 1928 (5–3)
Olympic Games record of the Luxembourg national football team[2]
Edition Round Pld W D L GF GA
1920Round 1100103
1924Round 2100102
1928Round 1100135
1936Round 1100109
1948Round 1210176
1952Round 1210165
Total—82061630

Minor tournaments
Luxembourg minor tournaments record[18]
Year Round Pos Pld* W D L GF GA
1980 Marah Halim CupSemi-finals4th7313811
*Two of these seven matches, played against the Indonesian clubs Pardedetex and NIAC Mitra (that ended in 1–0 and 2–1 wins for Luxembourg, respectively) are not regarded as full internationals by the Luxembourg Football Federation.

Results and forthcoming fixtures

As of 17 November 2019 after the match against Portugal, the Luxembourg national team playing record is as follows:[2]

PlayedWonDrawnLostForAgainst
40336493182501105

Recent results and fixtures are as follows:

2019
5 September 2019 FriendlyNorthern Ireland 1–0 LuxembourgBelfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 CEST
Report Stadium: Windsor Park
10 September 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingLuxembourg 1–3 SerbiaLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 CEST
Report
Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy)
11 October 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingPortugal 3–0 LuxembourgLisbon, Portugal
20:45 CEST
Report Stadium: Estádio José Alvalade
Referee: Daniel Stefański (Poland)
15 October 2019 FriendlyDenmark 4–0 LuxembourgAalborg, Denmark
20:00 CEST
Report Stadium: Aalborg Portland Park
Referee: Bojan Pandžić (Sweden)
14 November 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingSerbia 3–2 LuxembourgBelgrade, Serbia
20:45 CET
Report
Stadium: Red Star Stadium
Attendance: 500
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (Netherlands)
17 November 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifyingLuxembourg 0–2 PortugalLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
15:00 CET Report
Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

2020
5 September 2020 (2020-09-05) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueAzerbaijan v LuxembourgBaku, Azerbaijan
20:00 AZT Stadium: Bakcell Arena
8 September 2020 (2020-09-08) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueLuxembourg v MontenegroLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 CEST Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel
7 October 2020 (2020-10-07) FriendlyLuxembourg v LiechtensteinLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
TBD Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel
10 October 2020 (2020-10-10) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueLuxembourg v CyprusLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 CEST Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel
13 October 2020 (2020-10-13) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueMontenegro v LuxembourgPodgorica, Montenegro
20:45 CEST Stadium: City Stadium
11 November 2020 (2020-11-11) FriendlyLuxembourg v AustriaLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
TBD Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel
14 November 2020 (2020-11-14) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueCyprus v LuxembourgNicosia, Cyprus
21:45 EET Stadium: GSP Stadium
17 November 2020 (2020-11-17) 2020–21 UEFA Nations LeagueLuxembourg v AzerbaijanLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 CET Stadium: Stade Josy Barthel

Head to head records

As of 17 November 2019 after the match against Portugal.

Footnotes
    gollark: Although I would assume being shot for gayness is still rare, or there would be lots more deaths.
    gollark: Oh, right, I suppose it compares favorably to some bad parts of the US.
    gollark: I mean, you can go there. You can't retroactively have been born there, but meh.
    gollark: Yeeees, *why* is being in Germany particularly lucky?
    gollark: "Goodbye", "MasterMouseIII".

    See also

    References
    1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
    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. https://www.chicago-fire.com/post/2017/11/09/nikolic-scores-hungary-falls-2-1-luxembourg-international-friendly
    10. "Stade Josy Barthel, Lëtzebuerg". eu-football.info. Retrieved 23 Aug 2015.
    11. "Unique person for a unique place" (PDF). GSSE News – The Official Newspaper of the Games of the Small States of Europe in Luxembourg 2013. Luxembourg. 27 May 2013. p. 3. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
    12. https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/FirstDiv/uefaorg/Publications/01/67/03/93/1670393_DOWNLOAD.pdf
    13. "Les entraîneurs nationaux du Luxembourg" (in French). profootball.lu. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
    14. "Cadre". Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football. Retrieved 12 Sep 2015.
    15. "Golden Players take centre stage". UEFA. Archived from the original on 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
    16. "Joueurs sélectionnés" [Selected players]. FLF.lu (in French). Luxembourg Football Federation. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
    17. Mamrud, Roberto. "Luxembourg - Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
    18. "Marah Halim Cup (Medan, Indonesia)". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
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