It is in Northern Ireland that Luxembourg launches its new Nations League campaign this Thursday evening, with the hope of continuing its progress and turning the page on Georgia for good.
So here comes the time for high-stakes matches and, with them, the time for expectations of the Roud Léiwen, who were far too dejected in March after their defeat in Georgia for us to expect anything from them against Kazakhstan, which they nevertheless overturned with great character and brilliance (2-1) in the process, and far too disarmed in June for us to hope for a huge feat in France or Belgium (3-0 defeats), two participants – and favourites – of Euro-2024 to whom they nevertheless put up honourable resistance, despite very limited means.
Given the dozen absentees and the friendly nature of these games, the Blues and the Red Devils were certainly not the ideal opponents – any more than Kazakhstan – to exorcise the trauma of Tbilisi, this Euro-2024 play-off semi-final lost in circumstances that were frustrating to say the least.
So it’s from today in Northern Ireland, Sunday (3 p.m.) against Belarus and over the next two months, throughout their 4e League of Nations campaign, will judge the ability of Luc Holtz’s men to chase away, in their heads and those of their fans, the ghosts of Tbilisi, and to continue their exciting rise of recent years.
Promoted from League D at the end of the first edition of the competition (2018/2019), second in its League C group with 10 then 11 points (only one less than Turkey, promoted) in the following two (2020/2021 and 2022/2023), Luxembourg is a natural candidate for promotion to the second continental division, which this season is frequented by a heavyweight relegated from League A, England, finalist of the Euro in July.
Achieving this will depend “on a lot of details”, according to his coach, whose official objective for the moment is only to “take as many points as possible”, but the good news, in this regard, is that the 2e place will no longer necessarily be that of the idiot, since it will give access to an accession barrier (facing a 3e League B) which will be played in March.
“It’s really going to be a challenge to compete”
The bad news is that, apart from perhaps Belarus, everyone in this very homogeneous Group 3 which also includes Bulgaria, can have the same ambition as the Roud Léiwen. Starting with the Northern Irish, hosts tonight at Windsor Park in Belfast for a duel that the coach immediately designated, last Thursday in a press conference, as “the toughest” of the six matches that Luxembourg will have to play during this campaign. And not only because the “Green and White Army”, like any self-respecting British team, traditionally puts a lot of “intensity” and “physicality” at home.
The only team in this group to have recently played in an international competition, namely Euro 2016 (Bulgaria’s last participation dates back to 2004), which earned it a place in the 32nd place of the year.e FIFA ranking position before reaching 24e In place in 2017, Northern Ireland has fallen into line in recent years.
Ranked last in League B twice (it had been maintained thanks to the overhaul of the divisions) without winning a single match at this level, it then only finished 3rde (behind Greece and Kosovo) from a League C group where it proved unable to beat Cyprus, and left only San Marino behind (5e out of 6) in the qualifiers for the last Euro, despite an open draw (Denmark, Slovenia, Finland, Kazakhstan).
“Under reconstruction”, under the leadership of the man who had taken it to France, Michael O’Neill (returning in December 2022 to a position he had held from 2011 to 2020), it is nonetheless made up almost exclusively of players playing in England, with all that this implies in terms of skills “in duels, pressing and counter-pressing”.
And for some in the Premier League, the most competitive, if not intense, championship in the world. The “great motivation” and the carefree attitude of his young but “very well balanced” squad, his “offensive quality”, which the final score of his last match (2-0 against Andorra) does not say, and the interesting playing principles of his coach also make Luc Holtz say that “it’s really going to be a challenge to compete with this opponent”. And a founding act?
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