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Luxembourg national football team facts for kids

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This page is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Luxembourg women's national football team.
Quick facts for kids
Luxembourg
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s) D'Rout Léiwen
Les Lions Rouges
Die Roten Löwen
(The Red Lions)
Association Luxembourg Football Federation
(Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Luc Holtz
Captain Laurent Jans
Most caps Laurent Jans (110)
Top scorer Gerson Rodrigues (23)
Home stadium Stade de Luxembourg
FIFA code LUX
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current 87 Decrease 1 (7 February 2019)
Highest 82 (September 2018)
Lowest 195 (August 2006)
Elo ranking
Current 118 Increase 6 (3 March 2019)
Highest 69 (13 May 1945)
Lowest 190 (12 October 2005)
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)
 Portugal 9–0 Luxembourg 
(Almancil, Portugal; 11 September 2023)

The Luxembourg national football team is also known as the Red Lions. It is the official football team for the country of Luxembourg. The team is managed by the Luxembourg Football Federation. They usually play their home games at the Stade de Luxembourg in Luxembourg City.

Luxembourg has tried to qualify for every FIFA World Cup since 1934. They have also tried to qualify for the UEFA European Championship since 1964. However, they have never made it to the final tournaments for either of these big competitions. Luxembourg holds the record for the most qualifying campaigns without reaching the finals in both events. But they did play in six Olympic football events between 1920 and 1952.

History of the Red Lions

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

Luxembourg played its very first international football match on October 29, 1911. It was a friendly game against France, and Luxembourg lost 1–4. Their first win came on February 8, 1914, also against France, with a score of 5–4.

The national team took part in six Olympic football tournaments from 1920 to 1952. They even made it past the first round twice, in 1948 and 1952.

Between 1921 and 1981, Luxembourg's main team played many unofficial matches. These were often against the 'B' teams of other countries like Belgium and France.

Voorronde van Wereldkampioenschap voetbal te Rotterdam, Nederland tegen Luxembur, Bestanddeelnr 922-2390
The Luxembourg team in 1969, before a World Cup qualifier

After their last Olympic tournament in 1952, the team started playing in qualifying groups for the UEFA European Championships. They haven't reached the final stages of this major European tournament yet. The closest they came was for the Euro 1964 tournament. In the first round, they beat the Netherlands with a total score of 3–2 over two matches. A Dutch newspaper famously said that "David Luxembourg won with 2–1 [against Goliath Netherlands]". In the next round, Luxembourg and Denmark played for a spot in the finals. Denmark won with a total score of 6–5 after three matches.

When the national team wins a competitive match, fans and media often celebrate a lot. This happened after they beat Switzerland 2–1 in 2008.

On September 3, 2017, Luxembourg played France and managed a 0–0 draw in Toulouse, France. This was the first time France had not beaten Luxembourg since 1914. On November 10, 2017, Luxembourg surprised everyone by beating Hungary 2–1 in a friendly game.

On March 28, 2021, Luxembourg won against the Republic of Ireland in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification match. Gerson Rodrigues scored the winning goal in the 85th minute. In 2023, Luxembourg had some of their best results in European Championship qualifying. They finished third in their group and earned a chance to play in a play-off for a spot in the finals. However, they lost 2–0 to Georgia. Rodrigues also became the top goal scorer in the team's history, scoring 5 goals during the qualifying process. This broke the previous record of 16 goals held by Léon Mart.

Team Kit and Colors

The badge on Luxembourg's team uniform shows a shield. It looks a lot like Luxembourg's national coat of arms. This shield has a red lion on a white and blue striped background. This is why the team is called the Red Lions. Today, the team plays home games in all-red uniforms, matching their nickname. Their away uniforms are usually white.

Kit provider Period
Germany Adidas 1976–2005
Italy Erreà 2005–2007
Germany Jako 2008–2013
Germany Adidas 2014–2018
Italy Macron 2018–2022
Italy Erreà 2022–present

Home Stadium

Luxembourg, stade de Luxembourg (101)
Stade de Luxembourg

Since September 1, 2021, the Luxembourg national team plays its home games at the Stade de Luxembourg in Luxembourg City. This is the country's national stadium. Before this, the team played at the Stade Josy Barthel. They played 235 games there, including unofficial matches. The old stadium was also used for rugby union and athletics.

Recent Match Results

Main article: Luxembourg national football team results

Here are the results of matches played by the team in the last 12 months.

      Win       Draw       Loss

Matches in 2024

Team Staff and Coaches

Luc Holtz
Luc Holtz, the current Luxembourg manager

The people who help manage and train the Luxembourg national team include:

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

Many different managers have led Luxembourg's national football team over the years:

  • Luxembourg Paul Feierstein (1933–1948)
  • Luxembourg Jean-Pierre Hoscheid, Jules Müller, & Albert Reuter (1948–1949)
  • Austria Adolf Patek (1949–1953)
  • Hungary Béla Volentik (1953–1955)
  • Austria Eduard Havlicek (1955)
  • Hungary Nándor Lengyel (1955–1959)
  • France Pierre Sinibaldi (1959–1960)
  • West Germany Robert Heinz (1960–1969)
  • Austria Ernst Melchior (1969–1972)
  • France Gilbert Legrand (1972–1977)
  • Luxembourg Arthur Schoos (1978)
  • Luxembourg Louis Pilot (1978–1984)
  • Belgium Jozef Vliers (1984)
  • Luxembourg Josy Kirchens (1985)
  • Luxembourg Paul Philipp (1985–2001)
  • Denmark Allan Simonsen (2001–2004)
  • Luxembourg Guy Hellers (2004–2010)
  • Luxembourg Luc Holtz (2010–present)

Team Players

Main article: List of Luxembourg international footballers

Current Squad Members

The players listed below were chosen for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches in November 2024.

The numbers for games played (caps) and goals scored are correct as of November 18, 2024, after the match against Northern Ireland.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Tiago Pereira Cardoso (2006-04-07) 7 April 2006 (age 19) 3 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach II
12 1GK Ralph SchonRET (1990-01-20) 20 January 1990 (age 35) 19 0 Luxembourg Wiltz 71
23 1GK Lucas Fox (2000-10-02) 2 October 2000 (age 24) 0 0 Germany 1. FC Bocholt
2 2DF Seid Korać (2001-10-20) 20 October 2001 (age 23) 10 1 Serbia Vojvodina
3 2DF Enes Mahmutović (1997-05-22) 22 May 1997 (age 28) 36 0 Netherlands NAC Breda
13 2DF Dirk Carlson (1998-04-01) 1 April 1998 (age 27) 61 0 Austria St. Pölten
14 2DF Kevin D'Anzico (2000-08-14) 14 August 2000 (age 24) 2 0 Luxembourg FC Differdange 03
15 2DF Eldin Džogović (2003-06-08) 8 June 2003 (age 22) 9 0 Germany 1. FC Magdeburg
17 2DF Mica Pinto (1993-06-04) 4 June 1993 (age 32) 38 1 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia
18 2DF Laurent Jans (Captain) (1992-08-05) 5 August 1992 (age 32) 110 1 Belgium Beveren
22 2DF Marvin Martins (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 (age 30) 37 3 Austria Austria Wien
4 3MF Florian Bohnert (1997-11-09) 9 November 1997 (age 27) 50 1 France Bastia
6 3MF Tomás Moreira (2005-06-26) 26 June 2005 (age 19) 3 0 Portugal Benfica U23
7 3MF Lars Gerson (1990-02-05) 5 February 1990 (age 35) 98 4 Norway Kongsvinger
8 3MF Christopher Martins (1997-02-19) 19 February 1997 (age 28) 73 1 Russia Spartak Moscow
16 3MF Leandro Barreiro (2000-01-03) 3 January 2000 (age 25) 61 2 Portugal Benfica
19 3MF Mathias Olesen (2001-03-21) 21 March 2001 (age 24) 28 1 Germany 1. FC Köln
20 3MF Timothé Rupil (2003-06-12) 12 June 2003 (age 22) 12 0 Germany Schalke 04 II
21 3MF Sébastien Thill (1993-12-29) 29 December 1993 (age 31) 39 2 Poland Stal Rzeszów
5 4FW Alessio Curci (2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 (age 23) 13 1 Belgium Francs Borains
9 4FW Danel Sinani (1997-04-05) 5 April 1997 (age 28) 69 13 Germany FC St. Pauli
10 4FW Gerson Rodrigues (1995-06-20) 20 June 1995 (age 30) 68 23 China Guangxi Pingguo Haliao
11 4FW Michael Omosanya (1999-12-25) 25 December 1999 (age 25) 4 0 France Thionville
16 4FW David Jonathans (2004-01-26) 26 January 2004 (age 21) 3 0 Netherlands Den Bosch

Recent Call-ups

These players have also been called to the Luxembourg squad in the last 12 months. They can still be chosen for the team.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Anthony Moris (1990-04-29) 29 April 1990 (age 35) 71 0 Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise v.  Bulgaria, 15 November 2024 INJ
DF Maxime Chanot (1989-11-21) 21 November 1989 (age 35) 72 4 United States Los Angeles FC v.  Belarus, 12 October 2024
DF Christophe Andrade Brites (2007-06-08) 8 June 2007 (age 18) 1 0 Luxembourg F91 Dudelange v.  Belarus, 8 September 2024
DF Vahid Selimović (1997-04-03) 3 April 1997 (age 28) 12 1 Romania Hermannstadt v.  Belgium, 8 June 2024
MF Chris Philipps (1994-03-08) 8 March 1994 (age 31) 57 0 Luxembourg Wiltz 71 v.  Belarus, 12 October 2024
MF Eric Veiga (1997-02-18) 18 February 1997 (age 28) 7 0 Portugal AVS v.  Belarus, 8 September 2024
MF Fabio Lohei (2005-04-12) 12 April 2005 (age 20) 4 0 France Metz v.  Belarus, 8 September 2024
MF Sofiane Ikene (2005-02-27) 27 February 2005 (age 20) 2 0 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg v.  Belarus, 8 September 2024
MF Mirza Mustafić (1998-06-20) 20 June 1998 (age 27) 1 0 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo v.  Belgium, 8 June 2024
MF Olivier Thill (1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 (age 28) 43 3 Ukraine LNZ Cherkasy v.  France, 5 June 2024 INJ
FW Edvin Muratović (1997-02-15) 15 February 1997 (age 28) 17 1 Poland Odra Opole v.  Belarus, 12 October 2024
FW Jayson Videira (2005-02-17) 17 February 2005 (age 20) 1 0 Germany Hannover 96 v.  Belarus, 8 September 2024
FW Aiman Dardari (2005-03-21) 21 March 2005 (age 20) 2 0 Germany Mainz 05 II v.  Belgium, 8 June 2024
FW Yvandro Borges Sanches (2004-05-24) 24 May 2004 (age 21) 25 3 Netherlands NEC v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2024

RET Player retired from the national team.

Player Records

Players in bold are still active with Luxembourg.

Most Games Played (Caps)

RC Lens - FC Metz (09-02-2019) 57
Laurent Jans is Luxembourg's most capped player with 110 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Laurent Jans 110 1 2012–present
2 Mario Mutsch 102 4 2005–2019
3 Daniel da Mota 100 7 2007–2021
4 Jeff Strasser 98 7 1993–2010
Lars Krogh Gerson 98 4 2008–present
6 René Peters 92 3 2000–2013
7 Jonathan Joubert 90 0 2006–2017
8 Eric Hoffmann 88 0 2002–2014
9 Carlo Weis 85 1 1978–1998
10 Aurélien Joachim 80 15 2005–2019

Top Goal Scorers

Gerson Rodrigues 2019
Gerson Rodrigues is Luxembourg's top scorer with 23 goals.
Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Gerson Rodrigues 23 68 0.34 2017–present
2 Léon Mart 16 24 0.67 1933–1945
3 Gustave Kemp 15 20 0.75 1938–1945
Aurélien Joachim 15 80 0.19 2005–2019
5 Camille Libar 14 24 0.58 1938–1947
6 Nicolas Kettel 13 56 0.23 1946–1959
Danel Sinani 13 69 0.19 2017–present
8 François Müller 12 27 0.44 1949–1954
9 Léon Letsch 11 48 0.23 1947–1963
10 Gilbert Dussier 9 39 0.23 1971–1978

Tournament History

Luxembourg has tried many times to qualify for major football tournaments.

FIFA World Cup Attempts

Luxembourg has participated in every World Cup qualifying campaign since 1934. However, they have never managed to qualify for the final tournament.

UEFA European Championship Attempts

The team has also taken part in qualifying rounds for the UEFA European Championship since 1964. Like the World Cup, they have not yet reached the main tournament. They came closest in 1964, beating the Netherlands in the first round before losing to Denmark.

UEFA Nations League Performance

Luxembourg has competed in the UEFA Nations League since it started in 2018. They have consistently played in League C or D, often finishing second in their groups. This shows their improving performance in European football.

UEFA Nations League record
Season Division Group Pos Pld W D L GF GA P/R RK
2018–19 D 2 2nd 6 3 1 2 11 4 Rise 44th
2020–21 C 1 2nd 6 3 1 2 7 5 Same position 39th
2022–23 C 1 2nd 6 3 2 1 9 7 Same position 37th
2024–25 C 3 In progress
Total 18 9 4 5 27 16 37th

Olympic Games Participation

BEL-LUX SO1928
Hectic phase during the goal-rich Olympic defeat against Belgium in 1928 (5–3)

Luxembourg's national team has played in the football tournaments at the Summer Olympics six times. They competed between 1920 and 1952.

Olympic Games record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA Squad
Belgium 1920 Round 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 Squad
France 1924 Round 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 Squad
Netherlands 1928 Round 1 1 0 0 1 3 5 Squad
Nazi Germany 1936 1 0 0 1 0 9 Squad
United Kingdom 1948 2 1 0 1 7 6 Squad
Finland 1952 2 1 0 1 6 5 Squad
Total 8 2 0 6 16 30 —

Images for kids

  • Luxembourg national football team 1920 year

    The Luxembourg national football team in 1920

  • Luxembourg - Ukraine 2015 (1)

    The Luxembourg national football team in 2015

  • Voorronde van Wereldkampioenschap voetbal te Rotterdam, Nederland tegen Luxembur, Bestanddeelnr 922-2390

    The Luxembourg team in 1969, before a World Cup qualifier

  • Luxembourg, stade de Luxembourg (101)

    Stade de Luxembourg

  • RC Lens - FC Metz (09-02-2019) 57

    Laurent Jans is Luxembourg's most capped player with 110 appearances.

  • Gerson Rodrigues 2019

    Gerson Rodrigues is Luxembourg's top scorer with 23 goals.

  • BEL-LUX SO1928

    Hectic phase during the goal-rich Olympic defeat against Belgium in 1928 (5–3)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Luxemburgo para niños

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