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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 (114)
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 often called the Red Lions. It is the official football team for Luxembourg. The team is managed by the Luxembourg Football Federation. Most of their home games are played 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 of these big competitions. Luxembourg holds the record for the most qualifying attempts without reaching the finals in both events. They did play in six Olympic football events between 1920 and 1952.

Team History

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

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

The national team took part in six Olympic football events from 1920 to 1952. They even passed the first round twice, in 1948 and 1952. Luxembourg also started playing in qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, but they have not qualified for the main tournament yet.

Between 1921 and 1981, the Luxembourg national team played many unofficial matches. These were mostly against B-teams from other countries. Some of these teams included Belgium, France, Switzerland, and West Germany.

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 began playing in qualifying groups for UEFA European Championships. They were close to qualifying for the Euro 1964. In the first round, they beat the Netherlands with a total score of 3–2 over two matches. A Dutch newspaper even compared this win to "David Luxembourg" beating "Goliath Netherlands." In the next round, Luxembourg and Denmark played for a spot in the final tournament. Denmark won after three matches with a total score of 6–5.

When the national team wins a competitive match, fans and media often celebrate them. This happened after their 2–1 win against Switzerland in 2008.

On September 3, 2017, Luxembourg played France in Toulouse, France. The game ended in a 0–0 draw. This was the first time France had not won against Luxembourg since 1914. On November 10, 2017, Luxembourg beat Hungary 2–1 in a friendly game.

On March 28, 2021, Luxembourg won against the Republic of Ireland. This was 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 made it to a play-off for a spot in the finals. However, they lost 2–0 against Georgia. Gerson Rodrigues also became the team's top goalscorer. He scored five goals during the qualifying process, passing Léon Mart's record of 16 goals.

On March 22, 2025, Luxembourg showed great improvement. They had a strong victory against Sweden in a friendly match.

Team Kit

The team's kit (uniform) has been supplied by different companies over the years.

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. This is the country's national stadium in Luxembourg City. Before that, the team played at the Stade Josy Barthel. They played 235 games there, including unofficial matches.

Recent Matches

Main article: Luxembourg national football team results

Here are the results of matches played in the last year, and upcoming games.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2024 Matches

5 September 2024 2024–25 Nations League Northern Ireland  2–0  Luxembourg Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 UTC+1
  • McNair Goal 11'
  • Ballard Goal 16'
 Stadium: Windsor Park
Attendance: 17,213
Referee: Marian Barbu (Romania)
8 September 2024 2024–25 Nations League Luxembourg  0–1  Belarus Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
15:00 UTC+2
  • Gromyko Goal 76'
 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 6,820
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium)
12 October 2024 2024–25 Nations League Bulgaria  0–0  Luxembourg Plovdiv, Bulgaria
19:00 UTC+3 Stadium: Stadion Hristo Botev
Attendance: 15,800
Referee: David Šmajc (Slovenia)
15 October 2024 2024–25 Nations League Belarus  1–1  Luxembourg Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
20:45 UTC+2
  • Politevich Goal 54'
  • Rodrigues Goal 78' (pen.)
 Stadium: ZTE Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Atilla Karaoglan (Turkey)
15 November 2024 2024–25 Nations League Luxembourg  0–1  Bulgaria Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 UTC+1
  • Kraev Goal 23'
 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 8,307
Referee: Juri Frischer (Estonia)
18 November 2024 2024–25 Nations League Luxembourg  2–2  Northern Ireland Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 UTC+1
  • Korać Goal 72'
  • Rodrigues Goal 75'
  • Price Goal 19'
  • Bradley Goal 50'
 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 6,870
Referee: Elchin Masiyev (Azerbaijan)

2025 Matches

22 March 2025 Friendly Luxembourg  1–0  Sweden Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
18:00 UTC+1
  • Korać Goal 23'
 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 9,214
Referee: Luca Cibelli (Switzerland)
25 March 2025 Friendly Switzerland  3–1  Luxembourg St. Gallen, Switzerland
20:45 UTC+1
  • Sinani Goal 89' (pen.)
 Stadium: Kybunpark
Attendance: 8,363
Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania)
6 June 2025 Friendly Luxembourg  0–1  Slovenia Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:15 UTC+2
  • Svetlin Goal 44'
 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 7,508
Referee: Matthew De Gabriele (Malta)
10 June 2025 Friendly Luxembourg  0–0  Republic of Ireland Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 UTC+1 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
Attendance: 6,312
Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria)
4 September 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Luxembourg  v  Northern Ireland Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 UTC+2 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
7 September 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Luxembourg  v  Slovakia Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 UTC+2 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
10 October 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Germany  v  Luxembourg Sinsheim, Germany
20:45 UTC+2 Stadium: PreZero Arena
13 October 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Slovakia  v  Luxembourg Trnava, Slovakia
20:45 UTC+2 Stadium: Anton Malatinský Stadium
14 November 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Luxembourg  v  Germany Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
20:45 UTC+1 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg
17 November 2025 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Northern Ireland  v  Luxembourg Belfast, Northern Ireland
19:45 UTC±0 Stadium: Windsor Park

2026 Matches

26 March 2026 2024-25 Nations League Playoff C/D Malta  v  Luxembourg Ta' Qali, Malta
18:00 UTC+1 Stadium: National Stadium
31 March 2026 2024-25 Nations League Playoff C/D Luxembourg  v  Malta Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
18:00 UTC+1 Stadium: Stade de Luxembourg

Team Staff

Luc Holtz
Luc Holtz, the current Luxembourg manager

Here are the main staff members for the Luxembourg national team:

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 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)

Players

Main article: List of Luxembourg international footballers

Current Squad

These players were chosen for the friendly matches against Slovenia on June 6 and Republic of Ireland on June 10, 2025.

Caps (games played) and goals are as of June 10, 2025, after the match against Republic of Ireland.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK André Barrela (2001-01-22) 22 January 2001 (age 24) 0 0 Luxembourg Union Titus Pétange
12 1GK Tiago Pereira Cardoso (2006-04-07) 7 April 2006 (age 19) 6 0 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
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) 14 2 Serbia Vojvodina
3 2DF Enes Mahmutović (1997-05-22) 22 May 1997 (age 28) 37 0 Netherlands NAC Breda
13 2DF Dirk Carlson (1998-04-01) 1 April 1998 (age 27) 64 0 Austria St. Pölten
14 2DF Eric Veiga (1997-02-18) 18 February 1997 (age 28) 9 0 Portugal AVS
15 2DF Vahid Selimović (1997-04-03) 3 April 1997 (age 28) 12 1 Romania Hermannstadt
17 2DF Mica Pinto (1993-06-04) 4 June 1993 (age 32) 40 1 Bulgaria CSKA Sofia
18 2DF Laurent Jans (Captain) (1992-08-05) 5 August 1992 (age 32) 114 1 Belgium Beveren
20 2DF Eldin Džogović (2003-06-08) 8 June 2003 (age 22) 11 0 Germany 1. FC Magdeburg
4 3MF Florian Bohnert (1997-11-09) 9 November 1997 (age 27) 54 1 France Bastia
6 3MF Tomás Moreira (2005-06-26) 26 June 2005 (age 20) 7 0 Portugal Benfica
7 3MF Lars Gerson (1990-02-05) 5 February 1990 (age 35) 100 4 Luxembourg Progrès Niederkorn
8 3MF Enzo Duarte (2009-06-28) 28 June 2009 (age 16) 1 0 Germany Borussia Dortmund
11 3MF Vincent Thill (2000-02-04) 4 February 2000 (age 25) 57 3 Azerbaijan Sabah
16 3MF Leandro Barreiro (2000-01-03) 3 January 2000 (age 25) 65 2 Portugal Benfica
21 3MF Sébastien Thill (1993-12-29) 29 December 1993 (age 31) 40 2 Poland Stal Rzeszów
5 4FW Alessio Curci (2002-02-16) 16 February 2002 (age 23) 17 1 Belgium Francs Borains
9 4FW Danel Sinani (1997-04-05) 5 April 1997 (age 28) 73 14 Germany FC St. Pauli
10 4FW Gerson Rodrigues (1995-06-20) 20 June 1995 (age 30) 72 23 Portugal AVS
19 4FW Jayson Videira (2005-02-17) 17 February 2005 (age 20) 1 0 Germany Hannover 96
22 4FW Aiman Dardari (2005-03-21) 21 March 2005 (age 20) 4 0 Germany Augsburg II
4FW Brian Madjo (2009-01-12) 12 January 2009 (age 16) 3 0 France FC Metz

Recent Call-ups

These players were also called up 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 Ralph Schon (1990-01-20) 20 January 1990 (age 35) 19 0 Luxembourg Wiltz 71 v.  Northern Ireland, 18 November 2024RET
GK Anthony Moris (1990-04-29) 29 April 1990 (age 35) 73 0 Belgium Union Saint-Gilloise v.  Slovenia, 10 June 2025Withdrew
DF Marvin Martins (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 (age 30) 39 3 Austria Austria Wien v.  Switzerland, 25 March 2025
DF Kevin D'Anzico (2000-08-14) 14 August 2000 (age 24) 2 0 Luxembourg FC Differdange 03 v.  Northern Ireland, 18 November 2024
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
MF Christopher Martins (1997-02-19) 19 February 1997 (age 28) 75 1 Russia Spartak Moscow v.  Slovenia, 6 June 2025PRE
MF Mathias Olesen (2001-03-21) 21 March 2001 (age 24) 30 1 Germany 1. FC Köln v.  Slovenia, 6 June 2025PRE
MF Diego Duarte (2006-05-03) 3 May 2006 (age 19) 0 0 France Metz II v.  Slovenia, 6 June 2025PRE
MF Yvandro Borges Sanches (2004-05-24) 24 May 2004 (age 21) 26 3 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach v.  Switzerland, 25 March 2025
MF Timothé Rupil (2003-06-12) 12 June 2003 (age 22) 12 0 Germany Schalke 04 II v.  Northern Ireland, 18 November 2024
MF Chris Philipps (1994-03-08) 8 March 1994 (age 31) 57 0 Luxembourg Wiltz 71 v.  Belarus, 12 October 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 Michael Omosanya (1999-12-25) 25 December 1999 (age 25) 4 0 France Thionville v.  Slovenia, 6 June 2025PRE
FW Edvin Muratović (1997-02-15) 15 February 1997 (age 28) 17 1 Poland Odra Opole v.  Belarus, 12 October 2024

RET Player retired from the national team. INJ Player is injured. PRE Preliminary squad.

Player Records

These are the players who have played the most games and scored the most goals for Luxembourg.

Players in bold are still active with Luxembourg.

Most Games Played

RC Lens - FC Metz (09-02-2019) 57
Laurent Jans is Luxembourg's most capped player with 114 appearances.
Rank Player Caps Goals Years
1 Laurent Jans 114 1 2012–present
2 Mario Mutsch 102 4 2005–2019
3 Daniel da Mota 100 7 2007–2021
Lars Krogh Gerson 100 4 2008–present
5 Jeff Strasser 98 7 1993–2010
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 72 0.32 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
Danel Sinani 14 73 0.19 2017–present
7 Nicolas Kettel 13 56 0.23 1946–1959
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 Records

FIFA World Cup

Luxembourg has tried to qualify for the FIFA World Cup many times.

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 Declined invitation
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
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total — 0/22 — — — — — — 142 8 10 124 77 451

UEFA European Championship

Luxembourg has also tried to qualify for the 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 11 5 2 4 13 21
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland 2028 To be determined To be determined
Italy Turkey 2032
Total — 0/17 — — — — — — 128 13 13 102 64 340

UEFA Nations League

The UEFA Nations League is a newer competition.

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

Luxembourg has also competed in football at the Olympic Games.

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

See also

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

  • Luxembourg men's national under-21 football team
  • Luxembourg men's national under-19 football team
  • Luxembourg men's national under-17 football team
  • Luxembourg women's national football team
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