Luxembourg drawn against winner of Germany vs Italy, Slovakia and Northern Ireland

At an official UEFA event in Zurich, Switzerland, Luc Holtz' men have been drawn in a promising group, where they will fancy their chances of finishing in second place in Group A.

Luxembourg have recently played against both Northern Ireland and Slovakia. They lost 2-0 away from home to Northern Ireland but drew 2-2 at home in the Nations League. While, they drew 0-0 away to Slovakia but narrowly lost 0-1 at home in the last Euro qualifiers.

Italy would be new opponents for most of the current national team squad, the last head-to-head between the sides coming at an international friendly in 2014, when the Grand Duchy surprisingly achieved a 1-1 draw. Previously, Italy have beaten Luxembourg eight times in history.
 
Germany are one of the most feared opponents of the Red Lions, due to a shocking 0-18 goal difference in the last three matches between the neighbouring countries. Luxembourg’s only win against the Nationalelf came back in 1939.
 
Group A will kick off with a double-header in September 2025, followed by international breaks in October and November respectively. More details about the schedule are yet to be released.
 
In order to qualify directly, Luxembourg have to finish as group leaders. The runners-up will then contest the remaining four places allocated to Europe for the showpiece event to be held in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The draw

As FIFA and UEFA are constantly bringing change to the way the game is played, this means the qualifying campaign has also undergone a new revamp. This year, there will be 12 World Cup qualifying groups in Europe – six with four teams and six with five teams.

How is it decided who plays in a five-team group and who plays in a four-team group? This is where the Nations League comes into play: the four teams that win their Nations League quarter-finals in June will be placed in a four-team group, as the semi-final will take up space in the calendar.

So, for now, the quarter-finalists were drawn as placeholders with the winner of the France v Croatia game going into Group D (four-team group) and the loser going into Group L (five-team group).

The top team of each group will automatically qualify and the runners-up will play in play-offs with four Nations League teams, where four of the 16 teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

A total of 16 teams will progress to the World Cup. Luxembourg have never made it past the qualifying rounds of a major tournament, but following a successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign the spirit around the national team has grown and left many dreaming of one day making it onto the big stage.

The games will take place across 10 matchdays during five international breaks: 21 - 25 March, 6 - 10 June, 4 - 9 September, 9 - 14 October, and 13 - 18 November, while the play-offs will be played 26 - 31 March 2026.

The World Cup is scheduled to begin on 11 June in Mexico City, and this will be the largest ever format of the tournament, with 48 participating teams. It will go on for 39 days, and will feature a last-32 round for the first time following the group stages.

The final groups

Group A: Winner QF4 – Slovakia – Northern Ireland – Luxembourg
Group B: Switzerland – Sweden – Slovenia – Kosovo
Group C: Winner QF3 – Greece – Scotland – Belarus
Group D: Winner QF2 – Ukraine – Iceland – Azerbaijan 
Group E: Winner QF1 – Turkey – Georgia – Bulgaria
Group F: Winner QF3 – Hungary – Ireland – Armenia
Group G: Loser QF1 – Poland – Finland – Lithuania – Malta
Group H: Austria – Romania – Bosnia & Herzegovina – Cyprus – San Marino
Group I: Loser QF4 – Norway – Israel – Estonia – Moldova 
Group J: Belgium – Wales – Macedonia – Kazakhstan – Liechtenstein
Group K: England – Serbia – Albania – Latvia – Andorra
Group L: Loser QF2 – Czech Republic – Montenegro – Andorra

Nations League quarter-finals:

• QF1: Spain vs Netherlands
• QF2: France vs Croatia 
• QF3: Portugal vs Denmark 
• QF4: Germany vs Italy