No mistakes in the Europa Conference League

Even before the European Championship concludes in Berlin on Sunday, the best clubs from Luxembourg already stepped onto the pitch for some of the most important matches of their respective seasons. The Europa Conference League qualifiers have begun, and the teams must hit the ground running to sustain a chance of progressing.

This year, Luxembourg is represented in Europe by four teams: champions FC Differdange can play in the Champions League, while cup winners Progrès Niederkorn and runners-up F91 Dudelange are in the Europa Conference League, alongside sixth-placed UNA Strassen, who benefitted from administrative issues for Swift Hesper and Jeunesse Esch to snatch the final continental spot.

Thursday is the assigned day for all Conference League games, and both Dudelange and Strassen found themselves facing crucial tasks in the first qualifying round yesterday (Niederkorn automatically qualified for Round 2).

F91 made the exhausting bus trip to Andorra earlier this week to face Atlétic Escaldes in what was Marco Martino’s debut at the helm of the country’s heavyweights. His playing style is firmly at odds with Dudelange traditions and previous formations of Carlos Fangueiro or Jamath Shoffner, so the players certainly had a lot of new ideas and tactical patterns to get accustomed to.

Under unfavourable weather conditions, Dudelange got the job done despite the midsummer Andorran heat and the artificial turf at Estadí Nacional. The only goal of an otherwise drab game came from a moment of individual brilliance from Filip Bojić, when the Dudelange playmaker’s free kick flew across the box above all the towering heads, to confuse the Andorran goalkeeper and eventually bounce into the net off the post.

Apart from that beautiful (but nonetheless incredibly lucky) move, Dudelange mostly struggled to impose their style on their opponents. Their 6 shots paled in comparison to Atlétic’s 21 in the game, of which only three reached their target and required Didier Desprez to make a save.

F91 were outplayed by the Andorrans on a pitch that suited Atlétic's style and approach, but it is the Luxembourgers who carry a narrow lead heading towards next week’s tie at Stade Jos Nosbaum. Some of the individual performances were also encouraging: summer signing Guilain Zrankéon can become one of the country’s best defenders, while Bruno Freire was also indispensable in his deep-lying midfield role.

For UNA Strassen, the aims for their first-ever European tie were vastly different than those of F91 Dudelange. Their opponents, Kuopio PS are currently leading the Finnish National Division, after missing out on the title on goal difference in 2023. Comparing that to Strassen’s measly 6th position in the BGL Ligue and no competitive games played since May, we can see that the two teams were in an altogether different ballpark.

Taking the above into account, the primary target for this inexperienced Strassen team and manager Vítor Pereira was to make themselves proud. In order to retain their chance of a shock victory for the second leg, starting the first game in Oberkorn confidently was imperative. The starting formation reflected just that, as Pereira sent his team out in a three-defender formation, with attacking-minded wingers and numbers in attack, led by talisman Nicolas Perez.

The first half went exactly as expected (and hoped): plenty of Kuopio opportunities, dangerous situations and a Strassen side successfully parking the bus and protecting the draw for as long as possible. After the break, the teams seemed to have settled into the state of affairs and as soon as the Finnish press got more lenient and less organised, UNA made sure to exploit all of their opportunities to attack on the counter. The last 15 minutes brought the reverse of the opening stages, as Kuopio defender Ibrahim Cissé was sent off for a nasty headbutt on Brazilian attacker Matheus in a heated duel between the two players.

The late surge for an upset ultimately bore no fruit for Strassen, but the 0-0 draw represents their best chance to take advantage of these important foundations and look to proceed next week.

Both F91 Dudelange and UNA Strassen managed to keep a clean sheet in the first legs of their respective clashes, which fills Luxembourgish football fans with much-needed optimism after Differdange’s unlucky start in the Champions League on Wednesday.

For Strassen, going through would still represent a major surprise, but drawing against a much more experienced and higher-reputation opponent is a very creditable outcome. As for Dudelange, there is plenty of room for improvement judging by the first game, but they have shown great mental resilience to eke out a win even while playing well below their best. If they can keep the Andorrans away from their goal a bit more effectively next Thursday, the country might have all four of their representatives in the competition beyond the first obstacle!