Despite a good showing, Luxembourg suffered a defeat against Bulgaria on Friday evening, and are now locked in at the bottom of the group before the final set of games next week.
Two draws and three defeats in the first five rounds of fixtures confined the Luxembourgish selection to the last position in their Division C group in the Nations League, pushing Luc Holtz’s team to the brink of elimination.
The latest result, a 0-1 loss at the hands of Bulgaria at Stade Luxembourg, came despite heavy home dominance on the evening, with a spectacular long-range shot from Andrian Kraev eventually sealing the result.
After falling behind in the first half, Luxembourg managed to switch up a gear after the interval, registering 15 attempts on goal against Bulgaria’s 4, while also amassing a 76% possession metric that ultimately yielded no result.
The strong performance came as somewhat surprising in light of numerous high-profile absentees from the national setup, including goalkeeper Anthony Moris, star midfielder Leandro Barreiro or long-term defensive anchor Maxime Chanot. Moris’ deputy, Tiago Pereira Cardoso, made his competitive international debut and exuded confidence that belied his age in goal, making three saves and only conceding to a well-struck hit by Kraev.
Fellow 19-year-old talent Tomás Moreira also made his first full start for his nation, after successfully gaining citizenship during the previous international break, in October. While the new additions provided some spark and present an encouraging prospect for the future, but the lack of decisive quality in the opponents’ half cost the team dearly.
Barreiro now has a chance to participate in the closing round of the Nations League campaign, when the Lions host Northern Ireland on Monday, 18 November. While Luxembourg’s final position has already been decided, there are widespread potential implications of a defeat: the two worst teams across the division get directly relegated to the bottom division, while the top two bottom-placed teams are afforded a chance to compete in a play-off round to preserve their status.
As things stand, Luxembourg are still located just outside of the relegation zone, and are set to play either San Marino or Malta as things stand, two ties that look highly winnable on paper. In order to stay in the playoff area, though, Luxembourg must record at least a draw against Northern Ireland or hope for favourable outcomes in the games of direct rivals Lithuania and Azerbaijan.
