Luxembourg suffer unlucky but costly defeat against Northern Ireland

The squad named by Strasser for his first two games in charge contained few surprises, largely trusting the same players that have been involved in international action over the past few years. Brian Madjo’s exclusion was a hot topic in the country after the squad announcement, as the 16-year-old striker decided to accept England’s under-17 call-up, rather than tying himself down at Luxembourg for another three years with his next appearance.

On Thursday, the starting line-up was once again something fans have grown accustomed to in recent times, with small tweaks. Christopher Martins’ injury prevented him from featuring. His replacement was Tomás Moreira, who had become a key player under Luc Holtz. Up front, the banned Gerson Rodrigues’ place was taken by Aiman Dardari, who recently signed his first professional contract with FC Augsburg in Germany.

A rough start

The match couldn't have started much worse, as we were only three minutes in when a diving handball from Seid Korać inside the box warranted a VAR check for a possible penalty. The foul was given, and while Isaac Price’s spot kick was first saved by Anthony Moris, the guests took the lead from a rebound, as it was Jamie Reid who first got to the ball once it was back in play.

A frustrating start, especially as Luxembourg grew into the game quickly afterwards, and dominated their opponents over the remainder of the first half. The only thing Luxembourg lacked was penalty-box decision-making.

A few sloppy final passes, lost duels and missed chances plagued Luxembourgish attacks, until a breakthrough in the 30th minute: Danel Sinani’s backheel pass was received by Dardari on the left, who dribbled his way inside and launched a shot straight into the bottom far corner to level the score.

It marked Dardari’s first international goal at only his third appearance for the Red Lions (and the first as a starter). His first touch and guile with the ball was reminiscent of some of the best attackers to have represented the country in recent times. His composure was admirable, and the finish was perfectly accurate. Bailey Peacock-Farrell was helpless in goal.

The remainder of the first half was encouraging, but another breakthrough to turn the game around never materialised. As it later turned out, it was the last opportunity for Luxembourg to truly gain the upper hand and create an advantage.

A rough start... again

Less than 40 seconds after play resumed, Northern Ireland were once more in the lead. Shea Charles’ shot deflected into the net off a desperate Seid Korać, whose attempted block made it impossible for Anthony Moris to parry the ball away.

And if Korać wasn’t having a bad enough night after two unfortunate interventions leading to goals, he compounded matters by getting sent off with almost half an hour remaining. As he went up challenging for a header, he was deemed to have shoved his opponent a touch too aggressively in the air, leading to a very debatable second yellow card that required extensive VAR inspection from the refereeing crew.

A goal behind and a man down, Luxembourg never realistically had a chance to fight back and stay in the game, especially as the Greens doubled their lead right from the free kick after Korać’s dismissal. Another unlucky goal as Moris’ view was blocked by the defenders, giving him no real opportunity to use his reflexes and keep the ball out.

The final stages saw a demotivated and fatigued Red Lions side slowly accepting defeat, aside from a few fleeting moments in front of goal. Late substitutes Enzo Duarte and Edvin Muratović revitalised the team’s attacking play and created some chances in the end, but the latter arguably spurned the most enticing opportunity, when he missed the goal from close range after a delicate lob from Leandro Barreiro.

The statistics at full-time suggested a tight, close-fought affair, which could have ended very differently if not for that early misplay from Korać that put Northern Ireland in the driving seat very early on.

There were plenty of promising signs for Strasser to look back on from his debut. Dardari’s introduction up top worked wonders. Laurent Jans and Anthony Moris once again showed how committed they are to always playing their best football in the national jersey. Moreira, along with Mathias Olesen, attacked with conviction, and with a little more luck, could have got on the scoresheet.

On the other hand, the defensive liabilities can be fixed in time for the next match against Slovakia on Sunday. Christopher Martins is expected to be close to full fitness and can be included in the matchday squad, his anchoring presence and dynamics with Barreiro boosting the team immensely. Korać will inevitably be replaced following his suspension, with Marvin Martins and Vahid Selimović staking a claim for a starting role.

The bigger problem is the team’s chances in their World Cup qualifying group. Progressing to the play-offs (let alone the final tournament) was probably not a fair expectation, but picking up valuable points and exploiting any mistakes from the other three sides could have got the Grand Duchy very far in the next two months.

Instead, the team started the campaign by losing the theoretically most winnable tie of the entire group, a home game against the lowest-ranked opponent of the three. Slovakia, like Northern Ireland, also arrive at Stade de Luxembourg as favourites, especially after their 2-0 win against Germany on Thursday.

The safest bet to extract the best result from the upcoming five matches is a straightforward strategy. A pragmatic, energetic, counter-attacking football building on the strengths of Luxembourg’s dynamic midfielders and lightning-fast wingers, who can pounce on any mistakes from the opponents. The foundations are there, but adaptation will be necessary.