Luxembourg Wrap Up June Friendlies Without Scoring

On Tuesday 10 June 2025, Luxembourg’s national football team played their final friendly match ahead of the start of the European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Luc Holtz’s side faced Ireland (FIFA ranked #60), who had played to a 1-1 draw against Senegal just five days earlier. Compared to that match, the Irish head coach made five changes to his starting line-up.

The Red Lions (Luxembourg) were kitted out in navy shirts and shorts, with a splash of red and light blue, with the visitors (Ireland) in their away strip of white shirts and green shorts.

The official attendance was confirmed as 6,312 - the stadium capacity is circa 9,400.

Off the pitch, the issue of domestic abuse was still on the minds of many, following the March court ruling in which Luxembourg’s forward Gerson Rodrigues was handed a suspended jail sentence for assaulting his partner at the time, and the forceful removal of protesters’ banners at last Friday’s friendly hone defeat to Slovenia, for which the Luxembourg Football Federation has been unwittingly caught in the middle.

The same “Rout Kaart Fir Gewalt Geont Fraen” was on display again for this match, but was not taken down as it did not contravene FIFA regulations (political, etc.), with some demonstrations outside the stadium before kick-off too.

A number of fans showed their support (to victims of domestic abuse) by showing red cards and waving large ribbons. The activity was organised by a couple of individuals in Luxembourg who, talking with Chronicle.lu,  said they are "appalled" by the disregard shown to domestic abuse victims and free speech advocacy by including the player in question in the Luxembourg national team, also the exclusion of a journalist from a recent press event linked to the football federation, and the treatment of peaceful protesters by stadium officials. They revealed that they have vowed to set up Ask for Angela in Luxembourg, as a tool to help women feel safer.

In the first half, when Luxembourg were attacking the goal behind which the visiting supporters were seated, he was greeted with a chorus of boos each time he touched the ball in the attacking half. Such boos were almost non-existent in the second half.

The first real chance on the pitch came in the 29th minute, prompting home fans to hold their heads in frustration while the travelling supporters breathed a sigh of relief. Danel Sinani fired a shot from around 23 metres towards the bottom right corner, but Irish goalkeeper Max O’Leary made the save, deflecting the ball out for a corner.

Both goalkeepers were relatively untroubled in a first half that saw little goalmouth action, although Ireland’s Nathan Collins headed against Luxembourg’s upright just two minutes before halftime, just as the storm clouds started to circle above the stadium.

In added time at the end of the first half, Luc Holtz’s men launched a counter-attack, but Tomas Moreira was unable to get into a shooting position, losing control of the ball inside the penalty area. The first half thus ended goalless at 0-0.

The second half saw more urgency from both teams, who appeared evenly matched, with Luxembourg having the edge in shots on target.

One such opportunity came in the 61st minute, when Aiman Dardari cut in from the left wing and fired a shot on goal, but it went straight at Max O’Leary, who made a comfortable save.

Over the next ten minutes, both sides created promising chances. Ireland’s Jack Taylor missed the target with a shot, and Vincent Thill responded with a long-range effort of his own. The visitors briefly thought they had taken the lead when striker Troy Parrott found the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The clearest chance for the visitors in the second half came just two minutes before the end of regular time. Jack Taylor fired a shot from just outside the penalty area, which Tiago Pereira was unable to stop, but the ball struck the crossbar.

In the end, a 0-0 draw stood as the final result of the friendly match between Luxembourg and Ireland.

Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson did not hide his frustration with his team's performance, particularly in contrast to their display against Senegal just days earlier. “We were sloppy, especially [in the] first half… we made Luxembourg look like a really good team. They are a good team, but we made them look even better,” he told reporters post-match. Hallgrímsson criticised the lack of focus and cohesion in his squad, noting that pressing was more individual than collective and that key elements from their previous match were missing.

Reflecting on his tactical choices, Luxembourg head coach Luc Holtz expressed satisfaction with his team’s overall performance, particularly in the second half. He noted that Luxembourg had managed to cause Ireland significant problems despite the visitors’ high-paced, intense playing style. “Ireland has a fantastic football team which plays with high speed and intensity, and we managed to find solutions,” he said. Holtz added that the match served as “a really good test” ahead of Luxembourg’s upcoming fixture against Northern Ireland in September 2025 in European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Starting lineups:

Luxembourg: Tiago Pereira (GK); Seid Korac; Florian Bohnert; Tomas Moreira; Danel Sinani; Gerson Rodriques; Dirk Carlson; Leandro Barreiro; Laurent Jans (c); Eldon Dzogovic; Aiman Dardari.

Ireland: Max O’leary (GK); Dara O’Shea; Jake O’Brien; William Smallbone; Troy Parrott; Jason Knight; Evan Ferguson; Robbie Brady; Kasey McAteer; Nathan Collins (c); Killian Phillips.