Red Lions Beaten by Northern Ireland in FIFA 2026 Qualifying Debut

On Thursday 4 September 2025, Luxembourg’s national football team played their opening FIFA 2026 World Cup qualification match against Northern Ireland in front of 9,214 spectators at the Stade de Luxembourg.

Before kick-off, a ceremony was held to honour Luxembourg’s national women’s football team, the Red Lionesses, for their promotion to League B following Nations League campaign. The players were recognised on the pitch in front of the home crowd.

The men's teams then took to the field in rainy conditions, and within two minutes the visitors had their first attempt on goal. Northern Ireland midfielder Alistair McCann struck from around 25 metres out, but his effort went straight into the hands of Luxembourg goalkeeper Anthony Moris.

Just a minute later, Anthony Moris was called into action again after a defensive mistake by Seid Korac. The Luxembourg defender, attempting a headed back-pass while falling, was intercepted by Northern Ireland’s Jamie Reid, whose shot was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the same move, the ball struck Korac’s hand as he fell. Following a VAR review by referee Andris Treimanis (LVA), a penalty was awarded. Isaac Price’s spot-kick was saved by Moris, but Reid reacted quickest to convert the rebound and put the visitors 1-0 ahead.

In the tenth minute, Jeff Strasser’s men earned their first corner, but after Daniel Sinani’s delivery no shot on goal followed. A few moments later, Mathias Olesen tried his luck from around 20 metres, but his effort was weak and off target. In the eighteenth minute, Leandro Barreiro won a free-kick just outside the left corner of the box, with Alistair McCann booked for the foul; Olesen stepped up but fired over the bar. 

In the 27th minute, Luxembourg registered their first attempt on target: following a delivery from a set-piece by Danel Sinani, the ball fell again in the area, where Barreiro’s header was kept out by visiting goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell. 

Moments later, Aiman Dardari broke in from the left wing and, surrounded by several defenders, managed to send the ball into the bottom-right corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance and levelling the score at 1-1.

The following fifteen minutes saw both sides trying to create chances, but offside calls, misplaced passes in the final third and solid defending kept the scoreline unchanged. 

In the first minute of added time, Northern Ireland earned a free-kick near the right corner of the box. Justin Devenny’s shot towards the top corner struck the crossbar and went out of play.

Under heavy Luxembourg rain, the first half ended with the score tied at 1-1.

Barely 30 seconds after the restart, Northern Ireland regained the lead. A low cross from the right was cleared by Seid Korac, but Shea Charles was first to the rebound and his shot, deflected by Korac, ended up in the net past Anthony Moris.

Michael O’Neill’s men continued to press forward, creating dangerous situations without testing the goalkeeper directly. Luxembourg responded with a few counter-attacks: first, a cross from Florian Bohnert went straight into the hands of Bailey Peacock-Farrell, and later Tomas Moreira was inches away from connecting with a lofted ball behind the defence.

In the 63rd minute, Aiman Dardari came close to restoring parity. After a corner delivery and a partial clearance, the winger battled past a defender, skipped past another and cut inside from the left, before shooting from about ten metres out. His effort, however, was blocked by a defender.

 A few minutes later, Jeff Strasser made his first change, bringing on Yvandro Borges Sanches for Tomas Moreira. Moments afterwards, the Red Lions were reduced to ten men, as Seid Korac received a second yellow card for a foul in an aerial challenge. The resulting free-kick led to Northern Ireland’s third goal: although the initial delivery from near the halfway line was cleared, the ball fell to Justin Devenny, who drove it into the net from close range.

Luxembourg responded with a header from Borges Sanches after a Daniel Sinani cross, but his effort lacked power and was comfortably saved by Peacock-Farrell. The visitors continued to apply pressure, whilst Strasser introduced fresh legs in the 82nd minute, with Michael Pinto and Edvin Muratovic replacing Aiman Dardari and Florian Bohnert. Shortly before the final whistle, Enzo Da Pinto Duarte came on for Mathias Olesen, helping Luxembourg to avoid conceding further goals.

On the rain-soaked pitch of the Stade de Luxembourg, the guests continued to push with high balls into Anthony Moris’ area, but without success. In the second minute of added time, Edvin Muratovic had a chance to reduce the deficit, but his shot on the turn from around seven metres flew over the crossbar.

The match ended in a 3-1 defeat for Luxembourg - not the debut new head coach Jeff Strasser had hoped for. The Red Lions will look to bounce back on Sunday 7 September 2025, when they host Slovakia at the Stade de Luxembourg. In Group A’s other fixture, Francesco Calzona’s Slovakia defeated Germany 2-0 at home.

After the match, Strasser admitted: “It’s difficult at the moment to digest the game. We came back well after the early goal, but then the second half started badly and the red card made it very difficult for us. Playing with ten men, it was always going to be complicated.”

Northern Ireland head coach Michael O’Neill commented: “We didn’t expect an easy game and Luxembourg made it very difficult for us. They deserved their equaliser and caused us problems with their pace in attack. In the second half, I felt we handled things better and managed to see the game out.”

Starting lineups:

Luxembourg: Anthony Moris (GK); Dirk Carlson; Seid Korac; Enes Mahmutovic; Laurent Jans (C); Tomas Moreira; Mathias Olesen; Leandro Barreiro; Eldon Dzogovic; Florian Bohnert; Danel Sinani; Aiman Dardari.

Northern Ireland: Bailey Peacock-Farrell; Trai Hume (C); Paddy McNair; Eoin Toal; Justin Devenny; Alistar McCann; Shea Charles; Etan Galbraith; Conor Bradley; Isaac Price; Jamie Reid.