Luxembourg’s national men’s football team; Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu

On Friday 10 October 2025, Luxembourg’s national men’s football team fell to a third defeat in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying, away to Germany at the PreZero Arena in Sinsheim.

Head coach Jeff Strasser made two changes from the previous match against Slovakia. Centre-back Seid Korac returned after suspension (red card in the opener vs Northern Ireland) and first-choice central midfielder Christopher Martins came back into the starting eleven.

From the opening minutes, Germany under Julian Nagelsmann applied sustained pressure on Anthony Moris’s goal. The Luxembourg goalkeeper made his first save in the fourth minute.

Germany took the lead in the twelfth minute. After a foul by Christopher Martins near the penalty area, David Raum scored directly from the resulting free-kick to put the hosts ahead.

The situation worsened for Luxembourg in the eighteenth minute. Inside his own box, Dirk Carlson handled the ball. Following several minutes of VAR review, Serbian referee Nenad Minaković awarded a penalty and showed a red card to the Luxembourg defender, leaving Jeff Strasser’s side with ten men. Joshua Kimmich converted from the spot, placing the ball into the opposite corner to which Moris dived.

Guest’s goalkeeper produced further saves before half-time from Germany’s attacking players, and the teams went into the break with the score at 2-0.

Less than three minutes into the second half, Germany extended their advantage to 3-0. Serge Gnabry finished from a tight angle after the ball deflected off Eric Veiga, who had come on at half-time for Florian Bohnert.

Three minutes later, Kimmich scored his second of the evening to make it 4-0.

The hosts finished with 76% possession but did not add to the scoreline. After three matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Jeff Strasseer’s team remain on zero points and sit bottom of Group A.

In the group’s other fixture, Northern Ireland defeated Slovakia 2-0. As a result, Germany and both teams are level on six points.

Luxembourg’s next match is away to Slovakia on Monday 13 October 2025 at 20:45 at the Štadión Antona Malatinského in Trnava.

Starting lineups:

Germany: Oliver Baumann (GK); Joshua Kimmich (C); Jonathan Tah; Nico Schlotterbreck; Dvid Raum; Leon Goretzka; Aleksandar Pavlovic; Serge Gnabry; Florian Wirtz; Karim Adeyemi; Nick Woltemade.

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