Luxembourg Beat Malta Away in Nations League Play-Off First Leg

On Thursday 26 March 2026, Luxembourg’s national football team claimed an away win over Malta in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League play-off, with their place in League C at stake.

The match began with both sides showing intent, although clear chances were limited in the opening stages. The first shot on target came in the 28th minute, when Malta captain Matthew Guillaumier tested Anthony Moris, who made a comfortable save.

Luxembourg struggled to seriously trouble Malta goalkeeper Henry Bonello before the break. However, the hosts created another opportunity in added time, with the visitors’ goalkeeper again called into action to deny Ilyas Chouaref. The teams went into the break level at 0-0.

The Red Lions made a decisive start to the second half. Just two minutes after the restart, Florian Bohnert delivered a cross from the left towards the penalty area, where Vincent Thill met the ball first time to give the visitors the lead.

Malta pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but Luxembourg remained organised defensively. Anthony Moris recorded his third save of the match as the hosts attempted to respond.

Despite enjoying more possession and completing significantly more passes (438 to Luxembourg’s 295), Malta struggled to convert their build-up play into clear chances.

Jeff Strasser’s team sealed the result in added time. In the third minute of stoppage time, Mathias Olesen scored directly from a corner, with the ball evading both the defenders and goalkeeper Henry Bonello before finding the far corner of the net. The goal made it 2-0 to the visitors, which proved to be the final score.

Luxembourg finished with fewer attempts on goal (7 to Malta’s 10), but proved more clinical in front of goal. Luxembourg also held the advantage in passing accuracy (88% to 80%) and corners (3 to 1).

For Red Lions head coach Jeff Strasser, this victory marked his first win in charge of the national team.

The second leg will take place on Tuesday 31 March 2026 at the Stade de Luxembourg.

Starting lineups:

Malta: Henry Bonello (GK); Zach Muscat; Kurt Shaw; Enrico Pepe; Ryan Camenzuli; Matthew Guillaumier (C); Teddy Teuma; Alexander Satariano; Paul Mbong; Ilyas Chouaref; Irwin  Cardona.

Luxembourg: Anthony Moris (GK); Laurent Jans (C); Dirk Carlson; Seid Korac; Florian Bohnert; Vincent Thill; Mathias Olesen; Leandro Barreiro; Christopher Martins; Danel Sinani; Aiman Dardari.