Minnows no longer

Why Luxembourg are dreaming of a first major international tournament

- Lukas Vrablik

Luxembourg aren’t football minnows anymore. In the past, as they admit, they went into some games hoping not to lose too badly, or dreaming of scoring a goal. Now, however, things are changing. The team, which has participated in every single World Cup qualifying campaign since 1934 and taken part in the the European Championship qualifiers since 1964, is starting to think about reaching a major tournament.

“Maybe,” says Manuel Cardoni to World Soccer with a smile. “We can dream.”

Between 1993 and 2004, he won 69 caps for Luxembourg, and confirms that football in the country is on the rise. Now, as the country’s technical director and manager of the youth teams, he is overseeing an improvement in Luxembourg’s fortunes thanks to a combination of an increased number of skilful players and a long-term strategy.

For now, Cardoni is content with ensuring that progress continues, but a spot at Euro 2024 is not out of the question. The qualifying campaign began with a point in a 0-0 draw with Slovakia, supposedly one of the best teams in the group, although the next game was a setback: a 6-0 defeat against group favourites Portugal.

“We had a bad day,” says Dan Elvinger, a journalist at the daily newspaper Luxemburger Tageblatt. “They caught us with long balls and it was too easy for them to score. Even if nobody was expecting a point against Portugal, the fans wanted a closer game.”