The Luxembourg national football team lost a Test match against European champions Scotland on Sunday evening with a 0:1 (0:1) draw. After a red card for Vahid Selimovic, Luke Holtz’s team lost for more than 55 minutes.
Against Norway, Luxembourgers were missing regulars Leandro Barreiro, Lars Gerson, Maxim Chanot and Vincent Thiel on Sunday evening. Also out of the squad was Christopher Martins, who had to be substituted against Norway with a hamstring injury. Luke Holtz rotated three times more regularly than in Norway’s game: Vahid Selimovich, Aldin Skenderovich and Sebastian Thiel came in for Christopher Martins, Olivier Thiel and Marvin Martins.
Luke Holtz’s team acted as bravely as ever against a European Championship participant from Scotland. The first approach to the Scottish goal was made by Laurent Jans, whose shot was blocked (6th). The first big chance went to the FLF selection. Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall shone after a corner from Daniil Sinani, who passed a header from Vahid Selimovic.
Early on, Maurice Deville and Gerson Rodrigues interrupted the Scots in the build-up game. Saarbrücker ran to the goalkeeper, who was forced to get the ball out of the way. In the 15th minute the visitors looked dangerous for the first time in front of Anthony Morris. Lyndon Dykes hits the ball off the post after a cross from Andy Robertson. In the early stages, Luxembourg played with the Scots at eye level, in ball possession statistics, “Root Leven” was even better with 56 percent after 25 minutes.
But as in Norway, mistakes were punished. Luke Holtz’s team lost the ball in the 27th minute after a throw-in. The Scots moved quickly – Dykes played on Adams, who easily pushed the ball past Morris to make it 1-0 in the penalty area. The Scots’ individual class was presented in the 35th minute. After losing the ball in midfield, the visitors then switch quickly. Adams played a “no-look pass” entirely behind the defense. Although Dykes Selimovich fled, the Luxembourger held Scott by the shoulder, who then fell to the ground. Albanian referee Eldorjan Hamiti did not hesitate and showed the central defender a red card due to the emergency brake.
With one man short, Luxembourg was swiftly pushed into its own half. However, until the break, Scotland did not manage to develop lucrative scoring opportunities.
100. Commitment to Da Mota
Despite getting a first chance from substitute Billy Gilmour, Luxembourg did not allow themselves to be pushed too far into their own half at the start of the first half.
In the 57th minute, the ball hit Morris’ goal again, but Dykes caught it there with his hand. Worth noting was Gilmour, who gave the Scots a breath of fresh air following his replacement. In the 60th, Morris took a shot from the 19-year-old midfielder.
Luxembourg’s first change came in the 64th minute – Florian Boehnert came in for Maurice Deville. Just a minute later, Micah Pinto took the ball forward, where he found Gerson Rodrigues. His shot was no big deal for Marshall. Luxembourg looked bold. Rodrigues knocks out Nathan Patterson in a one-on-one duel, but his cross finds no takers.
In the 71st minute, Vincent Thiel got more minutes of play, with a rather inconspicuous Daniel Sinani making way. Dan Da Mota and Marvin Martins also found play time at the end. It was a special change for Da Mota as it was his 100th appearance in the national team.
While the Luxembourg national team will continue to qualify for the World Cup against Azerbaijan on 1 September, the Scots will face the European Championship. The team surrounding Liverpool star Andy Robertson meets in Group D against Croatia, England and the Czech Republic.
Pascal Gillan has been one of the all-rounders on the Tjeblatt Sports editorial team since his internship in 2017: football, cycling, short track or sports-related subjects. In 2018 he was the youngest journalist to report on the Tour de France, and soon thereafter he successfully completed his journalism studies. In addition to his activities for Tgeblatt, he wrote for the soccer magazines 11 Freunde, Trierischer Volksfreund, Mantel! and also served as a TV commentator for games in the Second National Basketball League. He has been an integral part of the sports editorial team since January 2020.