Despite a decent performance against Portugal last Friday night, the Luxembourg national men’s football team fell to a 3-0 defeat which ended their hopes of reaching the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship.
This was a dispiriting conclusion to a campaign that had started promisingly with victory at home to Lithuania back in March. A last-gasp own goal consigned the Red Lions to defeat against Ukraine that same month, and since they let their lead slip in a 1-1 draw away in Lithuania in June, three consecutive defeats have left Luxembourg on four points in Group B, seven points behind Portugal in second place with only two games left to play.
The team will still have something to play for in their final match of the campaign, which is sure to be a feisty affair. On November 17th, Luxembourg host Portugal in a sold-out clash at the Stade Josy Barthel, a game which the Portuguese will almost certainly need to win to ensure their own qualification.
For the meantime, however, Luxembourg remain the holders of a very unwelcome record. This is the 35th time the national team has failed to qualify for a major tournament, a record for UEFA-affiliated countries.
Even worse, their lead looks likely to be extended. Finland, in their 33rd attempt, need only one win from their last two games to reach their first major tournament. This will leave Cyprus and Malta, with 29 and 26 failed qualification campaigns respectively, as Luxembourg’s nearest challengers for the record.
