GENEVA (AP) — For soccer fans of a certain age, the idea that Luxembourg is this close to qualifying for the European Championship after nearly losing for decades is incredible.
If Luxembourg can win two play-off games in five days (Thursday against Georgia and Tuesday against either Greece or Kazakhstan), it will be an unlikely Cinderella for Euro 2024 in June.
The reward for the winner of the single-leg knockout match will be a Euro 2024 group match against Germany's Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Turkey and the Czech Republic.
Even he, who has been president of the football federation for 20 years since 1968 and has dedicated himself to the Luxembourg cause, is surprised by the current state of the Grand Duchy's team.
“Sometimes it's unbelievable,” Paul Philip said. He spent 14 years playing for the Red Lions, then 16 years as a coach, often with the lowest-ranked national team in Europe.
“Having the possibility to discuss the possibility of Luxembourg qualifying for Euro 2024 is already a huge success for us,” Philippe told The Associated Press in a recent telephone interview.
The 1970s and 1980s were tough times for Luxembourg, whose national team was decreasing and the depth of the team was weakening in the European scene. That was before the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia disintegrated, and before current miners such as San Marino, Andorra and Gibraltar gained membership in FIFA or UEFA.
In 1982-1983, Luxembourg conceded 31 goals in five consecutive games, including a 9-0 thrashing of England at Wembley, and a 5-0 defeat in 1977 when Philippe played. It was worse than a crushing defeat.
Now 73 years old, Philip fondly remembers visiting and being in awe of the famous stadium, which he called “the cathedral.”
“Nobody told us how small we were, and we were really small,” he said, as France and their manager Didier Deschamps showed 40 years later after a 0-0 draw in Toulouse. In the same way, he recalled the same respect he showed to the vulnerable visitors of those days.
Luxembourg's development has been steady, with the five matches they won in last year's Euro 2024 qualifying group exceeding the total of six matches in their previous Euro qualifying program.
The reason is clear to Philip. A carefully planned youth development program created in 2000 and generations of immigrants, particularly from Portugal and the former Yugoslavia, have settled in this small country, which now has a population of about 660,000 people.
“They were all born here and came to play football,” he said, acknowledging that Luxembourgish football needed to “make the most of its opportunities”.
The current squad includes international record scorer Gelson Rodriguez, who has family ties to Portugal, and midfielder Christopher Martins, who could have represented Cape Verde. Defender Enes Mahmutovic was born in Kosovo, and forward Danel Sinani was born in Serbia.
One who went a different route is former Roma and Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic, who played for Luxembourg's youth teams before choosing his native Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Such risks exist, but they are really in the minority,” Philip said. He oversees a development program that encourages young players to develop and eventually find clubs overseas, as he did after completing his own schooling.
“Back then,” he told The Associated Press, recalling the late 1960s. And very few national team players played overseas. ”
There are no great concerns about the trip to Georgia, where a crowd of more than 50,000 will await the team in Tbilisi on Thursday.
This generation of Luxembourgers are used to winning games, thanks in part to UEFA's creation of the Nations League, which matches teams with opponents of the same level. Philippe believes “huge, huge pressure” is on the home team.
“All Georgians expect us to win against Luxembourg, and I understand that,” he said. “No matter who we play in the second game (next Tuesday), the first game will be the most difficult.”
“It’s going to be very, very special for all of us.”
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