The Red Lions played two friendly games last week, both of which resulting in losses. We will now try to take a look at what did and what did not work against Northern Ireland and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Luxembourg still need a striker, fairly urgently
Luc Holtz’s standard 3-4-1-2 approach usually involves quick attacks, fluid movements and it requires a decent technical skillset from their players. That being said, while Gerson Rodrigues, Danel Sinani and Yvandro Borges Sanches all tick those boxes, they cannot be compared to an out-and-out striker. In terms of classic strikers, we unfortunately have a relatively small pool to pick our options from. Edvin Muratovic, Michael Omosanya, Alessio Curci and veteran Daniel Da Mota have all been called up in the last two years but none of them cemented a place in the team since.
Don’t fix what isn’t broken
In terms of tactical approach and personnel selection, the game plan against Bosnia & Herzegovina was a little bit unusual. Luxembourg started with three midfielders (Leandro Barreiro, Christopher Martins, Mathias Olesen) and there was a four-strong backline again – and it was shaky. Maxime Chanot had to limp off with a potential injury after 16 minutes and although his experience would certainly have helped the team, his performances weren’t up to standards this time. Enes Mahmutovic and Vahid Selimovic both made some comical and unexpected errors over these two matches, issues they have to sort out quickly.
There is hope against Turkey
Our last two opponents, especially the Bosnians were roughly on the same level as our group’s standout favourites Turkey have been performing, and based on that, there’s no reason why we couldn’t avoid a defeat against them! Bosnia & Herzegovina dominated against the Red Lions but they had some tough periods and they weren’t allowed big chances throughout the match. The goal was really lucky towards the end – but then again: Edin Dzeko is probably better than any Turkish striker…