The Red Lions thus secured three points in the World Cup qualification on Wednesday.
After a strong first half performance, Luxembourg entered the break with a 2:0 lead, thanks to goals from Mica Pinto and Gerson Rodrigues from the penalty spot.
During the second half of the encounter, Azerbaijan increased its pressure on the Luxembourgish team and managing to pull one goal back, which was scored by Emin Makhmudov.
In the end, the Red Lions resisted the final attempts from the opposition and bagged both an opening victory in the new Stade de Luxembourg, as well as three points in the World Cup qualification.
Luxembourg – Azerbaijan 2:1
1:0 Pinto (9′), 2:0 Rodrigues (28′, p.), 2:1 Mahmudov (67′)
Luxembourg began the encounter playing like the favourites to win. They controlled the game and pushed Azerbaijan back into their own half. After nine minutes, Mica Pinto scored the opening goal after an assist from from the on form Danel Sinani.
After a short period of getting back into the rhythm, the Luxembourgish team advanced once more. In the 28th minute, Leandro Barreiro made it into the penalty box, only to be chopped down by Abbas Hüseynov. The referee pointed to the spot straight away, and Gerson Rodrigues took it upon himself to extend the lead to 2:0.
The Red Lions entered the half-time break with a comfortable lead.
Luxembourg remained dominant after the break, with Oliver Thill almost making it three after 58 minutes. However, only nine minutes later, the guests from Azerbaijan found the back of the net to get one goal back thanks to Emin Makhmudov, who sent a powerful free kick into the goal from 25 metres out.
From that point on, the Azerbaijan team increased pressure on the Red Lions, but were unable to get even.
And there was a sense of relief around the new national stadium with the game ending 2:1 in favour of Luxembourg.