Luxembourg football clubs made a promising start to the Europa Conference League qualifiers, with F91 Dudelange securing a narrow victory and UNA Strassen recording a creditable draw, both teams setting the stage for possible advancement in the competition.
Before the European Championship concludes on Sunday in Berlin, Luxembourg’s top clubs have already taken to the pitch for some of the most important matches of their respective seasons. Qualifying for the Europa Conference League has already begun and teams must hit the ground running to maintain their chances of progressing.
This year, Luxembourg is represented in Europe by four teams: champions FC Differdange are eligible to play in the Champions League, while cup winners Progrès Niederkorn and runners-up F91 Dudelange are in the Europa Conference League, along with sixth-placed UNA Strassen, who benefited from administrative problems for Swift Hesper and Jeunesse Esch to snatch the final continental spot.
Thursday is the day allotted for all Conference League matches, and both Dudelange and Strassen found themselves facing crucial tasks in the first qualifying round yesterday (Niederkorn automatically qualified for round 2).
F91 made the gruelling bus journey to Andorra earlier this week to take on Atletico Escaldes in what was Marco Martino’s debut in charge of the country’s heavyweights. Their style of play is completely at odds with the traditions of Dudelange and the previous formations of Carlos Fangueiro or Jamath Shoffner, so the players certainly had plenty of new ideas and tactical patterns to get used to.
In unfavourable weather, Dudelange did their job despite the Andorran heat and the artificial turf at the National Stadium. The only goal of an otherwise dull match came thanks to a brilliant individual move by Filip Bojić, when the Dudelange midfielder’s free-kick flew over the box over all the high heads, confused the Andorran goalkeeper and eventually bounced off the post.
Apart from this nice (but lucky) move, Dudelange had a hard time imposing their style on their opponents. Their 6 shots were insignificant compared to Atlético’s 21 in the match, of which only three found the target and forced Didier Desprez to intervene.
F91 were outclassed by the Andorrans on a pitch that suited Atlético’s style and approach, but it is the Luxembourgers who hold the slight advantage going into next week’s game at the Stade Jos Nosbaum. Some of the individual performances were also encouraging: summer signing Guilain Zrankéon can become one of the country’s best defenders, while Bruno Freire was also indispensable in his role as a deep midfielder.
For UNA Strassen, the goals of their first European tie were very different to those of F91 Dudelange. Their rivals, Kuopio PS, currently lead the Finnish National Division, having missed out on the title on goal difference in 2023. Compare that to Strassen’s meager sixth place in the BGL Ligue and no competitive games played since May, and we can see that the two teams were on completely different ground.
Given the above, the main objective for this inexperienced Strassen side and their coach Vítor Pereira was to do themselves proud. To maintain their chances of a surprise victory in the return leg, it was imperative to start the first match in Oberkorn with confidence. The starting line-up reflected precisely that, as Pereira sent his team out to play with a three-defender formation, with attack-minded wingers and plenty of attackers, led by talisman Nicolás Pérez.
The first half went as expected (and hoped for): plenty of chances for Kuopio, dangerous situations and a Strassen team that knew how to park the bus and protect the equaliser for as long as possible. After the break, the teams seemed to have adapted to the situation and, as soon as the Finnish press became more lenient and disorganised, UNA made sure to take advantage of all their opportunities to attack on the counterattack. The last 15 minutes brought the setback of the first half, as Kuopio defender Ibrahim Cissé was sent off for a nasty headbutt on Brazilian striker Matheus in a heated duel between the two players.
A late attempt at a surprise failed to bear fruit for Strassen, but the 0-0 draw represents their best chance to build on these important foundations and look to advance next week.
Both F91 Dudelange and UNA Strassen managed to keep clean sheets in the first legs of their respective clashes, giving Luxembourg football fans some hope following Differdange’s unfortunate start to the Champions League on Wednesday.
For Strassen, progress would be a surprise, but a draw against a much more experienced and reputable opponent is a very creditable result. As for Dudelange, there is plenty of room for improvement judging by the first game, but they have shown great mental resilience to eke out a victory despite playing well below their best. If they can keep the Andorrans a little further from their goal next Thursday, the country could have all four of its representatives in the competition over the first hurdle.
