Back in 2006, the last time Germany hosted a major tournament, the chances of Luxembourg qualifying for it were nil.
Ranked 195th in the world by FIFA back then, they lost all 12 of their qualifiers to Portugal, Slovakia, Russia, Estonia, Latvia and even Liechtenstein, who defeated them 4-0 at home and 3-0 in Vaduz.
Now Luxembourg are up to 85th in the rankings, and are only two games from reaching Euro 2024 in Germany this summer, after finishing second only to Turkey in their Nations League group, having drawn 3-3 in Istanbul.
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They then took a very creditable third place in their six-team qualifying group for the Euros – above Iceland, who they took four points from, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, who they beat 4-1 at home and 2-0 away.
True, they also lost 6-0 at home to Portugal and 9-0 away, but you can’t win ’em all. Maybe they’re not so good when they’re chasing a game – just shut up shop and keep the score down, lads.
Victory in their play-off semi-final away to Georgia would give them a home play-off final against either Greece or Kazakhstan, although they’ll be underdogs in Tbilisi.
Georgia have a slightly higher FIFA ranking, sitting 77th currently, and also have Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, one of Europe’s brightest stars when the Partenopei won Serie A last season – although he misses the semi-final through suspension.
Managed by former France and Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol, the Caucasus side want to avenge missing out on Euro 2020, a tournament they came so close to reaching.
Then, they beat Belarus 1-0 in Tbilisi in the play-off semi-finals, but lost by the same scoreline in the final at home to North Macedonia, for whom Goran Pandev scored the winner.
On that occasion, COVID forced the matches to be played behind closed doors, preventing fans from attending to lend their support, and negating their home advantage. This time, 50,000 could be present. Whole different ball game.
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