With the chance to move into the top two of Euro 2024 qualifying Group J, Luxembourg do battle with Iceland at the Stade de Luxembourg on Friday evening.

The hosts occupy third place in the section with seven points to their name, while Our Boys are two spots and four points worse off following an underwhelming start.

Match preview

Seeking to keep the momentum going from another respectable campaign in the third tier of the Nations League, Luxembourg held out for a goalless draw against Slovakia in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier before being hit for six without reply against a merciless Portugal crop.

The Red Lions' summer schedule also got off to a miserable beginning with a 1-0 friendly loss to Malta, but Luc Holtz's men dusted themselves down for their third and fourth European qualifiers versus Liechtenstein and Bosnia-Herzegovina, claiming a pair of 2-0 wins to belatedly kickstart their top-two quest.

Yvandro Borges Sanches and Danel Sinani struck either side of the half-time whistle against Bosnia, seeing Luxembourg cement their third-placed ranking in the standings, and second place will be theirs at the close of play on Friday should a specific set of circumstances come about.

With three points separating them from Slovakia, Luxembourg must pray for Portugal - their upcoming opponents on September 11 - to beat the Falcons while they get the job done against Iceland, and there also needs to be a seven-goal swing in their favour.

Such a scenario may be quite far-fetched, but Luxembourg are certainly making a case to qualify for the finals of the European Championships for the very first time - a feat which their Friday foes managed only seven years ago.

Still reliving their magical run to the quarter-finals in 2016, Iceland laid down an early marker with a 7-0 mauling of 200th-ranked Liechtenstein six months ago, although they had already succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Bosnia on the opening matchday.

Our Boys' fortunes took a turn for the worse when international football resumed in June too, as they were bested 2-1 at home to Slovakia before 89 minutes of hard work against Portugal was undone by Cristiano Ronaldo, whose 123rd Selecao goal sunk Age Hareide's troops.

While unsurprisingly seeing little of the ball, Iceland's rearguard resilience seemed set to win out against Portugal before Willum Thor Willumsson's 80th-minute dismissal made their task considerably harder, and they enter September only sat above a pointless and goalless Liechtenstein in Group J.

Preparing for a potentially daunting trip to Luxembourg, one small slice of solace for Iceland is the fact that each of their last five victories have come away from home, although that does not bode particularly well for Hareide's side ahead of Bosnia's Nordic stopover next week.

On a brighter note, Iceland have gone seven games unbeaten against Luxembourg since the sides first locked horns in 1976 - winning four and drawing three such affairs - although the Red Dragons came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw in their most recent friendly 14 years ago.

Team News

Luxembourg have already been hit with an attacking setback heading into September's fixtures, as 18-year-old Hannover striker Jayson Videira has been forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury, while 16-goal Dynamo Kyiv man Gerson Rodrigues is absent too.

Rodrigues only needs to make the net ripple once more to become Luxembourg's all-time leading goalscorer - leaving wartime hero Leon Mart in his wake - but for the time being, Sinani and Sanches will shoulder the offensive burden.

Captain Laurent Jans will expect to make his 96th appearance for Luxembourg on the right-hand side of the backline, while Sebastien Thill - who made history by scoring against Real Madrid and Inter Milan in the 2021-22 Champions League - is back in the fold after missing June's round of fixtures.

Meanwhile, Iceland will be forced into an offensive rejig of their own due to Willumsson's suspension, although the Go Ahead Eagles winger has nevertheless been called up to the squad for next Monday's meeting with Bosnia.

In his place, 20-year-old Hakon Arnar Haraldsson - who earned a marquee move to Ligue 1 giants Lille this summer - could be brought in out wide, while captain Aron Gunnarsson and second-in-command Birkir Bjarnason are notable absentees alongside Blackburn Rovers midfielder Arnor Sigurdsson.

In addition, Midtjylland defender Sverrir Ingi Ingason has been forced to drop out owing to an injury, while Genoa striker Albert Gudmundsson will not take part this month either, but Alfred Finnbogason remains a recognisable presence up top.

Luxembourg possible starting lineup:
Moris; Jans, Mahmutovic, Chanot, Bohnert; Olesen, Martins Pereira, Barreiro; Sinani, Curci, Borges Sanches

Iceland possible starting lineup:
Runarsson; Sampsted, Palsson, Hermannsson, Magnusson; Haraldsson, Gudmundsson, Traustason, Thorsteinsson; Finnbogason, Oskarsson

We say: Luxembourg 1-0 Iceland

Barring their six-goal thumping at the hands of Portugal, Luxembourg have kept three clean sheets from their other three Euro 2024 qualifying matches so far and ought to feel optimistic about their chances of shutting out a depleted Iceland crop.

Despite their recent knack for getting results on the road, Hareide's side may fall just short on Friday, as Luxembourg move onto a double-figure points total at the halfway mark.


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