Fourth Straight Win Keeps Luxembourg Women Top of Nations League Group

On Friday 30 May 2025, Luxembourg's women's national football team secured their fourth consecutive group stage victory in the UEFA Nations League, in front of 1,156 spectators at Stade Henri Dunant in Beggen.

Daniel Santos' team, having collected ten points from four matches in Group C3 and sitting at the top of the table, hosted Armenia for their fifth UEFA Nations League encounter.

Armenia earned the first corner of the match in the 11th minute following a set piece near Luxembourg’s goal, but were unable to convert it into a shot on target. Just three minutes later, the hosts made better use of their opportunity as a corner delivered by Caroline Jorge to the far post was headed in by Amy Thompson to give Luxembourg the lead 1-0.

“We practised corners, both offensive and defensive, because we knew there was an opportunity there. I'm happy we succeeded. They would have preferred to score during regular play, but we’re still satisfied with the outcome,” said Luxembourg head coach Daniel Santos in comments to Chronicle.lu.

Immediately after the goal, the hosts created three chances within five minutes. Charlotte Schmitt's shot was saved by Armenia’s goalkeeper Sophine Kevorkian. In the following attack, Caroline Jorge was denied in a one-on-one opportunity. Shortly after, Jorge delivered a cross into the box which found the head of Joana Lourenco, but the Armenian goalkeeper again prevented the ball from crossing the line. 

In the 23rd minute, Armenia registered their first shot on target, but Luxembourg goalkeeper Lucie Schlime confidently collected the ball.

A few minutes later, a close-range effort from Armenia’s Ani Safaryan was blocked at the last moment by the home side’s defenders.

The Red Lionesses responded with a dangerous opportunity of their own, as Kimberley Dos Santos beat the visiting goalkeeper to the ball but sent her shot narrowly wide of the post.

The 2-0 came in the 37th minute from a nearly identical play to the first goal: another corner by Caroline Jorge found Joana Lourenço’s head, who confidently doubled the lead.

In the final minute of the first half, Jorge had a chance to score a third goal, but her one-on-one effort was saved by Armenia’s goalkeeper. The teams went into the break with Daniel Santos' team leading 2-0.

Early in the second half, in the 54th minute, home forward Amy Thompson came close to scoring her second goal, threatening from a tight angle but hitting the side netting.

In the 61st minute, Caroline Jorge’s powerful long-range strike was tipped over the bar by Armenia’s goalkeeper for a corner.

Liza Kazandjian of Armenia received the first yellow card of the match in the 78th minute. The resulting free-kick from around 20 metres was taken by Caroline Jorge, but her central shot went straight into the hands of visiting goalkeeper Sophine Kevorkian.

Both teams had a few more chances before the final whistle, but the score remained unchanged at 2-0 in favour of Luxembourg.

Reflecting on the result, Luxembourg head coach Daniel Santos said: “We are happy with the match we won today against Armenia, a team that plays very good football. It was important ahead of the match against Kazakhstan. I think we deserved the win because we dominated the game from start to finish.”

In the parallel Group C3 match, Kazakhstan defeated Liechtenstein 4-0, maintaining their three-point gap behind Luxembourg. The final group game for Daniel Santos' team will take place in Almaty on Tuesday 3 June 2025. The first encounter between Luxembourg and Kazakhstan ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning a win for Kazakhstan would see them take first place and promotion to Division B.

Looking ahead to the final group match, Daniel Santos emphasised the importance of the result against Kazakhstan: “We must not lose against Kazakhstan, because it's the head-to-head result that counts, not goal difference. So we need to get at least a point in Kazakhstan to finish first, but we are already certain to be the best second-placed team.”