(L-R) Amal Cherkane, Luxembourg; Ana Barbosa, Luxembourg; Credit: FLF

On Tuesday 14 April 2026, Luxembourg’s women’s national football team suffered their third defeat in the UEFA Women’s European Qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, losing to Israel on neutral ground at the BSC Stadium in Budaörs, Hungary.

Both teams came into the match having suffered two defeats in their opening two fixtures, with Luxembourg (No. 108 in the FIFA World ranking) also missing nearly half of their regular squad due to injuries, including captain Laura Miller. These absences complicated the task for head coaches Cristina Correia and Daniel Zirbes, who were making their debut in charge of the Red Lionesses.

Israel (No. 69 in the FIFA World Ranking), playing as the nominal home side, applied early pressure on Luxembourg’s goal. In the eighth minute, goalkeeper Lucie Schlime was called into action twice, making a series of saves to deny efforts from Talia Sommer. However, Luxembourg were unable to maintain their defensive line for long and conceded three goals between the tenth and eighteenth minutes. Vital Kats opened the scoring, before Noa Selimhodzic and Maayan Ben Israel extended the lead to 3-0.

The Red Lionesses attempted to respond in the 21st minute, when Kimberley Dos Santos broke into the box, but her centrally placed effort was comfortably saved by the Israeli goalkeeper.

Luxembourg managed to contain further pressure until the closing stages of the first half. However, Vital Kats added her second goal in the 40th minute, followed by Maayan Ben Israel, who also completed her brace four minutes later, giving Israel a 5-0 lead at the break.

At half-time, Cristina Correia and Daniel Zirbes made two changes, with Anna Miny and Liane Freymann replacing Emma Kremer and Leticia Mateus. Luxembourg showed improved defensive organisation in the second half, limiting clear chances for the opposition. The first notable opportunity after the restart came midway through the half, when Lucie Schlime denied an effort from Noa Selimhodzic.

In the 65th minute, Aina Fernandez Berenguer, who plays for TuS Issel in Germany, came on to earn her first senior international cap at the age of fifteen.

Luxembourg managed to contain Israel’s attacks for much of the second half, but conceded a sixth goal in the 83rd minute, when Vital Kats completed her hat-trick. The result marked a third consecutive defeat for Luxembourg in the campaign, following losses to Scotland (0-5 and 0-7).

In the other Group B4 match, Scotland and Belgium played out a 1-1 draw.

Luxembourg will face Israel again on Saturday 18 April 2026, in a nominal home fixture, with kick-off scheduled for 18:00. According to the Luxembourg Football Federation (FLF), captain Laura Miller could return to the squad for the second match as she continues her recovery.

Starting lineups:

Luxembourg: Lucie Schlime (GK); Leticia Mateus; Amal Cherkane; Emma Kremer; Ana Barbosa;  Marta Estevez (C); Charlotte Schmit; Kimberley Dos Santos; Leila Schmit; Catarina Lavinas; Hannah Dietrich.

Israel: Fortuna Rubin (GK); Talia Sommer; Itaf Alkisi; Shani David (C); Maayan Ben Israel; Maia Cabrera; Rahel Steinschneider; Hili Shalom; Noa Selimhodzic; Smadar Cohen; Vital Kats.