Luxembourg Women’s Football Team Enters ‘Small Transition’ with Feil Call-Up

On Friday 2 October 2026, during a press conference at the Luxembourg Football Federation (FLF) headquarters in Mondercange, Luxembourg women’s national football team head coaches Cristina Correia and Daniel Zirbes announced the squad selection for the upcoming international friendly matches against Malta and Montenegro.

The Red Lionesses (Rout Léiwinnen) will first travel to Malta to face the hosts at the Centenary Stadium in Ta’ Qali on Friday 9 October 2026 at 19:00. Four days later, on Tuesday 13 October 2026 at 19:00, Luxembourg will host Montenegro at the Stade Municipal de Rumelange, with free admission to the match.

Speaking about the upcoming international window,  Daniel Zirbes noted that both Malta and Montenegro could potentially become Luxembourg’s opponents in League C of a future UEFA Nations League campaign. He said the coaching staff expected the Red Lionesses to have more phases of possession than in their recent matches against League B opposition, while stressing that both upcoming opponents are strong and physical teams that were relegated from League B.

 Daniel Zirbes also described the current period as a “small transition” for the national team following the departure of experienced players Amy Thompson and Andreia Machado during the summer. He said the coaching staff were looking towards the future with a younger squad and wanted to continue the team’s development following the recent international windows against Israel and Belgium.

The squad selected by Cristina Correia and Daniel Zirbes includes goalkeepers Emma Goetz (FK Austria Wien, Austria), Lisi Oberweis (FC Mamer 32) and Lucie Schlimé (SC Sand, Germany).

In defence, the selected players are Ana Barbosa (Racing FC Union Luxembourg), Marta Estevez (Racing FC Union Luxembourg), Andreia Faria (Swift Hesperange), Liane Freymann (Sportvereinigung Deutz 05, Germany), Emma Kremer (Vorwärts Spoho 98, Germany), Rita Leite (Leixões, Portugal), Leila Schmit (SGS Essen, Germany) and Vera Villegas (Racing FC Union Luxembourg).

Midfield options include Carolina Barbosa de Sousa (FC Kehlen), Amélie Feil (1. FC Saarbrücken, Germany), Gioia Fiorucci (Swift Hesperange), Catarina Lavinas (Atlético Ouriense, Portugal), Laura Miller (1. FC Nürnberg, Germany), Anna Miny (SV Elversberg, Germany) and Charlotte Schmit (Valadares Gaia, Portugal).

In attack, Cristina Correia and Daniel Zirbes have selected Hannah Dietrich (1. FC Saarbrücken, Germany), Kimberley Dos Santos (Racing FC Union Luxembourg), Charlie Jorge (Racing FC Union Luxembourg), Rachel Kipps (1. FC Magdeburg, Germany), Joana Lourenço (SC Bettembourg) and Barbara Serra (SpVg Aurich, Germany).

Among the new additions is 2009-born Amélie Feil of 1. FC Saarbrücken.  Daniel Zirbes explained that the friendly matches provided an opportunity to bring younger players who have progressed through Luxembourg’s youth setup into the senior team environment. He added that the coaching staff wanted to give such players the opportunity to prove themselves, having followed the same approach with Luana in the previous international window.

Charlotte Schmit’s participation, meanwhile, remains uncertain. According to  Daniel Zirbes, the midfielder suffered a fractured rib around three and a half weeks ago and will undergo medical examinations in Luxembourg on Monday, after which the national team’s medical staff will decide whether she can join the squad for the matches. Laura Miller, who recently missed several matches due to muscular problems, is expected to be available.

Asked by Chronicle.lu who could emerge as a key player following Amy Thompson’s departure,  Daniel Zirbes pointed to Hannah Dietrich: “For sure, Hannah Dietrich. She's developing really well in Saarbrücken. She's with the first team in Regionalliga, but she's still  a nineteen-year-old player. So we need to pay attention that she's not so much under pressure, like now ‘next Amy’ or like that. She needs time to develop. She's doing a really good job in Saarbrücken and they are very happy.”

He added: “For sure, there's in the moment nobody behind Amy with this quality of scoring goals, but we try to combine the selection that we find solutions for other players to score goals.”

Addressing the balance between attack and defence, Zirbes acknowledged that the team needed to improve in both areas following its previous campaign: “If you get a lot of goals in the last campaign and score only one goal, I think there's nothing in balance. We need to work on both for sure. We need to work on defensive things. We need to work on defensive quality. We need to work on defensive principles, but for sure there will be more positioning games against Malta and against Montenegro.”

He added that it would be important for the Red Lionesses to be clear in their positional play, create good chances and convert those opportunities into goals.