Northern Ireland vs Luxembourg prediction: EUROPE: UEFA Nations League – League C betting tips on match 2024-09-04 18:45.
[p]The UEFA Nations League (UNL) comes round once again for its fourth edition, and Northern Ireland must be dreading the return of a competition where they have only ever won one game (D4, L11). To make matters worse for the Green and White Army, one of only four men’s players to receive over 100 caps for them, Jonny Evans, announced his retirement from international football ahead of this round of games. [/p]
[p]Three of his 107 international caps came against Luxembourg with mixed success (W1, D1, L1), but with Northern Ireland the highest ranked nation (FIFA #74) in UNL C3, you’d expect them to step up in his absence. Promotion to League B is the ultimate prize, and boss Michael O’Neill said he was “pleased” with the draw his side received, but having cited how their opponents have improved “year on year”, this game may not be as cut and dry as the odds suggest. [/p]
[p]Despite their improvement over the last few years, rising from 98th in the FIFA rankings in 2021 to their current 84th placing, Luxembourg come into this game having lost three of their four internationals in 2024 so far (W1). Defeat here would mean they’ve already lost as many games this year as they did in the entirety of 2023 with another five games to come after this in 2024, but the Red Lions will be quick to point out that two of those defeats came against top-ten ranked France and Belgium, losing both 3-0.[/p]
[p]They’ve got a far better pedigree in the UNL though against better-matched opponents, losing just one of their last seven games in UEFA’s newest international competition (W3, D3). They actually went through the entirety of the last UNL campaign without suffering an away defeat (W2, D1), yet their three away games so far in 2024 all followed a similar pattern – they trailed at half-time and lost without scoring. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Shayne Lavery’s impressive start to the season for Cambridge United (G2, A1) has earned him a recall to the Northern Ireland squad – he scored twice in the last UNL campaign, but both scoring appearances ended in defeat. Gerson Rodrigues was the last player to score an away goal for Luxembourg, and their record goalscorer opened the scoring with three of his four goals in the 2022/23 UNL. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Northern Ireland have never kept a home UNL clean sheet.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson[/i][/p]