Latest news with #MissLuxembourg
RTÉ News
09-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland: All you need to know
International Friendly Luxembourg v Republic of Ireland, Stade de Luxembourg When Tuesday 9 June, kick-off 7.45pm TV/Player Watch live build-up and coverage of the match on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7.30pm Radio There is no live coverage of the game Online There will be a live blog on the RTÉ News app, as well as updates and goals on RTÉ Sport on X, Instagram and Facebook. Weather A warm day in the Luxembourg capital, with temperatures reaching a high of 21 degrees. A little cooler in the evening with some cloud cover expected. Ending a long season on a high? Ireland's final run out before the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign will take place well off Broadway – Stade de Luxembourg has a capacity on par with Tallaght Stadium – but offers manager Heimir Hallgrimsson further opportunities to both build squad depth and momentum. Ninety days out from welcoming Hungary to Dublin – followed by an away trip to Armenia three days later – in a condensed qualifying schedule, the mood music within the Irish camp has changed considerably over the last 12 months. With the obvious exception of the England defeats, progress has been incremental under the Icelander. Finland was the venue for a rare away win, home and away success against Bulgaria in March preserved our Nations League B status while the performance last week against Senegal was encouraging given the calibre of opposition. Unbeaten in four of their last five games, the manager has made no secret that taking on a side ranked 91st in the world and coming at the end of the season offers a chance for experimentation. Given the struggles in recent years, Ireland supporters tend not to underestimate any team and Luxembourg have played a significant part in that recalibration. Fernandes furore It's just four years since Gerson Rodrigues scored the only goal in a World Cup qualifier in Dublin, a significant lowpoint in a Stephen Kenny reign that lurched from disastrous to underwhelming. The striker is making headlines again in his homeland, but not for reasons that will please manager Luc Holtz. Friday's 1-0 defeat to Slovenia was met by demonstrations by supporters after the Dynamo Kyiv striker was called into the squad despite his conviction for a domestic abuse offence. In a tetchy press conference, Holtz insisted he would not be swayed on his decision to continue selecting the frontman despite the fact Rodrigues was handed an 18-month suspended sentence after being found guilty of beating his partner at the time, former Miss Luxembourg Emilie Boland, in an incident in November 2022, and was also convicted of two other assaults. "The focus from the team is only on the pitch. All that is not on the pitch does not distract the players. It's not a distraction, no," he said. Pressed on whether further protests would impact the team tomorrow night, he responded: "That's nothing to interest the team of the coach," before the press officer intervended on a number of occasions to try and end the discussion. Home comforts? Luxembourg's form in general has been patchy to say the least. With just two clean sheets in their last 13 games and major struggles at the other end – averaging a goal every other game – they have won one of the last five games. While they have fared better on the road against teams closer to them in the rankings – last year they drew away to Bulgaria and Belarus yet lost to both at home – Northern Ireland will testify to the difficulty in leaving with a win. In November they threw away a 2-0 lead as Rodrigues again demonstrated his liking of Irish opposition to earn a draw in the Nations League. A shock victory over a Swedish side spearheaded by Premier League strikers Anthony Elanga and Aleksander Isak in March turned heads, a stark improvement from the 8-0 defeat the last time the two countries crossed paths in 2017. It points to a general upward trajectory for the small nation, something Hallgrimsson has referenced in the lead-up. "I wouldn't look at it as a shock to the nation if we did not get a good result here," he told the media this week. Old foes, new rivals Prior to the 2021 defeat, Ireland enjoyed routine wins over Europe's seventh-smallest country. Five wins from five and just two goals conceded, the Dublin debacle was proof for many the Kenny project was ultimately doomed. Kenny would last another 32 months and 30 games – including a 3-0 at Stade de Luxembourg – in the role, but it is his successor who appears to have brought renewed optimism with improved results. A much-changed Ireland may struggle for rhythm early on, but the expectation would be the momentum of recent showings should propel the Boys in Green to another positive results.
RTÉ News
09-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Luxembourg boss stands by decision to play Gerson Rodrigues ahead of Ireland clash
Defiant Luxembourg boss Luc Holtz insisted he would not be swayed on his decision to continue selecting Gerson Rodrigues after the player lost an appeal against his sentence for assaulting a former girlfriend. Rodrigues was handed an 18-month suspended sentence after being found guilty of beating his partner at the time, former Miss Luxembourg Emilie Boland, in an incident in November 2022, and was also convicted of two other assaults. He failed in an appeal against the punishment in April and was subsequently selected by his country to play against Slovenia at the Stade de Luxembourg on Friday night amid angry protests, and is in line to face the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday evening. Asked if the issue had been a distraction for he and his players, Holtz said: "No. The focus from the team is only on the pitch. All that is not on the pitch does not distract the players. It's not a distraction, no." Pressed on whether the protests would affect his team selection for the Ireland game, he said: "That's nothing to interest the team of the coach. The focus is on the pitch and everything outside the pitch does not distract the team and has not distracted the team." When Holtz was asked further what message that sent out, press officer Marc Diederich stepped in and said Rodrigues had received his punishment from the court and should not be punished twice. When he in turn was asked if that meant it was OK, Diederich replied: "No, it's not OK. Nobody says that. But he got a second chance from the court and we gave him also a second chance. "But we said clearly to him, it should never happen again. That's the reason." The Luxembourg football association, the Federation Luxembourgeoise de Football, issued an apology to supporters for the way in which the protests were handled during the 1-0 defeat by Slovenia after stewards were tasked with removing banners "deemed to violate FIFA/UEFA regulations", but went too far because of "an unfortunate confusion occurred in the communication between the FLF General Secretariat and security officials". An FLF statement read: "We sincerely apologise to all those involved. We re-affirm our commitment to guaranteeing full freedom of opinion for all fans of football and our national team, whether outside or inside a football stadium. "We are drawing the necessary lessons from this at the board of directors to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the future. We hope that many of our supporters will attend the Luxembourg-Republic of Ireland match next Tuesday." AVS striker Rodrigues, 29, scored the only goal when Luxembourg beat Ireland in a World Cup qualifier at Aviva Stadium in March 2021.
