It was the most desperate night for Ireland, though Luxembourg deserve credit for a very good performance. They were the more relaxed team from the first whistle, and it was clear very early in the game that it was going to be a difficult night for Ireland.
Gerson Rodrigues’ brilliant strike handed Luxembourg a famous victory and stunned Ireland. The striker blasted home an 85th-minute winner at the Aviva Stadium to all but end Ireland’s hopes of making it out of Group A after just two games and pile the pressure on manager Stephen Kenny, who has won none of his first 10 matches at the helm. Ireland keeper Gavin Bazunu, making his senior debut as a 19-year-old 25 years to the day since Shay Given did the same, having already made important saves from Rodrigues and Vincent Thill either side of the break.
In an untidy start by Ireland, Bazunu was called upon to make a regulation second-minute save from Vincent Thill after he had cut in from the right, but the home side eventually settled into the game and started the process of trying to break down the visitors.
Luxembourg are widely considered one of the weakest sides in Europe, and anything other than a victory would be a real blow to the Boys in Green’s qualifying hopes.