Luxembourg, yes Luxembourg, merit your attention
Luxembourg came to Dublin and beat the tar out of Ireland in EuroBasket Women qualifying. One game doesn’t tell the full story but Emmet Ryan was amazed by what the Grand Duchy is doing in the women’s game and feels you should be wowed as well.
In a week loaded with Euroleague action, plenty of NBA action on and off the court, and a whole lot of other big sporting events, this is going to seem odd to you. The Luxembourg women’s basketball team is the story you need to follow and I’m going to tell you why.
Having nearly qualified for EuroBasket Women 2025, they started their EuroBasket Women 2027 qualifying campaign in emphatic style. This is just the beginning of what I fully expect to be an enormous story in this sport.
The whupping
Luxembourg never trailed against Ireland on Wednesday night. Indeed, aside from 0-0, the only time the sides were even level was at 3-3. Don’t let the relatively manageable scoreline fool you. While it was 69-53 in the end, that was a glossed scoreline heavily reliant on Luxembourg easing off in the final quarter.
Through three quarters, the hosts were held to 26 points. Ireland aren’t exactly favoured to qualify for EuroBasket Women 2027 but the Luxembourg D made Ireland look absolutely dreadful. Only France, either side of winning Olympic silver in 2024, have looked that good against Ireland.
Offensively they barely got into second gear and had no problem creating whatever opportunities they wanted. This was a side playing at a tremendously high level. One that proved the near miss of the last qualifying campaign was no fluke, it was an indicator of the future.
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A touch of context
In a shock to nobody reading this, the entire history of international sport in Luxembourg isn’t exactly glittering. Given its population of less than 700,000, it’s not exactly a shock that the Grand Duchy usually plays the role of the minnow.
Its men’s basketball team has played in EuroBasket three times, the last being in 1955. The men’s handball team has made one appearance at the world championships and none at the Euros or Olympics. Its men’s football team has one appearance in the Olympics, all the way back in 1920.
That’s it. There are zero major qualifications by a women’s senior team in any sport. Basketball, of course, is developing into an outlier. Their U18 team recorded a first ever promotion to the A Division of Youth EuroBasket in 2023. That’s just a taster of what’s really on the table.
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This team is different
The ages of the key players merit your attention. Anne Simon (25), Dionne Madjo (18), Isi Etute (17), and Svenia Nurenberg (25) all started against Ireland. Magaly Meynadier (34) is a pensioner compared to the rest of the starters. It doesn’t stop there, Sofie Olsen (25), Liz Irthum (24), and Catherine Mreches (24) all logged significant minutes.
It still doesn’t stop there because Ehis Etute (20), the sister of Joyce Isi, and Isa Hämäläinen (19) were both unavailable due to NCAA duty. This is a team that is utterly loaded with talent young enough to impact the next decade and more. Quite frankly, reaching EuroBasket Women 2027 should be the minimum expectation.
Multiple EuroBasket Women appearances are the minimum to expect here. Frankly, based on their trajectory, FIBA World Cup qualifications should be on the agenda. This is the part where things get silly. Looking at this ludicrous abundance of talent, an Olympic appearance for this core is entirely achievable in the next three cycles.
Remember, this is Luxembourg. Actually no, remember this Luxembourg team. It’s going to demand your attention more and more.
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