Progrès Niederkorn vs Rangers was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match played on 4 July 2017 at the

Stade Josy Barthel The Stade Josy Barthel is the former national stadium of Luxembourg, and the former home of the Luxembourg national football team. The stadium, which also hosted rugby union and athletics events, is located on route d'Arlon, in the Luxembourg ...

. The match was a

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

first qualifying round tie between

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

ian minnows Progrès Niederkorn, who finished fourth in the 2016–17 National Division, and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

side

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

, who finished third in the

2016–17 Scottish Premiership The 2016–17 Scottish Premiership (known as the Ladbrokes Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fourth season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 17 June 2016. The sea ...

. At the time, the

Luxembourg National Division The National Division (, , ), known as the BGL Ligue for sponsorship reasons, is the highest association football, football league in Luxembourg. Until 2011, it was known as the BGL Ligue, after the Luxembourg Football Federation managed to sea ...

was among the lowest ranked football leagues in terms of their

UEFA coefficient In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics based in weighted arithmetic means used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions. Introduced in 1979 for men's football tournaments (country rankings only), ...

. In addition, Progrès had never before won a game in European competition and had scored only once in 13 European games. In contrast, Rangers have a proud history of success in Europe, they won the

1971–72 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1971–72 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Rangers, who defeated Dynamo Moscow in the final. Preliminary round First leg ---- Second leg ''4–4 on aggregate; Austria Wien won on away goa ...

and finished runners up in the 1961 and 1967 finals of the same competition, they also finished as runners-up in the

2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup, UEFA's former second-tier club association football, football tournament. The 2008 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, E ...

. The result, 2–0 to Progrès, is considered by some media outlets as "humiliating" for Rangers and was described as "the worst result in the club's history". It sent Rangers out of European competition for another year, having not qualified in the previous six years since the club's

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

in 2012.

Build-up

Led by Luxembourgish-Italian

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Paolo Amodio, Niederkorn finished fourth in the

2016–17 Luxembourg National Division The 2016–17 Luxembourg National Division was the 103rd season of football in Luxembourg. The season started on 6 August 2016 and ended on 21 May 2017. Teams The following 3 clubs left the National Division before the season - * FC Wiltz 71 – ...

and thus qualified for the first qualifying round of the

. In 2006, Niederkorn were promoted from the Division of Honour to the Luxembourgian top flight, the club initially struggled and had to face the

relegation playoffs Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a Season (sports), season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems a ...

in the 2012–13 season. However, they saw success in the subsequent years. They qualified for the 2015–16 Europa League for the first time since

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

by finishing fourth but succumbed to a 3–0 defeat on aggregate to

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish professional Association football, football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is List of football clubs by competit ...

in the first qualifying round. Niederkorn repeated that league success of the previous year in 2016–17 by finishing fourth which again placed them in the first qualifying round of the Europa League, this time they were drawn against Rangers. On 13 March 2017, Rangers assigned Portuguese national

Pedro Caixinha Pedro Miguel Faria Caixinha (; born 15 November 1970) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He started coaching in his late twenties, acting an assistant with Sporting CP, Al-Hilal, Panath ...

to the role of manager after the club finished third in the

, which qualified them for the Europa League. The 2016–17 season was Rangers' first season back in the

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

after being sent to the lowest tier of the

Scottish football league system The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs. The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gr ...

, the Third Division (now known as League Two), for the 2012–13 season as they entered into administration. The club had not qualified for European competition in six years. On 29 June 2017, Rangers won the first leg of their tie against Progrès Niederkorn 1–0 at Ibrox and went into the game with high hopes.

Match

Rangers' starting eleven contained Caixinha's new signings

Daniel Candeias Daniel João Santos Candeias (born 25 February 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Turkish TFF First League club Adanaspor. He was on the books of both Porto and Benfica, where he was mostly loaned out, a ...

Alfredo Morelos Alfredo José Morelos Aviléz (born 21 June 1996) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Categoría Primera A club Atlético Nacional on loan from Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Santos. Morelos began his sen ...

and

Fábio Cardoso Fábio Rafael Rodrigues Cardoso (born 19 April 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Emirati club Al Ain, on loan from Porto. Formed at Benfica, where he played only in the reserves, he made over 150 Pri ...

, and

Ryan Jack Ryan James Jack (born 27 February 1992) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for TFF First League club Esenler Erokspor and the Scotland national team. Jack began his career at Aberdeen, spending 17 years co ...

also received his debut. The visitors saw most of the ball in the early stages of the game but could not find a way past the Niederkorn defence. Rangers striker

Kenny Miller Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player, and is currently the assistant coach of Major League Soccer club Atlanta United. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war ...

, who scored the goal in the reverse leg, saw his shot blocked, and that was the closest to a goal for either side in the first half and they went in for the interval with the score remaining level on the night but the Scots ahead on aggregate. The deadlock was almost broken by Rangers through a

Niko Kranjčar Niko Kranjčar (; born 13 August 1984) is a Croatian former professional Association football, footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but could also operate as a Midfielder (association football)#Winger, winger or Forward (a ...

header which came back off the crossbar, but it was Progrès that initiated the scoring. In the 66th minute, Rangers conceded a free kick in a threatening position. It proved decisive as Emmanuel Françoise headed in the opener and scored the club's first European goal since a 1–1 draw against

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

in 1981. Progrès then doubled their lead on the night and took the lead on aggregate in the 75th minute from another free kick:

Sébastien Thill Sébastien Thill (born 29 December 1993) is a Luxembourgish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Polish club Stal Rzeszów and the Luxembourg national team. Club career Luxembourg From 2009 to 2012, Thill played for Pétange ...

curled in a free kick which evaded everyone and crept in at the far post. Rangers failed to score a vital

away goal Away may refer to: Film and television *Away (2016 film), ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair *Away (2019 film), ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by ...

which would send them through, despite hitting the bar twice, and Progrès secured their first win in European competition in their 100-year history.

Details

Aftermath

Rangers

After the defeat, Scottish media outlets regarded the match as one of the most embarrassing defeats in the history of Rangers, the history of Scottish football, and one of the greatest shocks in European football. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

described the match as "humiliating" for Rangers, and the '' Daily Record'' dubbed it "a horror show", before adding "a utterly horrific result". After that disappointing start to the season, Rangers' form did not improve. Notable results include a 2–0 defeat to Celtic at home in the league and defeat to

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

in the

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semi-final by the same scoreline. On 26 October, a day after a 95th-minute equaliser at Ibrox by last-placed

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

saw Rangers draw 1–1, Caixinha was sacked and

Graeme Murty Graeme Stuart Murty (born 13 November 1974) is an English-born Scottish professional football coach and former player. He made 437 appearances in the Football League and Premier League, playing for York City, Reading, Charlton Athletic and Sou ...

took over as

caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caret ...

for the second time. The Portuguese manager's reign was the shortest ever in the club's history, only serving 229 days in charge. It was described as "a desperate mess from start to finish".

Progrès Niederkorn

In the

second qualifying round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

, Progrès Niederkorn played Cypriot side

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

and were eliminated 3–1 on aggregate, losing both legs. AEL Limassol only survived to the next round, where they were defeated by

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

2018–19

Both clubs qualified for the Europa League again the following season, after Progrès Niederkorn improved their domestic league position from 4th to 2nd in the

2017–18 Luxembourg National Division The 2017–18 Luxembourg National Division was the 104th season of top-flight football in Luxembourg. The season began on 4 August 2017 and concluded on 19 May 2018. F91 Dudelange were the defending champions from the previous season. Teams The ...

and Rangers again finished 3rd in the

2017–18 Scottish Premiership The 2017–18 Scottish Premiership (known as the Ladbrokes Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football. The fixtures were published on 23 June 2017. The season ...

. They each defeated two opponents to reach the

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

, with the advance draw for the subsequent Play-off round pairing them up again should both make it through; However, while Rangers did advance, Progrès were narrowly defeated by Russian club

FC Ufa FC Ufa (, ) is a Football in Russia, Russian football club based in Ufa that plays in the Russian First League. History During the summer of 2010, Rustem Khamitov, the second President of the Bashkortostan, Republic of Bashkortostan, began consi ...

; the Luxembourgers had already achieved their best-ever outcome in European competitions by winning the two prior rounds. Rangers went on to defeat FC Ufa in the Play-off round and thus qualified for the group stages of the Europa League.

2019–20

Both clubs qualified for the

2019–20 UEFA Europa League The 2019–20 UEFA Europa League was the 49th season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 11th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. Sevilla FC, Sevill ...

and were drawn to face each other again, this time in the

, both having navigated the

first round First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. Rangers won the tie and advanced with a 2–0 victory in Scotland and a 0–0 draw in Luxembourg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Progrès Niederkorn 2-0 Rangers 2017–18 UEFA Europa League Progrès Niederkorn 2-0 Rangers (2017) 2017–18 in Scottish football 2017–18 in Luxembourgian football July 2017 sports events in Europe UEFA Europa League matches