With France to the west, Germany to the east, Belgium and the Netherlands to the north, Luxembourg, at less than half the size of County Mayo, does not always reflect the footballing acumen of its prestigious neighbours.
The Carlow hurlers of international football, the domineering presence of Kilkenny, Tipperary and Wexford in this alternative is similarly daunting.
Well, in what may be determined as an unmistakable upward curve for the Luxembourg national team, last night's 1-0 victory against Belarus signals their third in as many World Cup qualifying campaigns.
In 2008, ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Luxembourg masterminded an astonishing 2-1 away to Switzerland. Four years later, and it was Northern Ireland who represented their latest scalp; a 3-2 win in front of an attendance of just over 4,000.
In the European equivalent, Luxembourg have managed to pick up wins against Albania, Macedonia, and, ahead of Euro 2008, Belarus once more.
Prior to this however wins have not been quite so forthcoming; one per group stage is the norm.
With the highest GDP per-capita in the World according to the IMF, one may suspect that there is even less 'street-football' being played in Luxembourg city - no guile whatsoever. Ahead of their remaining fixtures against France, Sweden and Bulgaria (the top three of Group A) yet to come, if Luxembourg could break the cycle and win a second match in a qualifying group, well, not a bit of banking would be done for a week.
