Differdange Win the Luxembourg Cup, Salvaging a Season That Slipped Away in the League

FC Differdange 03 turned a bruising week into a celebration on Friday, beating FC Victoria Rosport 4-1 in the final of the Coupe de Luxembourg at the Stade de Luxembourg. The win, played out in front of 5,025 spectators, handed Differdange the trophy just six days after they had let the National Division title slip from their grasp on the season's final matchday.

It was a one-sided final almost from the start. Forward Artur Abreu opened the scoring inside seven minutes and added a second early in the second half, bookending a comfortable afternoon for the favourites. Andreas Buch doubled the lead shortly before the interval in the 43rd minute, and veteran striker Samir Hadji rounded off the win from the penalty spot in the 70th. Rosport's only reply came through Frederick Kyereh, whose 64th-minute strike briefly made it 3-1.

A trophy that rescued the season

The context made the victory matter all the more. On 23 May, the final day of the National Division campaign, Differdange had needed a win to claim the league title but were beaten 1-0 by newly promoted Atert Bissen, finishing second. The loss left a side that had spent much of the season in title contention facing the prospect of ending it empty-handed.

The cup final offered a swift route to redemption, and Differdange took it emphatically. Head coach Yannick Kakoko, who described the result as a relief after the league disappointment, framed it as the kind of response he had been brought in to deliver.

Je veux aider ce club à gagner des titres. On n'y est pas arrivés la semaine dernière, et je suis d'autant plus heureux qu'on gagne aujourd'hui, de cette manière-là.

Roughly translated, Kakoko said he wants to help the club win titles, that they had fallen short the week before, and that he was all the happier to win in this fashion. His comments were carried by L'essentiel, whose match report was published on the evening of the final.

A first cup for Hadji at the fourth attempt

For Hadji, the penalty that made it 4-1 carried a personal weight beyond the scoreline. The striker had reached the cup final three times before and lost on each occasion, and Friday marked the first time he ended a final on the winning side.

À titre personnel, c'est ma première victoire en Coupe, après trois finales perdues avec le Fola en 2017, puis Dudelange en 2022 et 2025. Donc, oui, ça fait plaisir!

Hadji noted that it was his first cup win after three lost finals — with Fola in 2017, then with Dudelange in 2022 and 2025 — adding simply that it felt good. As the most experienced figure in the Differdange forward line, his goal underlined how thoroughly the team had controlled an occasion that had so often ended in frustration for him.

What it means

The result, reported by both L'essentiel and Le Quotidien, ensured Differdange avoided what Luxembourg's press described as a blank season. Having come within a single match of the league crown, the club instead close the campaign with silverware and a marker of intent under Kakoko.

For Rosport, who had reached the final as outsiders, the 4-1 defeat ended a run that had already exceeded expectations. Kyereh's goal was a small consolation on a night that ultimately belonged to the heavier favourites.