Luxembourg, ranked 136th in the world, held €1 billion France team to a goalless draw

The France national team were left feeling blue after failing to beat Luxembourg.Reuters

The Luxembourg national football team just pulled off one of the greatest results in its history.

The Red Lions are ranked 136th in the world by FIFA, the world governing body for football, and managed to hold France — ranked 10th — to a goalless draw in a World Cup qualifying match in Toulouse on Sunday.

What makes the result all the more impressive is that France manager Didier Deschamps played €1 billion worth of talent, including substitutes.

Business Insider calculated player valuations by using recent football transfer fees and/or data from CIES Football Observatory, a Swiss think tank.

Kylian Mbappé, who started the match, cost Paris Saint-Germain a reported €180 million (£165 million/$214 million) in August, for example.

Meanwhile, CIES claims Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann, both also in the French first team, would cost €141.3 million and €140.9 million respectively in today’s market.

Luxembourg boss Luc Holt, in contrast, had to rely on players from the Belgian second division and the Luxembourg national league.

One of the best-performing players on the pitch was not Mbappé, Griezmann, or Pogba but Luxembourg goalkeeper Jonathan Joubert, who made save after save to keep his side in the game.

Though France had multiple chances to break the deadlock, it was not all one-way traffic. Luxembourg could have scored a sensational match-winning goal late in the game, but Gerson Rodrigues’s shot bounced off the post.

At the final whistle, the French appeared dejected. Luxembourg, meanwhile, celebrated the draw like it was a victory.

The final whistle prompted wild celebrations from the Luxembourg players.Reuters