Tag: Poland

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said on Sunday that he would not play for his national team, Poland, as long as coach Michal Probierz remained in charge.

The 36-year-old has played 158 times for Poland, scoring 85 goals, but earlier in the day was replaced as team captain by Piotr Zielinski.

“Taking into account the circumstances and a loss of trust in the coach, I have decided to resign from playing for the Poland national team for as long as he remains in charge,” Lewandowski said on X.

But the former Bayern Munich centre-forward left the door open for a return.

“I hope I will still have another chance to play again for the best fans in the world,” he said.

Probierz has been Poland coach since 2023, and led them to the Euro 2024 finals, where they failed to win a game and were eliminated in the group stage.

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Earlier on Sunday, the Polish Football Association announced on its website the coach’s decision to replace Lewandowski as skipper.

“The coach has personally informed Robert Lewandowski, the entire team and the technical staff of his decision,” the federation said.

Lewandowski is not part of the Polish squad in the current international window. According to the Polish news agency PAP, the player asked to be excused to rest.

Robert Lewandowski has just won a domestic Spanish treble with his club, Barcelona.

Poland beat Moldova 2-0 on June 6 in a friendly and faces Finland on Tuesday in Helsinki in Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers.

With two wins from as many matches, Poland top the group.

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal staged a second-half supershow to crush Poland 5-1 and reach the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday.

Portugal joined France, Germany, Italy, and Spain in the quarter-finals of the Nations League, while the hopes of Poland to advance were ended.

Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.

Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move.

The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.

Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalised for a handball in the area.

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Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.

Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo’s fine pass which left the Polish defence stranded.

As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal’s fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.

Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.

Moments before Leao’s goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half.

Portugal’s best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.

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Poland captain Robert Lewandowski will miss his country’s Euro 2024 opener this weekend with a thigh injury, the Polish football federation’s doctor said on Tuesday.

Lewandowski, 35, will be absent to face the Netherlands on June 16 after suffering the injury in Monday’s 2-1 win in a friendly against Turkey.

Poland then play Austria on June 21 and the tournament’s joint favourites France four days later.

“We are doing everything so that Robert can play in the second match against Austria,” doctor Jacek Jaroszewski said in a statement.

Barcelona forward Lewandowski was substituted after just 33 minutes on his 150th international appearance as Poland ended their Euro 2024 preparations with a victory.

Following the game, Poland coach Michal Probierz had been upbeat about Robert Lewandowski’s injury, saying he was “optimistic” and “there shouldn’t be a problem”.

The absence of the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich player adds to the injury worries for Probierz.

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Hellas Verona attacker Karol Swiderski sustained an ankle injury while celebrating the opening goal against Turkey.

Swiderski’s club team-mate, defender Pawel Dawidowicz, strained his quadriceps during the game.

“After treatment, both players should return to full training within 3-4 days,” Jaroszewski.

Probierz will be without another striker for the tournament after Arkadiusz Milik suffered a knee injury in the warmup victory against Ukraine on Friday.

The Italian club said Milik had undergone minor surgery, without stating the length of his absence.

Probierz’s fit options in attack in his squad are Istanbul Basaksehir’s Krzysztof Piatek and Antalyaspor’s Adam Buksa.

The pair have 17 goals in 44 appearances for their country.

Poland are unbeaten in eight games and have reached the past three European Championship finals, making it to the quarter-finals in 2016.

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