After spending the full 90 minutes on the sidelines during their 2-1 loss against the Netherlands in their opening UEFA Euro 2024 clash, Poland captain Robert Lewandowski featured in their second group-stage clash against Austria, which they eventually lost 3-1. With this loss, Poland became the first team to get eliminated from the European championship. Ahead of their final group stage clash against France, speculations have been made over Lewandowski starting for Poland.
In the absence of star striker Lewandowski, who was sidelined due to an injury, Poland lost their first game 2-1 against the Netherlands. Ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024, the Barcelona striker suffered a tear in the biceps femoris muscle during their warm-up clash against Turkey and was substituted in the 33rd minute.
While the Poland football federation was optimistic about Lewandowski’s recovery for their Euro 2024 opener against the Netherlands, the 35-year-old striker’s recovery was a race against the time for their medical team. Despite being named in the list of substitutes, he missed out on Poland’s opener. In their second group-stage clash against Austria, the Poland captain came from the bench after the one-hour mark when the score was levelled 1-1.
A couple of minutes later, Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner netted the second goal while Marko Arnautovic doubled the lead for his side with his 78th-minute penalty goal. Lewandowski failed to make an impact against Austria as Poland crashed out of the European championship.
Poland will face France in their final group-stage clash that will be a mere formality for the former while Les Bleus will look to clinch the top spot in Group D with a win on Tuesday at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund. Poland star Robert Lewandowski is likely to start against France in their final Euro appearance after featuring in the Eagles’ loss against Austria.