Robert Lewandowski has scored 378 goals in 488 matches in his club football career. The Polish striker has played for some of the world’s biggest teams including Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and currently, Barcelona.
A further 77 goals have been scored by Lewandowski at the international level. Lewandowski has (at the time of this writing) played 136 times for Poland.
First World Cup goal EVER for Robert Lewandowski 🤜🏻🤛🏻🇵🇱 #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/tZmZEkhORn— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 26, 2022
First World Cup goal EVER for Robert Lewandowski 🤜🏻🤛🏻🇵🇱 #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/tZmZEkhORn
Yet, until matchday No 2 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals tournament against Saudi Arabia, Lewandowski had failed to do one thing, and that was to score in the biggest global sporting event.
The striker found the back of the net in the 82nd minute to put the game out of reach for Poland, as they won 2-0 to move atop Group C. The goal came just days after Lewandowski missed a penalty against Mexico, which heaped more pressure onto his broad shoulders.
Lewandowski finally bagged a World Cup goal in his fifth career match in the tournament finals. The striker routinely lit up UEFA World Cup qualifying bagging 30 goals in 37 games. However, the finals tournament was previously a step too far.
Unlike his contemporaries Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Lewandowski hasn’t been blessed with large numbers of games at the FIFA World Cup.
Lewandowski is appearing in his second World Cup finals tournament. His only previous World Cup appearance was in 2018 and it was a tournament to forget.
Poland lost their two opening games of the event to Senegal 2-1 and Colombia 3-0. Lewandowski made little impact in the three matches and fans were left disappointed. Poland finally got a World Cup win on the final group-stage matchday in 2018, defeating Japan 1-0.
However, Lewandowski failed to score either of Poland’s two goals in the competition despite playing all 270 minutes for Poland in the 2018 World Cup.
Lewandowski’s relief on Saturday against Saudi Arabia was apparent. He fell to the ground following the goal with teammates surrounding him. Emotions ran high as the goal finally came after 442 minutes of World Cup finals football.
The goal marked Lewandowski’s 77th on the international stage. It equalled legendary Brazil player Pele’s goal record at the international level.
Now that Lewandowski found the back of the net in the World Cup, fans will hope he can continue scoring to send Poland deep into the knockout stages.
On Wednesday, Lewandowski has the opportunity to show the world he belongs on the same stage as Ronaldo and Messi, as one of the greatest players of the modern era.
The world is talking about Messi playing in the 2022 FIFA World Cup and possibly winning it. Lewandowski could ruin Messi’s party with another goal and lead Poland to victory.
Having waited for five games to score his first goal for Poland at the World Cup, it may not take Lewandowski much longer to score his second goal in the tournament.