Lewandowski not thinking of Poland retirement ahead of Euro 2024

By Sports Desk June 12, 2024

Robert Lewandowski has no immediate plans to call time on his Poland career post-Euro 2024 as he battles to regain fitness in time for the tournament.

The Barcelona striker sustained a thigh injury in Monday's 2-1 friendly win over Turkiye and has been ruled out of Poland's opening match.

While Lewandowski will play no part against the Netherlands on Sunday, he will hope to be back to face both Austria and France in a tough looking Group D.

The former Bayern Munich ace turns 36 in August, but he is not yet thinking about retiring from duty with his national side.

"I cannot say that is yes or not," he told CNN. "It depends on many different things. 

"Physically, I am feeling very well. I don't see many differences, especially in this year, than before.

"But if I feel something inside, in my heart, saying maybe it's time to say goodbye, then I know that the time is coming.

"Until now, I didn't feel this kind of feeling, so it's still not this kind of way that I am thinking about this."

Poland are competing at their fourth successive European Championship after beating Wales on penalties in their play-off final in March.

Only once have they advanced through the group stage in those most recent three appearances, but Lewandowski is hopeful his side can make an impact in Germany.

"I think we can play good football," he said. "We know that we are not the favourites in the group stage.

"But I remember the last World Cup, we played the first half against France really well. I think we surprised them. I hope that we will also surprise them now at the Euros.

"[France] are so strong, even if they put a second or third XI out, still they can fight to win Europe. But you have to believe.

"If we are playing as a team, that are going in one direction, really we can achieve something. I don't know what that means in the end, but in football, everything is possible."

Related items

  • Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona: Becker stuns toothless Blaugrana as winning run ends Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona: Becker stuns toothless Blaugrana as winning run ends

    Barcelona's seven-match winning streak was brought crashing to a halt on Sunday as Real Sociedad handed them a 1-0 defeat in LaLiga, courtesy of Sheraldo Becker's goal.

    Becker's first-half strike was enough to deal Hansi Flick just his second league loss in charge of the Blaugrana, as they allowed title rivals Real Madrid to make up ground at the summit.

    Becker beat Flick's aggressive offside trap in the 33rd minute, racing onto a Luka Sucic header before slotting a tidy finish just inside the post.

    With star winger Lamine Yamal absent due to a muscle injury, Barcelona struggled for chances after Robert Lewandowski saw an early strike chalked off for offside following a VAR review.

    In truth, La Real were unfortunate not to win by a greater margin. Mikel Oyarzabal missed a glorious chance following good work from Takefusa Kubo just before half-time, with the home skipper also drawing Inaki Pena into action in the second period. 

    They ultimately did not need a second goal, however, and the victory takes them eighth in LaLiga with 19 points, six adrift of the top four.

    Barcelona still lead the standings on 33 points, six ahead of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand in second, while Atletico Madrid are third on 26 points.

     

    Data Debrief: Blaugrana fire a blank

    Barcelona could have no complaints about the result on Sunday, having failed to register a single shot on target.

    It is just the second time they have failed to do so in LaLiga since Opta records began in 2003-04, after a goalless draw with Malaga in 2014 under Luis Enrique.

    After scoring 29 goals across a seven-match winning run that included routs of Real Madrid (4-0), Bayern Munich (4-1), Sevilla (5-1), Young Boys (5-0) and Red Star Belgrade (5-2), the result represents a harsh reality check for Flick's team.

  • Simeone hails Atleti's dirty work after Mallorca win Simeone hails Atleti's dirty work after Mallorca win

    Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was proud of how his players dug deep to earn their fourth straight win in all competitions, beating Real Mallorca 1-0 in LaLiga.

    Julian Alvarez scored for the seventh time since his arrival from Manchester City as Los Colchoneros earned a hard-fought away win on Sunday.

    The win took them third in the table, just one point behind second-placed Real Madrid and seven behind leaders Barcelona.

    Simeone said his side had not let Wednesday's last-gasp 2-1 win over Paris-Saint Germain in the Champions League go to their heads as he praised their defensive work.

    "The players made a huge effort and worked hard after our game in Paris; it wasn't easy to get away from all the praise they got and work with humility to defend all the crosses that Mallorca make in every game," Simeone said at a post-match press conference.

    "In football you always live for today, as in life; what came before, what you enjoyed yourself, what you did... they are just memories. You have to deliver it here and now, it's the reality of life, the day to day.

    "In the first half we lacked more collective play, in the second half it was different, we competed better in the opposition's half and after the goal we had our chances to go out with a bigger win."

    Simeone heaped particular praise on Alvarez, adding: "I don't follow their numbers and I don't care about it but I love him.

    "He has personality, class, humility, hard work and goals. Let's hope he continues in this vein of form because that's what we were hoping for.

    "I don't dwell on results but in the last few games I can see a clear idea. We won a Copa del Rey match, then in LaLiga against Las Palmas, at PSG on Wednesday and today once again we gave joy to our fans, which is what it's all about." 

     

  • Getafe 0-1 Girona: Herrera header seals back-to-back wins Getafe 0-1 Girona: Herrera header seals back-to-back wins

    Yangel Herrera's header late in the first half proved enough for Girona to see off Getafe 1-0 on Sunday.

    It means Girona have won back-to-back LaLiga games for just the second time this season.

    Herrera headed home in the 42nd minute of a match devoid of much in the way of attacking quality from either team.

    Indeed, there were just 11 shots throughout, with Getafe having eight and Girona three, with the hosts failing to get any of their attempts on target.

    Between them, the teams combined for just 0.52 expected goals (xG) - 0.33 for Getafe and 0.19 for Girona.

    The result lifted struggling Girona to 18 points and into ninth place, with Getafe 17th on 10 points.

    Data Debrief: Heads up for Herrera

    Herrera's goal was his second in the league this season, with his first having also been a header.

    Only Thierno Barry (three) has scored more headed goals in LaLiga this term.

    Getafe, meanwhile, have won only one of their 13 matches in LaLiga in 2024-25, which matches their worst record at this stage of a season, set in 2021-22.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.