Poland beats Romania 6:0 as Robert Lewandowski scores hat-trick on 170th cap

Match at PGE Narodowy

Poland secured a 6:0 victory against Romania at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw during the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League. Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring in the 24th minute from a penalty kick, added a second goal right after the halftime interval, and finished the match with an 86th-minute strike. Piotr Zieliński and Jan Bednarek also scored for Poland, while Romania defender Virgil Ghita conceded an own goal. The performance gave Lewandowski his first national team hat-trick in nearly seven years, dating back to 10 October 2019, when he scored in the 9th, 13th, and 76th minutes of a 3:0 Euro 2020 qualifying win against Latvia in Riga.

International goal totals

The three goals against Romania increased Lewandowski's career international tally to 92 goals. In European football, only Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo with 146 goals and Belgium's Romelu Lukaku with 94 goals have scored more. Globally, six players have reached the 90-goal threshold, including Argentina's Lionel Messi with 125 goals. Lewandowski has scored eight times across six continental and world tournament appearances, including six goals at the European Championship. In Polish national team history, only Grzegorz Lato scored more at tournament finals, with 10 goals across his World Cup appearances.

Seven competitive hat-tricks

Friday's fixture was the seventh time Lewandowski scored three or more goals in a single match for Poland, with all seven occurrences happening in competitive fixtures. His first took place in September 2014 during a 7:0 win against Gibraltar, where he scored four goals. He later recorded hat-tricks against Georgia in 2015, Denmark in 2016, Romania in 2017, Armenia in 2017, and Latvia in 2019. His three goals against Armenia on 5 October 2017 moved him past Włodzimierz Lubański, who previously held the national record with 48 goals, to become Poland's all-time leading scorer.

Milestone caps and captaincy

The match against Romania was Lewandowski's 170th appearance for Poland, placing him behind 16 players in international football history, a ranking led by Cristiano Ronaldo with 234 matches. Lewandowski made his debut on 10 September 2008 in a World Cup qualifier against San Marino, entering in the 59th minute under coach Leo Beenhakker and scoring eight minutes later in a 2:0 win. He had previously scored on his debuts for Znicz Pruszków, Lech Poznań, and Bayern Munich. He reached 50 caps in November 2012 in a 1:3 loss to Uruguay in Gdańsk, 75 on 26 March 2016 against Finland in Wrocław, 100 on 11 October 2018 in a 2:3 Nations League loss to Portugal in Chorzów, and 150 in June 2024 against Turkey in Warsaw, where an injury sidelined him for the Euro 2024 opener against the Netherlands. Friday also marked his 104th match as Poland captain, a role assigned to him in 2014 by manager Adam Nawałka.