Poland defeats Romania 6-0 as Robert Lewandowski scores hat-trick in Nations League

Early red card opens the scoring

Poland secured a 6-0 victory over Romania in League B Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League at the PGE Narodowy stadium in Warsaw. The visitors started actively with early attempts on target, forcing Polish goalkeeper Marcin Bulka into saves against Tudor Baluta and Daniel Birligea. The match turned in the 22nd minute when Romanian defender Radu Dragusin committed a tactical foul on Robert Lewandowski inside the penalty box, prompting Swiss referee Urs Schnyder to issue a direct red card. Lewandowski converted the penalty kick in the 24th minute to give Poland the lead and record his 90th international goal. Poland continued to threaten before the interval as Przemyslaw Frankowski struck the crossbar frame from long range, while Lewandowski received a yellow card that rules him out of Monday's fixture in Zenica.

Second-half flurry seals comprehensive win

Poland expanded its lead immediately after the break against ten-man Romania. Nicola Zalewski broke through on the left wing in the 47th minute to set up Lewandowski for a close-range finish. Two minutes later, a strike by Frankowski deflected off Romanian defender Virgil Ghita into the net for an own goal. Piotr Zielinski added a fourth goal in the 62nd minute, chipping the goalkeeper following an errant backpass from Romanian midfielder Razvan Marin. Central defender Jan Bednarek headed home a fifth goal in the 66th minute from a corner delivered by Sebastian Szymanski. Lewandowski completed his seventh international hat-trick in the 86th minute after dribbling past several defenders inside the box.

Milestone night for Polish squad

The 6-0 result is Poland's highest margin of victory since a 7-1 win against San Marino on 5 September 2021. Lewandowski elevated his career tally to 92 goals in 170 international appearances for Poland. Midfielder Zielinski collected his 112th cap, while 22-year-old Wiktor Nowak made his third senior appearance in central midfield. Coach Jan Urban also handed a senior international debut to Marcel Regula from Zaglebie Lubin, who entered as a 71st-minute substitute for Szymanski in front of 51,054 spectators. The encounter was the first meeting between the two national sides in nine years, following 3-0 and 3-1 Polish victories during 2018 World Cup qualification.

Group standings and wider tournament results

The victory moved Poland to four points in Group B4 after three rounds, having previously drawn 0-0 with Bosnia and Herzegovina and lost 1-3 to Sweden. In Zenica, Bosnia drew 1-1 with group leaders Sweden during the farewell match of 40-year-old Edin Dzeko. Viktor Gyokeres gave Sweden the lead in the 61st minute to become the first player to score in six consecutive Nations League matches, before 19-year-old Juventus forward Kerim Alajbegovic equalized in the 80th minute. In League A Group 1, France drew 1-1 with Italy following goals from Michael Olise and Alessandro Bastoni, while Belgium defeated Turkey 3-0 through two goals by Kevin De Bruyne and one from Romelu Lukaku. Poland will play away against Bosnia on Monday, while Romania hosts Sweden.