Robert Lewandowski etched his name into the UEFA Nations League record books on Friday, scoring a hat-trick for Poland in a 6-0 rout of Romania and taking Cristiano Ronaldo‘s place as the oldest player ever to net a treble in the competition’s history.
At 38 years and 42 days old, Lewandowski surpassed the previous mark set by Ronaldo, who was 34 years and 120 days old when he scored a hat-trick for Portugal against Switzerland in the 2019 Nations League semifinal.
Lewandowski struck in the 24th, 47th and 86th minutes as Poland cruised past Romania, taking his international tally to 92 goals and marking the seventh hat-trick of his career with the national team. The performance also moved him into sole possession of sixth place on the all-time list of international goal-scorers.
The milestone came during Lewandowski’s 170th appearance for Poland, a record for the most caps in the nation’s history, underscoring the remarkable longevity that has kept the 38-year-old striker among Europe’s most dangerous forwards well into the twilight of his career.
Lewandowski’s place among Europe’s greats
Friday’s performance wasn’t just about the age record — it also pushed Lewandowski further up two of international football’s most exclusive lists. His 92 international goals now rank him third among all-time European scorers for their national teams, trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo’s 147 for Portugal and Romelu Lukaku’s 94 for Belgium, with the Fenerbahce forward having also scored today.
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Lewandowski’s seventh career hat-trick for Poland also ties him with Hungary’s Sándor Kocsis, leaving just four European players ahead of him on that list: Ronaldo (10 for Portugal), Sweden’s Sven Rydell (9), Germany’s Gerd Müller (8) and Denmark’s Poul Nielsen (8).
At 38 years old and still adding to both lists, Lewandowski shows no signs of slowing down, continuing to close the gap on some of the biggest names in European soccer history with every international window that passes.
