Robert Lewandowski took a few steps, then slowed down to stop completely. The captain of the Polish national team took the penalty with provocative ease and was stopped by France’s goalkeeper Maignan. But Lewandowski was lucky, Maignan had left the goal line too early – the penalty was replayed.
The same approach, the same procedure, but this time Lewandowski safely sank the ball flat into the left corner to make it 1-1 and secure Poland’s only point at the European Championships. It was a conciliatory end to a completely botched European Championship for the former FC Bayern Munich striker.
The striker had to watch the first group match against the Netherlands. In the 1:2 defeat in Hamburg, he sat on the bench for 90 minutes due to muscular problems. He had suffered a small muscle tear in the dress rehearsal against Turkey six days before the start of the tournament. The injury had obviously not fully healed in the second group match. The former FC Bayern player also started on the bench against Austria. Lewandowski was substituted in the 60th minute. His only notable action was a foul for which he received a yellow card.
“We knew it would be a very intense game. And we decided together that it would not be enough for 90 minutes,” said Poland’s national coach Michal Probierz before the game, justifying the decision.
The FC Barcelona striker was finally in Poland’s starting eleven against France. The 35-year-old remained pale for a long time. Lewandowski took his first shot on goal in the 72nd minute. His attempt narrowly missed the goal. Seven minutes later, he scored his second penalty to equalize. It was his only shot on goal at the European Championships.
And not his last for the Polish national team. Despite the disappointment at the European Championships, Lewandowski wants to continue his career in the national team. “I still feel this fire inside me. Maybe I’ll wake up at some point and say: I have to retire from the Polish national team.” But that moment has not come yet. “This is not my last game,” said Lewandowski before the match against France.