Football: Poland beat Romania 3:1 in World Cup qualifier
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
10.06.2017 23:01
Poland beat Romania 3:1 in a World Cup qualifier in Warsaw on Saturday night after a hat trick from Polish captain Robert Lewandowski.
Poland's Robert Lewandowski celebrates his hat trick against Romania. Photo: PAP/Bartłomiej Zborowski
The win boosted Poland’s chances of advancing to the 2018 football World Cup in Russia.
Lewandowski opened the scoring with a penalty in the 29th minute, clinically slotting the ball into the left-hand corner of the net.
He put Poland 2:0 ahead in the 56th minute after soaring above the Romanian defence to head in a corner.
Another penalty awarded after a foul saw Lewandowski putting the Poles 3:0 ahead in the 61st minute, bringing his goal tally for the national squad to 46, just two short of the Polish record.
Bogdan Stancu fired off a long-distance scorcher in the 76th minute which found the top right-hand corner of the Polish net in a consolation goal for Romania.
Lewandowski, who plays for the German league’s top club, Bayern Munich, has scored 11 goals in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, the same as Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.
With their win on Saturday Poland, now on 16 points, have strengthened their lead in Group E in the World Cup qualifying round. Their next match is on 1 September in Copenhagen against Denmark.
(pk)