Robert Lewandowski is back with the Polish national team for the first camp since the summer. Poland will play four matches this international window, taking on Bosnia & Herzegovina twice, Sweden, and Romania.
The 38-year-old center forward's national team future had come into question following the conclusion of the previous World Cup cycle. Poland failed to qualify for this summer's World Cup in the United States, losing to Sweden in the UEFA playoffs in March. Lewandowski started in a pair of pre-World Cup friendlies against Ukraine and Nigeria.
This call-up alleviates questions about Lewandowski's continued presence in the national team, especially as the trend otherwise seems to be toward calling in younger players. He is Poland's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored 89 goals in 167 caps since his senior national team debut in 2008.
Lewandowski's return to the national team has regular season implications for the Fire, as he is now confirmed to miss the match against Charlotte FC this week. It adds to the growing list of players who will be unavailable, which now includes Chris Brady, Puso Dithejane, and Robin Lod.
Lewandowski is the first Fire player called up for Poland since Przemysław Frankowski in 2021. Frankowski assisted Lewandowski at Euro 2020 during that call-up, with the Fire winger's performances at the competition earning him a transfer to RC Lens in Ligue 1. Frankowski has played in Europe ever since.
This will be his first national team camp as a Fire player, and the first time in his entire career that he is called up while at a club outside Europe. He made his international debut in September 2008 and has previously represented Lech Poznań, Borussia Dortmund, FC Bayern München and FC Barcelona while playing in Europe.
