He scored a total of 160 goals in 309 games for the national team. world cup This week’s qualifying playoffs, it wasn’t surprising Robert Lewandowski and Edin Dzeko It was delivered again.
Even at a total of 77 years old.
Their goals tied the game in the second half of the European play-off semi-final, giving Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina a win late on Thursday.
Will Lewandowski and Dzeko captain their countries in Tuesday’s play-off final as they aim to qualify for their final World Cup? — for a great group of old nerds.
Cristiano Ronaldo Currently 41 years old, Luka Modric 40 years old, lionel messi He will turn 39 during the group stage.
All of them are Ballon d’Or winners, and they still have a talismanic influence on the Portugal, Croatia and Argentina teams that travel to North America in June.
Ronaldo is unlikely to even be the oldest player in the 48-nation tournament.
Scottish goalkeeper Craig Gordon I turned 43 years old after starring in “ Thrilling qualifying round Denmark match. The oldest person in history was Essam El Hadary, 45 years old He scored the goal between Egypt and Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World Cup.
Will Lewandowski and Dzeko join them?
lewangorski again
“It was like just another day in the office for Lewandowski, wasn’t it?” Poland right-back Matty Cash said after his side’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Albania in Warsaw.
Poland fell behind Albania’s opener just before half-time, when their inspirational captain scored his 89th goal for his country.
Lewandowski rose high at the back post from a corner kick in the 63rd minute and headed it into the Albanian goal. In the 73rd, Inter Milan midfielder Piotr Zielinski sealed the victory with a powerful 25-meter shot.
“It may not have been a dream match, but I’m not complaining,” said the 37-year-old Lewandowski. “We won, that’s the most important thing.”
Poland will now face Sweden, who beat Ukraine 3-1 on Thursday thanks to a hat-trick from Viktor Gokeres.
Dzeko lifts Bosnia to Italy test
Bosnia led Wales 1-0 in the 86th, with Dzeko standing up for a corner kick, marking the end of World Cup qualifying. The 40-year-old veteran soared higher than Wales goalkeeper Karl Darlow and smashed his header into the unguarded goal.
Dzeko fulfilled his duty with his 73rd goal for the national team, watching from the bench as his teammates won 4-2 in extra time leading up to the penalty shootout.
“Looking at everything, we deserved this win,” Dzeko said. “It’s never easy to beat Wales. We had some luck, but we also had a lot of quality in the penalty shootout.”
Italy will visit Zenica on Tuesday, with either team qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since Brazil in 2014.
“It would mean everything,” said Dzeko, whose goal 12 years ago was unfairly ruled out for offside. Lost to Nigeria 1-0 in Pre-VAR era. With this, Bosnia returned home from the group stage as the only independent soccer country to participate in the World Cup.
“Not just for me, but for these young kids, this new generation,” Dzeko said. “There are a lot of good players.”
Among them was 18-year-old Salzburg winger Kerim Alaibegovic, who calmly converted the winning penalty against Cardiff. Alaybegovic was not yet born in June 2007, when Dzeko played and scored in his debut for Bosnia.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
