Will Robert Lewandowski Play For Poland In FIFA World Cup Qualifier?

Robert Lewandowski remains the most experienced and prolific player in the Poland squad as they look to maintain their impressive run in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier. The Polish side are looking to qualify for the World Cup in the USA and have done an admirable job in their qualification group so far, which includes the likes of Netherlands, Finland, Lithuania and Malta. They have won both their qualifiers so far in compelling fashion but now seem to be facing an issue with Robert Lewandowski after a glaring message sent out by the Barcelona forward ahead of their upcoming qualifier against Finland on Tuesday, 10 June 2025.

Will Lewandowski Play In FIFA World Cup Qualifier?

Robert Lewandowski has announced that he will not be playing for the Poland national team for the foreseeable future after being stripped off the captaincy by the head coach Michal Probierz. This comes after an announcement from the Polish Football Association where they confirmed the decision to change the captaincy, stating: “By decision of coach Michał Probierz, Piotr Zieliński became the new captain of the Polish national team. The coach personally informed Robert Lewandowski, the entire team and the training staff of his decision.”

The Barcelona forward clearly feels humiliated by this decision from the Poland head coach and seems to have been utterly offended by it. Soon after the decision was made clear to him, the 36-year-old decided to make himself unavailable for selection for the Poland side unless the head coach was changed by the Polish Football Association.

In a clear message posted on his social media, Lewandowski wrote: "Taking into account the circumstances and a loss of trust in the coach, I have decided to resign from playing for the Poland national team for as long as he remains in charge. “I hope I will still have another chance to play again for the best fans in the world.”

How Can Poland Cope Without Robert Lewandowski?

The Poland national team has been quite dependent on the veteran striker's goals over the last few years. Indeed, Lewandowski remains Poland's all-time leading goal scorer with 85 goals at the international level and also holds their highest international caps, having made 158 appearances for the Poland national team.

Poland look to be set to be without the veteran forward in their upcoming game against Finland. However, Michal Probierz has lined up his starting XI for the last two qualifiers without Lewandowski in the starting lineup. He has opted to play Panathinaikos forward Karol Swiderski and Al Duhail forward Krzysztof Piątek in his two-man forward line in the last few games, with Swiderski even scoring a brace in their 2-0 win over Malta in their previous World Cup qualifier in March.

It's likely that that the Polish gaffer will continue with that forward line combination until some sort of an agreement can be reached with Lewandowski to return to the team. The 36-year-old forward enjoyed a prolific 2024/25 season with Barcelona, scoring 42 goals in all competition and also winning the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Copa title with Hansi Flick's side.