Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku was in red-hot form in Belgium’s final 2026 European Championship qualifier against Azerbaijan on Sunday (November 19). The AS Roma attacker found the back of the net a whopping four times to help the Red Devils to a 5-0 victory. The win ensured Belgium qualified for next summer’s showpiece event as Group F winners.
Romelu Lukaku Now Has More International Goals Than Robert Lewandowski
Lukaku, whose future at Chelsea is up in the air, operated as Belgium’s lone center-forward in Domenico Tedesco’s 3-4-2-1 system on Sunday. It took him 17 minutes to break the deadlock, with him directing Jeremy Doku’s cross past the Azerbaijan goalkeeper and into the back of the net with a sublime header. Seven minutes later, Eddy Israfilov saw a second yellow for a poor foul, leaving the underdogs a man down in enemy territory.
The former Inter Milan man made the most of the numerical advantage, doubling Belgium’s advantage with a straightforward tap-in in the 26th minute. Within the next 11 minutes, Lukaku added two more goals, showcasing his knack for being in the right place at the right time. Having seen Lukaku tear the opposition into shreds, Tedesco replaced him with Ikoma Lois Openda in the second 45.
With the 20-minute blitz, Lukaku took his international tally to 83 goals in only 113 games. He also has 16 assists to his name. Before last weekend’s matchups, Lukaku was level with Brazil superstar Neymar on 79 goals. Now, he is tied with UAE icon Ali Mabkhout and is only a goal behind one of the best goalscorers in history, Ferenc Puskas. Following the quadruple against Azerbaijan, Lukaku has surpassed Robert Lewandowski in the rankings. The Poland captain now sits in ninth place with 81 goals.
Lukaku Might Find It Difficult To Reach The Summit Of All-Time Rankings
The 30-year-old striker has done remarkably to climb to joint-seventh place in the rankings. However, he will need to put in a really good shift to break into the top three, let alone reach the summit.
Argentina legend Lionel Messi is the third name on the list, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner scoring 106 times in 179 games. Former Iran sharpshooter, Ali Daei is in second place, having scored 109 times in 149 games throughout his international career. Finally, at the top sits Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored an astonishing 128 times in 204 matches.
Lukaku does have age on his side, but it will take something special for him to displace any of the aforementioned soccer icons.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
