Lewandowski agrees to return to Poland

Jan Orban, the new coach of the Polish national team, confirmed that veteran striker Robert Lewandowski expressed his desire to return to the national team shirt after a period of absence due to disagreements with the previous coaching staff. Orban, who took over the job last July, succeeding Michal Probias, explained that he contacted Poland's all-time top scorer by phone and asked him about the possibility of returning, and the response was positive, considering it an important step towards reuniting. The disputes between Lewandowski and his former coach erupted after the decision to strip him of the captaincy and award it to Piotr Zielinski of Inter Milan, which prompted the Barcelona star to announce his retirement from international football. Orban indicated that the issue of returning the captaincy is still under discussion, and that he will listen to the opinions of Zielinski and the rest of the team's captains before making a final decision. Poland currently sits third in their World Cup qualifying group behind Finland and the Netherlands, and the coaching staff is counting on the 36-year-old's experience to boost their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The Polish national team will face the Netherlands away on September 4, before hosting Finland three days later. Despite the player suffering a hamstring injury while playing for Barcelona and being expected to be out for three weeks, his return to action could coincide with the international break, at a time when he boasts an impressive record of 85 goals in 158 international appearances.