Robert Lewandowski hints at international retirement after Poland misses out on World Cup

STOCKHOLM — Robert Lewandowski signaled he may have played his last game for Poland after narrowly missing out on a World Cup spot.

After Viktor Gyokeres' 88th-minute goal gave Sweden a 3-2 win over Poland in their playoff final, Lewandowski posted a picture to Instagram showing himself holding up his captain's armband, with the song “Time to Say Goodbye” playing.

The Barcelona striker hasn't directly confirmed he won't play for Poland again, and there have been times previously when it looked like he would retire from international soccer.

At the age of 37, he would have been one of the oldest players at the tournament if Poland had qualified. After the 2022 World Cup, he opted to stay on despite what seemed to be a goodbye to the fans at the time.

Lewandowski also threatened to step away from the national team last year in a conflict with the team's then-coach, who eventually resigned. Lewandowski returned as captain in August under a new coach.

Lewandowski has played a record 165 games for Poland, beginning with a goal on his debut against San Marino in 2008, when he was 20. His 89 goals are nearly twice as many as any other Polish player but he's only qualified for the World Cup twice, with a best result of reaching the round of 16 in 2022.

Poland's next scheduled games are in the Nations League in September.

Lewandowski's future at club level is uncertain, too. His contract runs out at the end of the season at Barcelona, where he's scored 16 goals in 37 games in all competitions this season.