Lewandowski to boycott national team under current coach
The 36-year-old has played 158 times for Poland, scoring 85 goals, but earlier in the day was replaced as team captain by Piotr Zielinski.
"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," Lewandowski said on X.
But the former Bayern Munich centre-forward left the door open for a return.
"I hope I will still have another chance to play again for the best fans in the world," he said.
Probierz has been Poland coach since 2023, and led them to the Euro 2024 finals where they failed to win a game and were eliminated in the group stage.
Earlier on Sunday, the Polish Football Association announced on its website the coach's decision to replace Lewandowski as skipper.
"The coach has personally informed Robert Lewandowski, the entire team and the technical staff of his decision," the federation said.
Lewandowski is not part of the Polish squad in the current international window. According to Polish news agency PAP, the player asked to be excused to rest.
Lewandoswki has just won a domestic Spanish treble with his club Barcelona.
Poland beat Moldova 2-0 on June 6 in a friendly and faces Finland on Tuesday in Helsinki in Group G of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
With two wins from as many matches, Poland top the group.
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"I have come to the conclusion that in the current situation the best decision for the good of the national team will be my resignation from the position of selector. Performing this function was the fulfilment of my professional dreams and the greatest honour in my life," Probierz said in a statement from the Polish Football Federation (PZPN). Lewandowski's announcement on Sunday that he would boycott the team while Probierz remained coach was followed by a 2-1 loss away to Finland that knocked Poland off the top of their European World Cup qualifying group. The striker was not part of the Polish squad in the recent international window. According to Polish news agency PAP, the Barcelona player had asked to be excused to rest. Lewandowksi was unhappy that he had been stripped of the captain's armband by Probierz. "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," Lewandowski wrote on social media. "I hope I will still have another chance to play again for the best fans in the world," he added. The 36-year-old Lewandowski made his Poland debut in 2008 and had been captain since 2014. He holds the Polish record for caps, with 158, and goals, with 85 -- 37 more than the country's next highest scorer Wlodzimierz Lubanski. Probierz had been coach since September 2023. He led Poland to the Euro 2024 finals where they failed to win a game and were eliminated in the group stage. In his 21 matches in charge he won nine, drew five and lost seven. "Thank you, of course, to all the footballers I have had the pleasure of meeting along the way," he wrote in the PZPN post. "I will keep my fingers crossed for all of you, because the national team is our common national asset."
