Romelu Lukaku went into a frenzy of scoring in the 17th minute against Azerbaijan in a Euro qualifier. Within 20 minutes, he scored four goals to lead Belgium to an easy 0-5 victory - making the evening one of the biggest of his career. His overall numbers are astounding, far exceeding the 83 goals he scored (in 113 games) as the Belgians' all-time top scorer.
First, the quartet brought him to 14 goals in the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. No player in the past has scored this amount in previous campaigns. He stands first, with big names such as Robert Lewandowski (Euro 2016 qualifier) holding the record until tonight along with Northern Ireland's David Healey (Euro 2008 qualifiers) with 13 goals each. Further down the list are 12 goals each in one campaign: Harry Kane (Euro 2020 qualifier) and Dutch Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Euro 2012 qualifiers).
In the all-time table, Lukaku is fifth with 21 goals in Euro qualifying matches - 14 in the current campaign and 7 more in the previous campaign (Euro 2020), and he needs three more goals in the Euro 2028 qualifying campaign to leapfrog into second place. Ahead of him are Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) with 41 goals, second place is shared by Harry Kane (England) and Maccabi Tel Aviv coach Robbie Keane (Ireland) with 23 each, and fourth Robert Lewandowski with 22 goals for Poland.
Even on the all-time scoring list, as his team's top scorer, Lukaku ranks high. The 83 goals he scored put him third, one goal away from the legendary Franz Puskas (84), and already at the upcoming Euros the Belgian can leave behind the unforgettable Hungarian. He will no longer reach first place, he is reserved for Cristiano Ronaldo with 127 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Ferenc Puskas are the only European men to have scored more goals than Romelu Lukaku in senior international football history 🤯
Lukaku's 14 goals in EURO 2024 qualifiers are also the most in EURO qualifying history 😮
UNREAL 👏 pic.twitter.com/EYIRYrwkOJ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 19, 2023
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