Romelu Lukaku is a Belgian professional
footballer who represents the
Belgium national football team as a
striker. Aged 17, he made his debut for his country in a 1–0 defeat to
Croatia in Brussels in March 2010. His first and second international goals came on his eighth appearance for Belgium, in a 2–0
friendly victory over
Russia.
As of 26 March 2024[update], Lukaku is his country's top scorer with 83 goals in 114 appearances.[1] The Belgian Football Association confirmed that he had broken the national record when Lukaku scored his 31st international goal in a match against
Japan in November 2017.[2]FIFA, however, did not initially recognise the record as three goals had been scored against
Luxembourg in a friendly in May 2014 later declared by the organisation as an unofficial friendly due to too many substitutions being made.[1][3] He scored twice against
Tunisia in the group stages of the
2018 FIFA World Cup, a game after which football journalist Nick Ames praised him for a "laudable act of sportsmanship" as he had indicated to the referee that he had not been fouled in the penalty area, denying himself the chance of a
hat-trick.[4] The two goals took his overall tally in the 2018 World Cup to four and made him Belgium's highest scorer in a single World Cup tournament,[4] and made him the first player since
Diego Maradona in the
1986 FIFA World Cup to score back-to-back braces (two goals in a single game).[5]
^Belgium's Euro 2024 qualifying match at home to Sweden was abandoned at half-time with the score 1–1 due to security reasons, after
two Swedish supporters were killed in a terrorist shooting in Brussels.[59] On 19 October 2023, UEFA decided that the half-time score would be considered final and the match would not be resumed.[60]
Romelu Lukaku is a Belgian professional
footballer who represents the
Belgium national football team as a
striker. Aged 17, he made his debut for his country in a 1–0 defeat to
Croatia in Brussels in March 2010. His first and second international goals came on his eighth appearance for Belgium, in a 2–0
friendly victory over
Russia.
As of 26 March 2024[update], Lukaku is his country's top scorer with 83 goals in 114 appearances.[1] The Belgian Football Association confirmed that he had broken the national record when Lukaku scored his 31st international goal in a match against
Japan in November 2017.[2]FIFA, however, did not initially recognise the record as three goals had been scored against
Luxembourg in a friendly in May 2014 later declared by the organisation as an unofficial friendly due to too many substitutions being made.[1][3] He scored twice against
Tunisia in the group stages of the
2018 FIFA World Cup, a game after which football journalist Nick Ames praised him for a "laudable act of sportsmanship" as he had indicated to the referee that he had not been fouled in the penalty area, denying himself the chance of a
hat-trick.[4] The two goals took his overall tally in the 2018 World Cup to four and made him Belgium's highest scorer in a single World Cup tournament,[4] and made him the first player since
Diego Maradona in the
1986 FIFA World Cup to score back-to-back braces (two goals in a single game).[5]
^Belgium's Euro 2024 qualifying match at home to Sweden was abandoned at half-time with the score 1–1 due to security reasons, after
two Swedish supporters were killed in a terrorist shooting in Brussels.[59] On 19 October 2023, UEFA decided that the half-time score would be considered final and the match would not be resumed.[60]