Robert Lewandowski return in vain as Poland slide to defeat against Austria

The return of Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski wasn't enough to inspire Poland as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat to Austria in Group D, leaving them on the brink of elimination from Euro 2024.

First-half strikes from Gernot Trauner and Krzysztof Piatek saw the two sides head into the break level before Lewandowski's arrival as a 60th-minute substitute, making his first appearance at the tournament after missing Poland's defeat to the Netherlands.

Christoph Baumgartner put Ralf Rangnick's side ahead shortly after the 35-year-old's introduction and Marko Arnautovic made sure of the win with a penalty after Wojciech Szczesny brought down Marcel Sabitzer.

Having impressed against France in a slender 1-0 defeat, Austria will head into their final group stage game against the Netherlands with hope of sealing qualification to the knockout rounds.

Poland, however, will be eliminated on Friday night if the Netherlands beat France at Leipzig Stadium.

Lewandowski suffered an injury scare during his country's friendly victory over Turkey before the start of Euro 2024 and it was later confirmed he would miss Poland's first group game.

The former Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund striker's impact was minimal on Friday evening. He picked up a yellow card for a raised elbow in an aerial duel and didn't get any shots away during his 30-minute cameo, getting limited service as Austria created the greater chances.

In his absence, Poland made a strong start to their Euro 2024 opener as Adam Buksa gave them the lead in the 16th minute. However, Liverpool's Cody Gakpo and former Manchester United loanee Wout Weghorst struck to hand the Dutch all three points.

Poland now have to hope for a French win on Friday and pray three points against Les Bleus - a tall order in itself - in their last group outing will be enough to qualify for the knockout stages as one of the best third-place teams.

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