Romelu Lukaku shines in UEFA Euro Qualifiers: Decoding his stats
Romelu Lukaku was sensational in the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers, finishing as the top scorer. Notably, the AS Roma forward finished Belgium's superb campaign by slamming home four goals in the first half versus 10-man Azerbaijan on matchday 8 in Brussels. Leandro Trossard was the only other goal-scorer as Belgium topped the group. Here we decode Lukaku's brilliant stats in the qualifying campaign.
Fourth international hat-trick for Lukaku
Lukaku scored his fourth international hat-trick for Belgium. However, this was the first time he managed four goals in an international encounter. This first hat-trick came against Luxembourg in 2014 followed by a hat-trick against Sweden in 2017 at the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. His last two hat-tricks came this year against Sweden and now against Azerbaijan, both in the European Championship Qualifiers.
Highest goal-scorer in a single qualifying campaign
Lukaku finished as the highest goal-scorer in the 2024 Euro Qualifiers, steering clear of Cristiano Ronaldo, who claimed second position with 10 goals. French superstar Kylian Mbappe was third with nine goals. Lukaku has scored the most goals ever in a single Euro qualifying campaign (14). He broke the previous record of 13 goals which was held by Northern Ireland's David Healy (2008 Qualifiers).
Lukaku surpassed many legendary footballers
The Belgian marksman has netted 21 goals in the Euro Qualifiers and with his four goals against Azerbaijan he has surpassed the tally of players like Raul, Jan Koller, Klass-Jan Huntelaar (all 18), Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Hakan Sukur and John Dahl Tomasson (all 19).
Joint-seventh highest international goal-scorer
Lukaku has netted 83 goals in 113 games for Belgium since making his debut in 2010. He is now the joint seventh-highest international goal-scorer with 83 international goals in men's football. The 30-year-old is now at par with UAE's Ali Mabkhout. He is only behind Ferenc Puskas (84), Mokhtar Dahari (89), Sunil Chhetri (93), Lionel Messi (106), Ali Daei (108) and Ronaldo (128).
Four goals in a single half!
As per Squawka, Lukaku became the first player to slam home four goals in a single half for Belgium. This was his first international quadruple, having scored four once in his club career once in Everton's 6-3 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League (2017).
UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers: Breaking down Lukaku's numbers
Lukaku scored 14 goals from 8 games, besides managing one assist. 12 of his goals came from inside the box. As per Opta, Lukaku clocked 24 shots (excluding blocks) out of which 18 were on target. He smashed the woodwork once. Lukaku also created seven chances. He completed 4 take-ons and made two tackles. He had a pass accuracy of 70%.
