Lukaku's Four-Goal Blitz Secures Top Spot in Group F for Belgium

Romelu Lukaku scored four goals in the first half as Belgium beat 10-man Azerbaijan after being sent off in the first half of the Euro 2024 qualifiers at midnight on November 20.

The 30 -year-old currently has 83 goals in 113 appearances for Belgium, making him the seventh-highest goalscorer in men's international football history.

He took the lead in Jeremy Doku 's pass before Azerbaijan 's Eddy Israfi lov was sent off, then fought back in the 26th minute from a fall by Timothy Castagne , with the third goal coming in the 30th minute. Wout Faes ' pass and a fourth goal came in the 37th minute from Orel Mangala before being substituted in the first half .

Leandro Trossard added a fifth goal for Belgium from a Doku pass , all five of which were scored by players playing in England.

This is Belgian captain Lukaku 's fourth international match , scoring four goals in his club career in Everton 's 6-3 Premier League win over Bournemouth in February 2017 .

Only Cristiano Ronaldo ( 128 for Portugal) , Ali Daei ( 109 for Iran) , Lionel Messi ( 106 for Argentina) , Sunil Chhetri ( 93 for India) , Mokhtar Dahari ( 89 for Malaysia) and Ferenc Puskas ( 84 goals for Hungary) more than Lukaku in international football.

His 14 qualifying goals set him apart from his closest rivals Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe , who scored 10 goals and nine assists . Individuals in this campaign. 14 goals is a record for European qualifiers, beating the 13 -point mark set by Northern Ireland's David Healy in 2008 and equaled by Poland's Robert Lewandowski in 2016 .

The Belgians have already booked their place in Euro 2024 in Germany next year and have overtaken Austria to finish top of Group F with the victory. They have remained unbeaten since coach Domenico Tedesco joined in February. Sweden , whose hopes of qualifying have been dashed, beat Estonia 2-0 in Stockholm . By: Phea