Poland top striker Robert Lewandowski made his awaited Euro 2024 debut after recovering from injury, but couldn't do much to help his team avoid a 3-1 defeat to Austria in Berlin on Friday.
Lewandowski came off the bench in the 60th minute, when the game was 1-1. He got a yellow card after only four minutes on the pitch for a foul on Philipp Lienhart, while two minutes later Austria took the lead with Christoph Baumgartner.
Marko Arnautović completed Austria's win from the spot in the 78th.
"We conceded a goal very fast after he came in so it changed how he entered the match," coach Michał Probierz defended his player when asked why Lewandowski had such a disappointing performance.
Probierz said the Barcelona striker was fully fit and that he trained with the team, but it was still decided to keep him out of the starting line-up.
"We knew it would be a high intensity match and we decided with the doctors and Robert that he would not be starting," he said.
"We hoped we would break through the Austrian defence in the second half. It's a shame we didn't score a winner first," he added.
Lewandowski is team captain, the nation's record capped player with now 151 appearances, and also record scorer with 82 goals.
He told Polish media after the match that he didn't feel ready to play a full game.
Poland are last in Group D with zero points ahead of their final match against France.
