Romelu Lukaku nets hat trick on his return for Belgium against Sweden

Romelu Lukaku underlined his enduring value to Belgium by scoring all three goals in a 3-0 win at Sweden in the other notable victory on Friday.

It was a successful start to Domenico Tedesco's tenure as coach of Belgium, which is also playing under a new captain in Kevin De Bruyne.

Tedesco will know the importance of having Lukaku healthy if the Red Devils are to finally win an international trophy.

The striker wasn't fully fit at the World Cup and that was a big reason why Belgium went out in the group stage. Lukaku has been playing regularly for Inter Milan since then and was a constant threat against Sweden as he scored in the 35th, 49th and 83rd minutes, with two set up by winger Dodi Lukebakio.

“A really good result," Tedesco said. “I felt a good spirit not only on the pitch but also on the bench. The spirit of being united.” Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden's 41-year-old striker, came off the bench for his first national team appearance in nearly a year and had a couple of chances to score.

Loss for lewandowski

Euro 2024 could be the last major international tournament for 34-year-old Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, though Poland's bid to make it to Germany got off to a sticky start.

Poland lost 3-1 at the Czech Republic, which went ahead when Ladislav Krejcí scored after 27 seconds — the earliest goal netted by the national team in its history.

Tomáš Cvancara and Jan Kuchta also were on target for the Czechs as Lewandowski was kept scoreless in the Group E game.

Austria beat Azerbaijan 4-1 in the group containing Belgium and Sweden, with on-loan Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer scoring twice, and Greece won at Gibraltar 3-0 in France's group.

There were wins for Serbia (2-0 at home to Lithuania) and Montenegro (1-0 at Bulgaria) in Group G. (AP) AM AM AM