With a combined 160 goals in 309 national team games going into the World Cup qualifying playoffs this week, it was no surprise Robert Lewandowski and Edin Džeko delivered yet again.
Even at a combined age of 77.
Their goals leveled the score in the second half of European playoff semifinals that Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina would go on to win late Thursday.
Lewandowski and Džeko will captain their countries in playoff finals on Tuesday aiming to reach a World Cup that shapes as a last one — surely? — for a stellar group of old geezers.
Cristiano Ronaldo is now 41, Luka Modrić is 40 and Lionel Messi will turn 39 during the group stage.
All of them Ballon d’Or winners and still with a talismanic influence on the Portugal, Croatia and Argentina teams who will be in North America in June.
Ronaldo likely will not even be the oldest player at the 48-nation tournament.
Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon has turned 43 since starring in a thrilling decisive qualifier against Denmark. The oldest ever was 45-year-old Essam El Hadary in goal for Egypt against Saudi Arabia at the 2018 World Cup.
Will Lewandowski and Džeko join them?
Lewangoalski again
“For Lewandowski it was like another day at the office, right?” Poland right back Matty Cash said after a 2-1 comeback win over Albania in Warsaw.
Poland trailed to Albania’s opening goal just before halftime when its inspirational captain scored his 89th international goal.
Lewandowski rose high at the back post from a 63rd-minute corner to head down and into the Albania net. The win was secured in the 73rd by a powerful 25-meter shot by Piotr Zieliński, the Inter Milan midfielder.
“Maybe it was not the game of our dreams but I won’t complain about it,” the 37-year-old Lewandowski said. “We won and that’s the most important.”
Now Poland travels to Sweden, a 3-1 winner over Ukraine thanks to a Viktor Gyökeres hat trick on Thursday.
Džeko lifts Bosnia toward Italy test
Bosnia trailed Wales 1-0 in the 86th and faced the end of the World Cup qualifying road when Džeko rose to meet a corner. The 40-year-old veteran soared higher than Wales goalkeeper Karl Darlow and glanced his header into the unguarded goal.
Džeko fulfilled his duty with his 73rd national team goal and watched from the bench in extra time before a penalty shootout his teammates won 4-2.
“When you see everything we deserved this win,” Džeko said. “Beat Wales away which is never easy, a little bit (of) luck but also quality on the penalty shootout.”
Italy visits Zenica on Tuesday when one team will earn a place at its first World Cup since the 2014 edition in Brazil.
“It would mean everything,” said Džeko, whose goal 12 years ago was wrongly disallowed for offside in a 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the pre-VAR era. That sent Bosnia home after the group stage from its only World Cup appearance as an independent soccer nation.
“Not just for me but also for these young kids, this new generation,” Džeko said. “There’s a lot of good players.”
Among them Kerim Alajbegović, the 18-year-old Salzburg winger who calmly scored the winning penalty in Cardiff. Alajbegović was not even born in June 2007 when Džeko played — and scored — on his Bosnia debut.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup