Former Leeds United striker's international record wrecked by Romelu Lukaku rout

An international goalscoring record, held jointly by a former Leeds United striker was broken over the weekend after Romelu Lukaku's rout for Belgium in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

The Roma forward, on loan from Chelsea, struck four times in 21 first half minutes in Belgium's 5-0 win over Azerbaijan to take his qualifying campaign tally to 14. That broke a record that was initially forged in the 2008 campaign and then equalled eight years later.

David Healy, who began that particular campaign as a Leeds United player, overtook Croatia legend Davor Šuker by hitting 13 goals in the 2008 qualifiers, which included an incredible hat-trick for Northern Ireland against a Spain side who would go on to dominate world football.

Northern Ireland failed to qualify for the competition after stumblng in the latter stages of the group games, by which stage Healy had made a move from Leeds to Fulham. Presenting a special award to recognise the achievement, Uefa president Michael Platini said: "David Healy's record goes down in history and he beat a world-class striker in Davor Suker to do so.

"The outstanding performance of David in the qualifying competition of the European Championship and his goal tally of 13 goals is a new record and deserves to be recognised. I am sure that this record will last for some time to come and will be hard to beat. This is why I will be presenting him with a special award to celebrate his fantastic achievement."

The record was equalled in 2016 by Poland's Robert Lewandowski, a tally which stood at the top alongside Healy's haul until Lukaku's four-goal flurry on Sunday.

With 21, Lukaku is still some way off the record for total scored in Euro qualifiers, unsurprisingly held by Cristiano Ronaldo on 41. Next up after Ronaldo is another former Leeds United striker - Robbie Keane who is level with Harry Kane on 23 goals.