Lewandowski was notorious for his underperformance in big matches, which always led to skepticism.
However, this could be seen as a classic case of the flaws inherent in star-focused football.
The center-forward is the most typical position within this star-centered approach.
As a center-forward, once targeted, it's easy to be isolated and not get the ball.
A goal-scoring machine without the ball obviously can't perform at all.
With the national team's overall weakness and lack of tactical prowess, they couldn't create the attacking environment for Lewandowski like at Dortmund and Bayern. Without other stars to take advantage of the focus on Lewandowski, he would never have his day.
Looking at Ronaldo after he left Real Madrid with this line of thought, one realizes it makes sense why Lewandowski isn't recognized.
Because Lewandowski is pretty much a watered-down version of Ronaldo during that period.
And that period of Ronaldo was already a decline from his peak.
