Lukas Podolski retires from international football with Germany

Former Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski has announced his retirement from international duty following a 12-year commitment to the Germany team.

The 31-year-old, who was born in Poland, ends his international career with 129 caps and a World Cup winners' medal.

Podolski scored 48 goals for the Germans and came close to adding a European Championship crown to his achievements in 2008, but his nation were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the final.

The striker confirmed the news on Instagram, stating that "everything has its time, and my time with the DFB (German national federation) is over".

Podolski currently plies his trade at Galatasaray, where he signed last year following a three-year spell at Arsenal.

A photo posted by Lukas Podolski (@poldi_official) on Aug 15, 2016 at 3:09am PDT