Poland’s World Cup Qualifier Against Kazakhstan: Elbows, Chokeholds and a Bloody Nose

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports UK.

When it comes to the fiercest feuds in international football, the bitter rivalry between Germany and Holland is probably the most acrimonious. Then comes the great enmity between Brazil and Argentina, and then, third, is the bad blood between our brave boys, England, and the Hun, the Krauts, the bloody Bosch. There are a whole medley of other international rivalries, each with their own variable degree of entrenched xenophobia, political antipathy and deep, vicious, nationalistic hatred.

We weren't aware of any particular feud between Poland and Kazakhstan, however. At least, not until we saw the highlights of their opening World Cup qualifier.

During their match in Astana on Sunday evening, Poland and Kazakhstan racked up no fewer than 10 yellow cards. The game was an extremely physical affair, by all accounts, with the Kazakhs trying to frustrate their opponents from the off. This led to a serious backlash from Poland, who are not known for being soft touches themselves. Soon enough, things got a little bit tetchy. In fact, make that really fucking tetchy.

With only 15 minutes of the game gone, Robert Lewandowski could easily have been sent off. He received a caution for a robust elbow to the face of Yeldos Akhmetov, but the only person to see red was his opponent, mainly because it was pouring out of his nose. Lewandowski got another stroke of luck when the referee failed to spot him putting Bauyrzhan Islamkhan in a chokehold, a move which could easily have earned him another yellow. In retaliation, Lewandowski was kicked to pieces for the rest of the game, though he did manage to win a foul in the penalty area before putting Poland 2-0 up.

The rest of the match was somewhat more frustrating for Poland, what with their opponents drawing level with two goals early in the second half. That led to further clashes, including a tussle between Islamkhan and Bartosz Kapustka which resulted in the former lying on the turf, dramatically gasping for air. In his frustration at the delay, Poland defender Kamil Glik gave his opponent a sharp prod with his boot, which led to even more aggro (and a prompt yellow card).

So, on the pitch in Astana, another great rivalry was born. When football historians look back on this day, they will say it was the start of the greatest grudge match in international football – or at least the start of a series of extremely niggly fixtures between Poland and Kazakhstan.