The Last Crusade: Poland v England, Naradowy Stadium, Warsaw

8 Sep 2021

FIFA WC Qualifying Group I

Poland v England

Narodowy Stadium

Warsaw, Poland

We've played the Poles a lot over the years; full record is P21- W12, D8, and L1 but the record away in Poland isn't so good P10 - W3, D6, and L1. We have played them in Poznan x 1, Chorzow x 6 and Warsaw x 3. The loss (0:2) came in Chorzow in 1973 and is folklore in Poland and was a factor why England did not qualify for the WC in West Germany in 1974. I have only seen England play in Warsaw once (this game) because the last time I was here in 2012 the game was abandoned for a water logged pitch (roof gate)

There were no tickets available for England Fans so it was every man for himself. For ease of mind we got our's on line through a Polish ticketing site called Alebilet. All I had to do was create a PESL, as this is a prerequisite for obtaining tickets via the Polish FA. That said, on the day there were plenty of likeminded English fans getting real tickets (not online), like the one above.

My actual ticket with Polish national insurance number

(PESL) = 66071256479😇

The Naradowy Stadium is very impressive and is one of my favourite new stadiums. It holds 58580 and from the old town is located on the other side of the River Vistula but easily accessible by foot, tram, bus and taxi. I've been here 3 times: 2012 - roof gate, 2013 - Roger Waters/Pink Floyd concert and 2021 - Poland v England.

Poland 1 England 1

Attendance 56212

Day 1. After a 5 hour delay on the train from Budapest we eventually arrived at our swanky hotel in the old town, just a stones throw from the main market square of Cracow

Golebia Street leading to the square

The Town Hall Tower

The Adam Mickiewicz statue standing infront of the Cloth Hall. He was a famous Polish poet (one of Poland's Three Bards."

Horses and carriages lining up in the morning sun in front of St Mary's Basilica

St Florian's Gate and the defensive wall

Entrance to the Wieliczka salt mine

Located SE of Cracow it has been active since 11thC

On the visit we descended to depths of 130m with the highlight being the Chapel of St Kinga carved out of rock salt.

On the way back we pop into the Jewish district at Kazimierz and find a nice boozer just off the new square called 'Singer'. What could possibly go wrong!

Day 2. Catching the 1132 to Gdynia via Warsaw

Arriving at Warsaw Central on the fast train in 2 hour 36 mins

The Palace of Science and Culture in all its Stalinist Brutality

After conversing in Russian with the Taxi Driver we eventually arrive at the Castle Hotel in the heart of the Old Town.

The Chopin Room

Amazing views onto the main square

Horse and cart driving right passed our front door

Posing with the stadium in the background

The Royal Castle

My favourite Warsaw restaurant - "Bazyliszek Restaurant" The legend of the Warsaw Basilisk is part of Polish folklore and the story goes that a King of the Serpents had lived in the basements of a ruined mansion on Ulica Krzywe near the old market square.If you looked into its eyes you instantly dropped dead. Eventually he was defeated by a shoemaker who descended the basement armed only with a mirror. The Basilisk was defeated by its own weapon.

The Old Market Square and the statue of 'Syrenka' a fierce mermaid who according to one version of the story is said to have washed up on the banks of the river near the old town. Local fisherman decided to trap her because she was creating waves and releasing the fish but when she sang they fell in love with her. However, a rich merchant trapped and imprisoned the mermaid but the fishermen rescued her. Ever since then the mermaid has been the protector of Warsaw.

The Podwale Beer Company - a great find for our first evening meal

On Podwale Street is the monument of 'The Little Insurgent' (Maly Powstaniec) commemorating all of the child soldiers who fought and died during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.

Janowi Kilinski was a Polish soldier and one of the commanders of the Kosciuszko Uprising in 1794. He was a shoemaker by trade and led the uprising against the Russian garrison stationed in the city

The Royal Palace and the walls of the old town

Castle Square

Royal Palace

Sigismund's Column was erected in 1664 and was felled by the Germans during the Warsaw Uprising, but the actual statue survived with Sigismund only losing his sword. King Sigismund 3 is honoured by the column because in 1596 he moved the capital from Cracow to Warsaw

The Warsaw Palm Tree dominates the city's Charles De Gaulle roundabout. It pays homage to the Jewish community and was originally entered in an art completion named 'Greetings from Jerusalem". It is actually made of steel and is designed to bend in the wind. It even has its own website!

Jan Zachwatowicz is a Polish architect who is credited with restoring many of Poland's and Warsaw's historical buildings which were destroyed during WW2.

Day 3. We walked up to the stadium as per my match day ritual and came across the Solidarity monument. It was unveiled by the Polish president and the leader of the Belorussian opposition (Svetlana Cichanouska) on 4 Jun 21. It shows the 'Solidarity' logo breaking through fragments of the Berlin Wall.

Gate 3 - one of our entrance points for tonights game

The red and white fascia represents the polish flag and at night shimmers as if the flag is being waved

PGE is the new sponsor for the Naradowy Stadium and has the naming rights, so officially it is the PGE Naradowy Stadium

Pano - PGE Naradowy Stadium

View from the Holy Cross Bridge

The Warsaw Mermaid on the banks of the River Vistula

The Warsaw Metro has two lines (M1 and M2). The M1 runs north to south and the M2 east to west. This is the station at Centrum where you alight for the Palace of S&C and downtown shopping