NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Sport / Football

AP Interview: The Polish hero who stopped England

AP
14 Oct, 2013 12:41 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) Through the windows of the bus that took them to Wembley, Poland's players saw English fans flashing five, sometimes all 10 fingers: one for each goal they believed Alf Ramsey's team would score.

Their confidence before that Oct. 17, 1973 match England needed to win to qualify for the 1974 World Cup was understandable: England had become world champions in that same stadium just seven years earlier.

But the fans underestimated Jan Tomaszewski.

With save after save, playing with an injured hand, Tomaszewski became "the man who stopped England."

England and Poland meet in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night, when Joe Hart will be the goalkeeper under most pressure because he has been so error-prone of late. But as he pulls on his gloves and stares down the field at Poland players wanting to make his poor start to the season worse, Hart could perhaps draw inspiration from the heroics 40 years earlier of the Polish 'keeper with shoulder-length rock-star hair.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In an Associated Press interview, Tomaszeswki recounted how in 1973 the crowd yelled "animals, animals" at the Poland squad as the players filed onto the pitch in their red jerseys.

"You could not hear your own thoughts," he recalled.

Tomaszewski was so stressed he almost gifted the ball to England striker Allan Clarke after two minutes. But from that point on, he put in the performance of a lifetime. England threw everything at Tomaszewski, and got 26 corners compared to Poland's two.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I've never played in a more one-sided game in my life," England's Norman Hunter said years later in a television interview.

With acrobatic dives and a dose of luck, Tomaszewski kept out a barrage of goal-bound shots and headers.

He recalled, in particular, a volley by Clarke from five yards (meters) out.

"I blindly threw myself to the left and felt the ball hit me and it was out. And then I saw Clarke standing there and looking at me: how was it possible? But I also saw in his eyes a professional appreciation of the adversary."

After 55 minutes of frustration, the unthinkable happened for England. Hunter missed a tackle on Grzegorz Lato, on the half-way line as he was sprinting down Poland's left wing. Lato veered inside and passed to Jan Domarski. His shot streaked under Peter Shilton.

Hunter wished a hole could have opened up and swallowed him.

"That's probably one of the worst feelings I've ever had on a football field," he said.

Later, Clarke scored from the penalty spot to level the scores at 1-1.

"He is standing there, hands akimbo, as if ready to dance. That showed how great he was, his body language gave nothing away," Tomaszewski said. "The referee whistles. He runs up sort of casual, I go to one corner, he shoots in the other one. That's top class."

But with more saves from Tomaszewski and a goal-line clearance, Poland denied England the winner it needed. The "Miracle of Wembley" was complete. Poland, instead of England, went to the World Cup in Germany. There, it beat Brazil 1-0 in the match for third place. Ramsey was replaced as England manager six months after the upset, one of the biggest in World Cup history.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Too emotional to sleep that night, Tomaszewski went out the next morning for an early stroll to discover his name plastered on Britain's front pages.

"They did not know our names so they took the first one from the lineup," he said modestly. "The man who stopped England was made of 12 parts: (coach) Kazimierz Gorski and 11 players who he precisely placed on the pitch like pieces in a puzzle.

"I made plenty of mistakes at Wembley, but my colleagues saved me. They made mistakes, and then I saved them."

Poland's then-communist government blocked British clubs, including Tottenham, from recruiting Tomaszewski with rules barring players under 30 from moving abroad.

"I never regretted it," said Tomaszewski, now 65 and a lawmaker. "We won the hearts of the Poles. We were heroes. We were received by kings, presidents and government leaders. You cannot buy that with any money."

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Football

Auckland FC

Auckland FC make impressive start to Australia Cup

All Whites

'Time for me to move on': All Whites veteran and A-League legend retires

Wellington Phoenix

Phoenix triumph in shootout thriller after lightning delay in Australia Cup


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Recommended for you

Be in to win the ultimate New Zealand Fashion week experience
Viva - Fashion

Be in to win the ultimate New Zealand Fashion week experience

'A Way Through': Ceramic artist's creative residency showcased
Whanganui Chronicle

'A Way Through': Ceramic artist's creative residency showcased

'Unstable air mass': Risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms for NZ
New Zealand

'Unstable air mass': Risk of heavy rain and thunderstorms for NZ

Surcharge ban: Should we just all go back to paying in cash?
New Zealand

Surcharge ban: Should we just all go back to paying in cash?

'It still hasn’t really sunk in': Craig Grylls on becoming premiership winner
Racing

'It still hasn’t really sunk in': Craig Grylls on becoming premiership winner

'Hi Nan, we've got no power': Mum of six disconnected, lived on camp stove and candles
Business

'Hi Nan, we've got no power': Mum of six disconnected, lived on camp stove and candles



Latest from Football

Auckland FC make impressive start to Australia Cup
Auckland FC

Auckland FC make impressive start to Australia Cup

Gold Coast Knights were blown away in the first half.

29 Jul 05:41 PM
'Time for me to move on': All Whites veteran and A-League legend retires
All Whites

'Time for me to move on': All Whites veteran and A-League legend retires

28 Jul 09:44 PM
Phoenix triumph in shootout thriller after lightning delay in Australia Cup
Wellington Phoenix

Phoenix triumph in shootout thriller after lightning delay in Australia Cup

27 Jul 09:51 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search