ASTANA (Reuters) - Euro 2016 quarter-finalists Poland began their World Cup qualifying campaign by squandering a 2-0 lead in a bad-tempered 2-2 draw away to Kazakhstan which saw 10 players booked on Sunday.
Poland appeared to be cruising when Bartosz Kapustka put them ahead after nine minutes and Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty 10 minutes before the break in the Group E match, his sixth successive goal in a qualifier.
But Kazakhstan, who lost seven of their 10 games in the Euro 2016 qualifiers and have never played at the World Cup, pulled one back in the 51st minute when Sergey Khizhnichenko chested down a cross and stroked the ball past Lukasz Fabianski.
Khizhnichenko struck again seven minutes later when he put away Maksat Baizhanov's low cross. The game then turned niggly and Poland were denied victory when Lewandowski struck the post late on - the third time the visitors had hit the woodwork.