The 4 most intense international matches of all time | OneFootball

Argentina and Brazil have historically produced some of the most intense matches in football history. When the two South American titans lock horns, it usually makes for a fury-filled contest, littered with yellow cards and sometimes red. Though, when the pair faced off in November 2023, the battle didn't just commence on the pitch but also in the stands.

As the national anthems took place before kick-off, Brazillian police charged the Argentina fans in response to the fights which were breaking out. The visiting fans at Brazil's sold-out Maracanã stadium began to launch seats at the officers and many in the vicinity decided to enter the pitch to escape the violence, which saw at least one fan injured and stretchered away. Argentina captain Lionel Messi went over to his supporters and pleaded with them to calm down before his side were led to the changing rooms, delaying kick-off.

We'll revisit that crazy affair in Rio later on in the article, as GIVEMESPORT takes a look at the most intense international matches of all time. Each of the four games we've selected are intense, whether that be in relation to the number of cards shown or quite simply, nail-biting moments. They've all been judged against the following factors: intense moments and number of cards. So, with that in mind, here are our selections.

4 Germany vs England (World Cup 2010)

27th June 2010: Germany 4-1 England

Germany versus England over the years has typically produced some quite brilliant encounters full of quality, controversy and intensity. We've picked out the World Cup round of 16 clash from 2010, which from an England fan's perspective, will be remembered for the decision not to award Frank Lampard's superb strike, which clearly bounced over the line off the crossbar.

Miroslav Klose opened the scoring for Joachim Löw's side after getting on the end of a long ball before sliding home past David James in goal. Lukas Podolski added a second not long after with a powerfully struck left-footed strike, leaving the Three Lions with a mountain to climb. Matthew Upson pulled a goal back to give Fabio Capello's team a lifeline and they thought they'd levelled the score when Lampard crashed one in off the crossbar but to the amazement of England players and supporters, the referee waved play on. The visiting Three Lions fans booed at half-time, clearly incensed at the referee.

England probed early on in the second half and Lampard went close, hitting the woodwork again, but Thomas Müller fired in the third on a breakaway to restore his side's two-goal cushion. The Bayern Munich forward netted his second in quick succession to round off the thumping victory and send England home.

3 France vs Italy (World Cup 2006)

9th July 2006: France 1-1 Italy (Italy win 5-3 on pens)

Well, for many, this will be a game most notably remembered for Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Italy defender Marco Materazzi, which saw him red-carded. Of course, for Italy fans, it marks a monumental moment in their history, as they lifted the most desired trophy across football. Gli Azzurri were crowned World Cup winners for the fourth time in their history after beating France 5-3 on penalties.

Zidane, playing his final game before retiring, opened the scoring seven minutes in with an iconic panenka penalty, which bounced in off the crossbar. However, his side's lead didn't last long, as Materazzi powered home a header from Andrea Pirlo's wicked curling corner just over 10 minutes later. The scores stayed level for the remainder of normal time as the contest advanced to extra time. In the 110th minute, Zidane produced a moment of madness, headbutting Materazzi after the pair appeared to exchange words and his side went on to lose the final on penalties, with Fabio Grosso netting the deciding spot kick.

"He provoked me by talking about my sister Lila," Zidane revealed in 2023. "I'm not proud of it, but it's part of my career. At that time, I was more fragile. He didn't insult my mother, but he did insult my sister."

"You know the NBA? Trash talking – my trash talking nothing, very minimal, nothing," Materazzi said on the incident.

2 Argentina vs France (World Cup 2022)

18th December 2022: Argentina 3-3 France

We've selected the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France for different reasons than the others in this list. Perhaps not as fiery and fury-raged as other selections but notwithstanding that, it produced an enthralling and nailbiting affair throughout, with many intense moments.

Lionel Messi was at the heart of the action from the off, as his first-half spot-kick put the two-time World Cup winners 1-0 to the good following Ousmane Dembélé's clumsy trip in the penalty area, although on second viewing, it was certainly a harsh decision against the fleet-footed winger. Ángel Di María then doubled La Albiceleste's lead shortly after with a cushioned finish, completing a wonderful counter-attacking move.

As the clock ticked into the 80th minute, Nicolás Otamendi committed a foul on substitute Randal Kolo Muani in the penalty area, providing Kylian Mbappé with a glorious chance to pull one back for his side from the spot, which he did. And less than 90 seconds later, the Paris Saint-Germain forward netted the leveller, powerfully volleying the ball past Emiliano Martínez to take the dramatic tie to extra time.

The drama didn't end there though, as Messi added a third, scoring what he and his teammates believed to be the winning goal in the 108th minute. But, Mbappé once again rewrote the script and popped up with another to complete his hat-trick two minutes from time, netting from the spot once more. Penalties beckoned to create more theatre in Qatar at the 88,000-seater Lusail Iconic Stadium. And as it goes, Messi finally had his crowning moment, as Argentina defeated France 5-3 in the penalty shootout, with Gonzalo Montiel firing home the winning spot-kick.

1 Brazil vs Argentina (World Cup 2026 Qualifying)

22nd November 2023: Brazil 0-1 Argentina

The aforementioned clash between Brazil and Argentina in November 2023 was perhaps one of the most intense international matches of all time. The scenes prior to kick-off turned ugly, as rival fans clashed in the stands as the national anthems were taking place, prompting police to charge at the visiting Argentina supporters with batons. The Argentina squad hurried over to try and calm the situation down and Aston Villa's shot-stopper Emiliano Martínez even attempted to grab a baton out of an officer's hand. Eventually, the two sets of players were led to the changing rooms which delayed the kick-off by 30 minutes.

Speaking after the game, Argentina captain Lionel Messi said: "We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy. You think about the families, the people who are there, who don't know what's going on and we were more concerned about that than playing a match that, at that point, was of secondary importance."

Brazil skipper Marquinhos added: "We were worried about the families, women and children that we were seeing in panic up there in the stands. Down on the pitch it was hard for us to understand what was going on, it was a very scary situation."

Following the unsavoury scenes, the World Cup qualifier finally took centre stage and it produced a pretty cagey and scrappy encounter, with the visitors coming away 1-0 victors. Former Manchester City defender Nicolás Otamendi netted the only goal of the game after climbing high to head home from a corner. Less than 10 minutes from time, Joelinton was shown a straight red card for his shove on Rodrigo De Paul, leaving the hosts with 10 men as they chased the game. Ultimately, Brazil fell to a home defeat for the first time ever in a World Cup qualifying game. It left them sixth in the table, which is the last spot which guarantees a place at the 2026 tournament.