MATCH! -julkaisun 29 May 2018 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

1 WICKED WONDERKIDS! The World Cup is where wonderkids announce themselves, and this summer there’s no shortage of top talent ready to rip it up! We can’t wait to see stars like Mbappe, Sane and Rashford, plus loads of others young guns, boss it! 2 MESSI V RON! Whoever you think is better, it’s amazing to watch two proper all-time greats. This will probably be the last time we’ll see these legends at the peak of their powers at a World Cup, so enjoy it! 3 THE EGYPTIAN KING! After dominating the Prem and firing Liverpool to the Champions League final, Mohamed Salah could seal his bid for the Ballon d’Or with a strong showing for Egypt! 4 GOLDEN BOOT RACE! The World Cup Golden Boot is one of the…

TALKING POINT Head coach Joachim Low surprised some fans when he left out 2014 WC hero Mario Gotze from his final squad! One player desperate to prove himself is Marco Reus, who missed both the World Cup in 2014 and Euro 2016 because of injury! THE GAME Austria didn’t qualify for this summer’s tournament, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be tough opponents for the WC holders! They’re currently 26th in the world – higher than the likes of Serbia, Senegal, Egypt and Nigeria, who all qualified! HEAD-TO-HEAD The Germans have won 25 of their 38 meetings with Austria, and that includes the last nine! Austria are looking for their first win over their neighbours since 1986. Mega motivation! LIKELY L INE-UP WATCH IT! AUSTRIA v GERMANY Saturday 5pm…

BECOMING WORLD CLASS! BILLY SAYS: “Becoming world class is all about a certain attitude, or state of mind. Your mental challenge is to want to be the best. That starts with being the best on your team, then in your league, then in your county and so on. How can you ever become the best unless you aim for the very top ” FAVOURITE KITS! BILLY SAYS: “I really like white kits like Germany and Real Madrid have had for so long. There’s just something special about them.” JEZ SAYS: “There’s something so pure about a white football kit. That Real Madrid kit that was all white with gold trimming was just a touch of class!” LEROY SANE! JEZ SAYS: “He was one of my favourite players in the Premier…

MATCH mania! Top stuff from Daniel for sending in this cool snap with his mags! He’s been collecting MATCH for two years now! MATCH cat-titude! Dizzy the cat loves ripping the bag for George to get his dose of MATCH! Rainy day reading! Liverpool fan Declan made the most of a rainy afternoon by re-reading his MATCH collection! Great idea, mate! Mega cup collection! Woah – take a look at all the trophies that footy-mad Charlie has picked up! Awesome! Moon. City mad! Lucky Man. City fan Alex bumped into mascot Moonchester at the Football Museum! He got the blue alien to bust out The Floss dance! WIN A £40 VOUCHER! Thanks to our mates at Lovell Soccer, the reader who sends us the best picture of the week will…

FIFA 18 CHALLENGE! Name the two Portugal stars from these awesome FUT cards! BACK TO THE FUTURE Which rock-solid centre-back has gone back in time to own France ’98? CLUB SHARERS! Which team have these World Cup legends all played for? YouTube STAR! Which Switzerland star has taken the place of F2 trick machine Billy? CAMERA SHY! Which WC heroes are hiding from the MATCH snapper in these pics? NAME THE TEAM!  Can you name England’s XI that drew with Italy in their friendly back in March? SUPER SKIPPERS! Which footy heroes captain these sides? BAGUS BADGE! Which country’s badge is all jumbled up? CRAZY KIT! Which 2018 nation had this bonkers keeper kit in ’94? WORDSEARCH Find 30 heroes who’ll tear up this summer’s World Cup in this grid!…

FRIDAY, JUNE 1 Italy must be one of the toughest non-qualifying tests for Les Bleus, so a win here would be a big boost ahead of the WC! SATURDAY, JUNE 2 These nations are two of the favourites to go far in the tournament, so this should be a well entertaining clash! SATURDAY, JUNE 2 There’s a giant rivalry between these two Scandinavian teams, so don’t expect this one to be like a friendly! SUNDAY, JUNE 3 Will Neymar get some minutes under his belt as he tries to get himself fully fit in time for the World Cup kick-off?…

16 Every team outside the Prem’s top six in 2017-18 finished with a negative goal difference – the first time that’s happened in the top flight in 123 years! 32 Mohamed Salah’s 32 Prem goals in 2017-18 is a record high for a 38-game season. Legend! 36 Wicked right-back Dani Alves has now won 36 major club trophies – no player has won more than the Brazil legend. What a hero! 0 No team that was promoted in England’s top five leagues in 2016-17 got relegated in 2017-18. That’s absolutely unbelievable! 2025 Ederson Sick keeper has seven signed -ye a new ar deal with Man. City! 18 David after de keepi Gea ng won 18 the cle Prem an sheet Golden s. Solid Glove ! 199  goal Peter v Crouch…

GARY CAHILL Cahill might be the most experienced player in the squad with 58 caps, but he’s got a lot to prove after missing the friendlies with Holland and Italy in March. The Chelsea centre-back needs a good performance to get his way back into the England starting line-up! TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD Going to a World Cup at the age of just 19 will be an incredible experience for the full-back, but after tearing it up in Liverpool’s Champions League run, he knows he can compete with the best! Trent could put serious pressure on Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker for the right wing-back slot with a good display against Nigeria! MARCUS RASHFORD It looks like Rashford is set to be England’s super sub in Russia, but he’ll still be desperate…

TALKING POINT Spain have got so much talent in their midfield, and they always struggle fitting everybody in! The likes of Thiago, Iniesta, Busquets, Silva, Isco, Koke and Saul are all going to be keen to start for Julen Lopetegui - but they can’t all get in! THE GAME Swizerland face Brazil in Group E, so this warm-up match is a real good fit, as Spain have loads of flair too! La Roja will need to keep an eye on young attacking livewire Dimitri Oberlin, but they’ve got their own exciting wonderkid in Marco Asensio! HEAD-TO-HEAD These two famously met at the 2010 World Cup, when the Swiss sneaked a shock 1-0 win! It didn’t make too much difference in the end though, as Spain still went on to win…