MATCH! -julkaisun 12 June 2018 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

FACTFILE  Age: 26 Country: Senegal Club: Napoli Position: Centre-back Boots: Puma evoSPEED Plays like: Vincent Kompany THE STORY... It looked like this would finally be the season that Napoli lifted the Serie A title, but after narrowly missing out to Juventus, a lot of their top stars could leave! All the Prem’s top six have been linked with Koulibaly, but it’ll take a bid of around £74 million to land him! DID YOU KNOW? Koulibaly was born in France and even played for their under-20 team, but chose to play for his parents' country of birth Senegal, instead! STYLE! ✔ Dominates attackers with his speed, mega strength and height! ✔ A one-on-one beast who rarely loses in individual battles! ✔ Neat and tidy on the ball to keep control and…

France Population: 67m Capital: Paris Gaffer: Didier Deschamps Ranking: 7th STRONGEST LINE- UP! 26 France have one of the youngest squads in Russia, with an average of only 26! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! Antoine Griezmann Forward In a squad packed with ace attackers, Griezmann is France’s biggest star. He was their top scorer at Euro 2016, and has the freedom to link up with the midfield and take charge of attacks! FIXTURES! June 16 Australia Kazan, 11am June 21 Peru Yekaterinburg, 4pm June 26 Denmark Moscow – Luzhniki, 3pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... It’s crazy how much quality France have in their squad, but as past results show, they could still blow it! VERDICT! With their talent, France should cruise through this group. The question is whether they…

Germany Population: 83m Capital: Berlin Gaffer: Joachim Low Ranking: 1st STRONGEST LINE- UP! 21 In their record-breaking World Cup qualifying campaign, they had 21 different scorers. Wow! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! Toni Kroos Midfielder The football genius always seems to be two steps ahead of everyone else on the pitch! His vision and reading of the game are out of this world, and he keeps the Germans ticking throughout the match! FIXTURES! June 17 Mexico Moscow – Luzhniki, 4pm June 23 Sweden Sochi, 7pm June 27 South Korea Kazan, 3pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... The top-ranked team on the planet won all ten of their WC qualifiers and scored 43 goals. That’s sizzling form! VERDICT! The holders should have a nice route to the semis, and that’s when…

CAN ENGLAND’S THREE-M AN DEFENCE SUCCEED IN RUSSIA? KYLE SAYS: “It’s a system that works for us, as we’ve shown by keeping clean sheets against Germany and Brazil. That’s a positive step, but obviously we need to score goals to win games, and that’s what will take us further in the tournament!” DO YOU THINK THE TEAM IS TOO RELIANT ON HARRY KANE? KYLE SAYS: “Marcus Rashford has shown what a world-class player he is, and Jamie Vardy’s got goals in him too. Even with some of the young lads that have come in recently like Ruben Loftus-Cheek, plus Dele Alli, we’ve got lots of striking options. I’m not worried!” IS THERE SERIOUS COMPETITION FOR PLACES IN THE SIDE? KYLE SAYS: “The competition is strong within the dressing room, and…

Russia Population: 144m Capital: Moscow Gaffer: Stanislav Cherchesov Ranking: 66th STRONGEST LINE- UP! 2 Denis Cheryshev and Vladimir Gabulov are the only two players from the hosts’ squad that don’t play in Russia! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! Aleksandr Golovin Midfielder Russia will be looking to their young playmaker to lead them to success this summer. Golovin is a really skilful, creative midfielder with mega quick feet and an eye for a sick pass! FIXTURES! June 14 Saudi Arabia Moscow – Luzhniki, 4pm June 19 Egypt Saint Petersburg, 7pm June 25 Uruguay Samara, 3pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... Russia are well buzzing to be hosting the tournament, but there are some serious doubts over their squad! VERDICT! They have a bad record over the last year and their squad…

Argentina Population: 44m Capital: Buenos Aires Gaffer: Jorge Sampaoli Ranking: 5th STRONGEST LINE- UP! 19 Argentina have some of the best attackers in the world, but only scored 19 goals in 18 qualifiers. Crazy! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! Lionel Messi Forward The best player on the planet will have his work cut out trying to inspire this disorganised team to another final. But if there is anyone who can do it, the Barcelona hero can! FIXTURES! June 16 Iceland Moscow – Otkritie, 2pm June 21 Croatia Nizhny Novgorod, 7pm June 26 Nigeria Saint Petersburg, 7pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... Argentina are trying to work out how to fit all of Dybala, Messi, Aguero, Higuain and Di Maria into their first XI! VERDICT! Argentina should be one of the…

England Population: 55m Capital: London Gaffer: Gareth Southgate Ranking: 13th STRONGEST LINE- UP! 2006 England’s last knockout win at a major tournament was back in the 2006 WC against Ecuador! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! Harry Kane Striker The Three Lions captain rescued his side a number of times in qualifying, and eventually netted the goal that sealed qualification! This is his first ever World Cup, so he’ll be hoping to make a big impression! FIXTURES! June 18 Tunisia Volgograd, 7pm June 24 Panama Nizhny Novgorod, 1pm June 28 Belgium Kaliningrad, 7pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... Southgate has named the third-youngest England World Cup squad ever, so whatever happens, it’ll be a great experience for them! VERDICT! Undefeated in qualifying, but only scoring 18 goals – England are solid,…

1 THE BIG KICK-OFF! Russia v Saudi Arabia GROUP A Thursday, 4pm ★ ITV Russia are one of the lowest-ranked sides at the tournament, but luckily for them, opponents Saudi Arabia are even lower! There’s pressure on the home team – no host nation has ever lost their WC opener – but with a huge home crowd roaring them on, they’ll be favourites to get the win! 2 DERBY DAY! Portugal v Spain GROUP B Friday, 7pm ★ BBC One We’ve been buzzing for this match ever since the draw was made! The European neighbours have one of the greatest rivalries in international footy, and with legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe going head-to-head with Sergio Ramos and Andres Iniesta, it should be a cracker! 3 THREE POINTS FOR THREE…

11 No nation has been involved in more 0-0 draws at the World Cup than England! At World Cup 1958, Brazil forgot to send their shirt numbers list to the organisers, so some players were given numbers at random! 4 No player won more Man Of The Match awards at World Cup 2014 than Lionel Messi! 0 Switzerland are the only nation ever to not concede a goal at a World Cup – they let in zero goals from four games in 2006, but still crashed out on penalties to Ukraine! 4 Portugal are hoping to become the fourth country to win the Euros and WC back-to-back after France, Germany and Spain! 1 Boss Roberto Martinez is the first non-Belgian to manage The Red Devils at a WC since 1954!…

Spain Population: 46m Capital: Madrid Gaffer: Julen Lopetegui Ranking: 8th STRONGEST LINE- UP! 900+ Spain have one of the most experienced squads in Russia, with a combined total of more than 900 caps. Awesome! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! David Silva Att. midfielder He plays further forward for Spain than Man. City, so he’s a real goalscoring threat. He got nine goals and assists combined in qualifying, and is their fourth top scorer ever! FIXTURES! June 15 Portugal Sochi, 7pm June 20 Iran Kazan, 7pm June 25 Morocco Kaliningrad, 7pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... La Roja are one of the most exciting sides on the planet to watch, and are confident of going all the way again! VERDICT! Spain flopped at the 2014 World Cup, but they’re back among…

Brazil Population: 209m Capital: B rasilia Gaffer: Tite Ranking: 2nd STRONGEST LINE- UP! 6 The Samba Stars are desperate to add another star to their shirt – and if they can lift the trophy in Russia, it will be for the sixth time. Wicked! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! Neymar Forward The footy-mad nation have had their fingers tightly crossed since February that Neymar would recover in time from injury! The super skilful forward is a match-winner for his side! FIXTURES! June 17 Switzerland Rostov-on-Don, 7pm June 22 Costa Rica Saint Petersburg, 1pm June 27 Serbia Moscow – Otkritie, 7pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... They play in their famous sunshine-coloured kit, and have the best World Cup record on the planet! VERDICT! MATCH reckons the men in yellow have…

Poland Population: 38m Capital: Warsaw Gaffer: Adam Nawalka Ranking: 10th STRONGEST LINE- UP! 14 Poland conceded 14 goals in qualifying – more than any side finishing in the top two of European WC qualifying! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR MAN! Robert Lewandowski Striker The legendary striker top-scored in European qualifying – providing more than half of his nation’s goals! He’s key to their success in Russia! FIXTURES! June 19 Senegal Moscow – Otkritie, 4pm June 24 Colombia Kazan, 7pm June 28 Japan Volgograd, 3pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI... The Eagles are back in the tourno after 12 years away, and they’re desperate to make it to the knockouts! VERDICT! With Lewa up top, they’ve got such a good goal threat – they just need to work on defending! Any sloppiness…

EGYPT v URUGUAY Group A Friday, 1pm ★ BBC One Egypt’s World Cup hopes totally rest on Mo Salah’s fitness! Will the superstar be able to play in this game? FRANCE v AUSTRALIA Group C Sat. 11am ★ BBC One France’s ace attack will be unleashed for the first time on Saturday morning! Can Australia stop them from scoring? ARGENTINA v ICELAND Group D Saturday, 2pm ★ ITV The great underdogs of Euro 2016 would make another huge impact if they bag an upset on their World Cup debut! COSTA RICA v SERBIA Group E Sunday, 1pm ★ ITV Costa Rica shocked the world at Brazil 2014, but we reckon Serbia are one of the nations that could surprise people in Russia! BELGIUM v PANAMA Group G Monday, 4pm ★…

FIFA 18 CHALLENGE! Which Belgium CB has better defending stats on the WC FIFA update? BACK TO THE FUTURE  Which Brazil midfielder has gone back in time to lift the 1994 World Cup? CLUB SHARERS! Which team have these World Cup legends all played for? on the box!  Name the deadly forward that’s become a judge on The Voice! CAMERA SHY! Which England stars are hiding from the MATCH snapper in these pics? FOOTY MIS-MATCH Spot the ten differences between these two pics!…