Table of contents for 20 Mar 2018 in MATCH!

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

WANTED! ENGLAND STRIKERS

Who’s heading to Russia 2018 as part of The Three Lions’ attack? The race for a seat on England’s plane to Russia for the World Cup is really hotting up and Gareth Southgate is on the hunt for strikers to take with him! If Harry Kane is fit, he’ll be the first name on the team sheet, but The Three Lions need more firepower up top. We’ve been checking out some of the gaffer’s other attacking options... Marcus Rashford Man. United Rashford might be battling to hold down a regular place in Man. United’s starting XI, but he’s still a massive part of England’s plans this summer. He’s a big-match performer, and he proved that by scoring two v Liverpool recently! MATCH Verdict ON THE PLANE! Tammy Abraham Swansea Tammy…

2 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

YOU'RE THE GAFFER!

GOALKEEPERS YOU HAVE TO PICK THREE! JOE HART He’s been England’s No.1 for the last three major tournos, but his form and lack of game time for West Ham mean his place in the squad is under threat this time around! JACK BUTLAND Butland’s been unlucky with injuries over the past few seasons, but he’s finally fit again and Southgate rates him! He made one error but two epic saves v Leicester! JORDAN PICKFORD The proper young contender definitely still has loads to learn, but he’s one of the best shot-stoppers in the Prem! He’s had a solid first PL season for Everton too! TOM HEATON Heaton went on the plane to France for Euro 2016, but he didn’t get any minutes! He’s been injured pretty much all season, but…

7 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

BEST OF THE REST...

ENGLAND v ITALY INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY England’s second clash against a Euro giant missing from the World Cup is at Wembley next Tuesday. Italy are still waiting to appoint a new manager, and they’ve lost a ton of their experienced stars to retirement, so get ready to see some fresh faces in their line-up under the famous arch! It should be another great test for England! ONES TO WATCH! Marcus Rashford – England Ciro Immobile – Italy WATCH IT… Tuesday March 27 8pm GERMANY V BRAZIL INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY This is the first game between these two since Germany won 7-1 at the last World Cup, and it could be a dress rehearsal for this summer’s final! It’ll be missing a key character though, with Neymar injured, so another Samba star will…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

TOP 5 UNSUNG HEROES!

1 MARC ALBRIGHTON Leicester MATCH is shouting out to Albrighton – a player that was vital to Leicester’s 2015-16 epic title glory, has bagged at least six assists over the past three seasons and never gets anywhere near the same praise as team-mates Jamie Vardy or Riyad Mahrez! We can’t believe the winger’s never won an England cap! 2 JAMES TARKOWSKI Burnley Burnley made a really poor start to 2018, but Tarkowski is still shining bright! The Clarets haven’t won any of the seven Prem matches he’s missed this season, and his leadership, commitment and calmness on the ball mean he’s a strong contender to go to Russia with England this summer! 3 ABDOULAYE DOUCOURE Watford The Hornets finished one place above relegation last season, but this year they’re targeting…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

@MATCHMAGAZINE

Footy collage! Nine-year-old Lewis made great use of some of his old magazines by cutting out his fave pics and sticking them on a class collage! Bedtime read! Thanks to Charlie, aged nine, for sending in this cool pic! He loves having a read of MATCH before jumping into his bed! Hammer hero! Dylan loves his new Joao Mario poster! The big West Ham fan walked out with the midfielder when he was a mascot recently! Bangin’ boots! Massive Madrid fan Ben designed, drew and coloured these epic boots that he thinks his hero Cristiano Ronaldo should be wearing! WINNER! Congrats to Ben who won this week’s Lovell voucher! Celtic cracker! Well done to Daniel for spotting Celtic superstar Scott Sinclair and then getting him to pose for a snap!…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

LE-ON THE PLANE?

It’s decision time for the Bundesliga young gun! The future is in doubt for one of the world’s hottest youngsters! LEON BAILEY is wanted by loads of national teams after turning down the chance to play for Jamaica, and could even make a shock appearance at the World Cup! Check out his options... JAMAICA? The lightning-quick winger recently ruled out playing for the country of his birth by turning down a call-up! BELGIUM? Bailey spent two years in Belgium playing for Genk, but he needs to have lived there for five years to qualify. Unless he re-signs, he’ll never be a Red Devil! GERMANY? It takes eight years for a player to be eligible to play for Germany, so Bailey will be 27 by the time he pulls on a…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

WONDERKIDS

“The only things on his mind are Milan and goals – he can go a very long way!”Filippo Inzaghi AC Milan legend PATRICK CUTRONE FACTFILE Age: 20 Position: Striker Club: AC Milan Born: Italy LIFE-LONG MILAN FAN! Cutrone has supported Milan since he was a kid! He joined the club at eight years old, but only started to make a name for himself last year. He hit 21 goals in 24 games for the under-19s, and made his Serie A debut last May! BIG BREAKTHROUGH! The striker made his first-team impact last summer, after he got his first start in Europa League qualification against CS U Craiova. He bagged his first goal for the club in the return leg, and then scored in his first Serie A start against…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN!

THE WORLD’S GREATEST? If Germany win the World Cup this summer, they’ll be level with Brazil as the tournament’s most successful team ever! In a week when they’ll be playing friendlies against the Samba Stars and Spain, we’re checking out if the world champions can retain their trophy! IT’S THEIR YEAR! They haven’t lost a single match since they were knocked out of the Euros in 2016! That’s an incredible run of 21 matches – including games against Italy, France and England! Last summer they lifted the Confederations Cup, even though they rested some of their top stars like Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer, Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Mesut Ozil! In the same summer, their U21s beat England and Spain to the European Championship, proving that they’ve got absolutely ridiculous…

2 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

EFL FOCUS!

LEWIS GRABBAN ASTON VILLA Grabban signed on loan for Villa at the end of January, and after getting barely any minutes in his first two games, he finally made his impact against Preston! He netted a second-half pen to earn his side a point, and then started the next three matches, scoring in all three. Ledge! STAT ATTACK! It took the deadly finisher just 55 minutes to bag his first Villa goal! MARKO GRUJIC CARDIFF Cardiff have been in epic form since Grujic joined them in January on loan from Liverpool! In his first eight matches at the club, they won six and drew the other two! He scored his first goal recently too, with a wicked long-range effort against Barnsley! STAT ATTACK! The giant wonder kid won 15 aerial…

2 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

WORLD CUP 2018 SPECIAL

SPORT SWITCH! Which awesome goal machine is trying out javelin? Use these clues to work out the mystery star! I’m a quality CM for the Samba Stars! I can be found bossing it every weekend in La Liga for Barça! I used to play in Premier League for Tottenham! TRANSFER TRACKER! Can you fill in the gaps in the career of Argentina hero Angel Di Maria? THE NICKNAME GAME! Match these nations with their awesome nicknames! GROUNDED! Name the ground that will host England’s World Cup opener! WORLD CUP AIN-BUSTER ! How much do you know about the best tourno in the world? 1. True or False? 2018 is the first time that Russia hosts a World Cup! 2. Russia take on Saudi Arabia in the tournament’s first match, but…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

DID YOU KNOW?

7 Bundesliga side Cologne have already worn seven shirts this season! VAR has been given the green light to be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia! 600 Lionel Messi scored his 600th career goal in Barça’s win over Atletico Madrid recently! Man. United goal machine Romelu Lukaku can speak Dutch, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese all fluently. Impressive! 2009 Liverpool have reached the last eight of the CL for the first time since 2008-09! Chelsea knocked them out that season! 300 Footy legend Cristiano Ronaldo busted his 300th La Liga net earlier this month. Hero! 6 West Brom’s six straight PL defeats is their worst run since 2003! 1 Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick against Bournemouth was his first PL set-piece goal in 28 attempts!…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

Stars' Selfies

Muller Bayern Munich Massive fashion fail, Thomas! Villa New York City Over in the MLS, Villa is well pumped for the new season! Luiz Chelsea You can always rely on David Luiz to post a ridiculous selfie! Boateng Bayern Munich Boateng posted this flashback snap for Rudiger’s birthday! Matic Man. United The United beast got a signed Argentina shirt from Diego Maradona! Lukaku Man. United Rom snapped himself courtside at his first ever NBA game! Oxlade-Chamberlain Liverpool It really doesn’t look sunny enough outside for shades! Pogba Man. United Pog got some tips from United legend David Beckham! Alves PSG Someone decided to pick Dani Alves’ nose mid-shot! Sanchez Man. United Alexis’ dogs are loving their new lives in Manchester!…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

HOLLAND v ENGLAND

England’s preparation for the World Cup is starting to get into full swing, while Holland have a real point to prove after failing to qualify for Russia 2018! It’s the start of a new era for the Dutch, without their retired heroes Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, but Gareth Southgate’s men will need to be on form to get a good result! WATCH IT… Friday March 23 7.45pm LIKELY LINE-UPS ONE TO WATCH… MEMPHIS DEPAY Memphis’ move to Man. United didn’t work out, but he’s turned his career around with Lyon. He’s been a big threat for the French club this year, and he’s in form for Holland too, with three goals in his last three games! LOOK OUT FOR… JESSE LINGARD Only three of Lingard’s England caps have come…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

FIFA 18 ZONE

FIFA DIARY Get in there – we’ve been offered the Spain job! We couldn’t turn down the chance to manage Spain ahead of the massive March friendlies! Our first game was at Wembley against England, and we went with a 4-1-4-1 formation to get all of Spain’s sick midfielders onto the pitch at once. Quality! We played sick dribblers Isco and Asensio out wide to cut inside, with lightning FBs Bellerin and Alba overlapping. Morata led the line, while Thiago, Martinez and David Silva bossed possession, with the Man. City superstar scoring twice in a 3-1 win! Taking over a national team is a really great way to spot new signings without needing to scout them. We checked out Spain’s best young wonderkids through the national squad selection tab to…

2 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

MATCH GEAR!

Nike Mercurial Superfly These epic special edition, cheetah print Nike Mercurial Superfly boots were created by fashion designer Kim Jones – and they’re savage! We already loved the claw soleplate, but it looks even cooler on these cleats! Price: £29 9.95 store. nike.com R. Madrid Icon Shirt Giants Real Madrid have released this awesome, special edition icon shirt! They’re being sold from the club shop at The Bernabeu, so who fancies a trip to Spain? Price: £130 Official Club Shop adidas Nite Crawl er Gloves You can really boss the box in these wicked Predator 18 Nite Crawler goalie gloves! Price: £9 9.95 adidas .co.uk Umbro Chaleira Futsal Boot Indoor footy is great fun, and Umbro have developed these boots with help from Brazilian futsal professionals. They rock! Price: £75…

1 min

MATCH!|20 Mar 2018

QUIZ ANSWERS!

World Cup 2018 Quiz One Sport Switch: Antoine Griezmann. Who Am I?: Paulinho. The Nickname Game: 1B; 2D; 3A; 4C. Transfer Tracker: 2010-2014 – Real Madrid; 2014-2015 – Man. United. Grounded: Volgograd Arena. World Cup Brain-Buster: 1. True; 2. Thursday; 3. Georginio Wijnaldum; 4. James Rodriguez; 5. Brazil – 1958 & 1962; 6. 1958; 7. A Wolf; 8. Costa Rica; 9. True; 10. Robert Lewandowski. World Cup 2018 Quiz Two Footy At The Films: Andres Iniesta. Spot The Ball: H6. Guess The Winners: 1994 – Brazil; 1998 – France; 2002 – Brazil; 2014 – Germany. Footy Mis-Match: See above. HOW WELL DID YOU DO? 31-35 World Cup Winner! 26-30 World Cup Runner-Up! 16-25 World Cup Group Stage! 11-15 World Cup Play-Off! 0-10 World Cup Qualifying!…

1 min