MATCH! -julkaisun 14 February 2023 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

DRIBBLE DEGREE! Mitoma turned down the chance to become a pro footballer when he was 18 to attend university instead! He studied physical education at the University of Tsukuba, in Japan, where his final essay was all about the mechanics of dribbling! For his research, he stuck a Go Pro camera to his head to record his movements and to work out which ones were the most effective… According to the man himself, According to the man himself, the most important part of dribbling is “moving your opponent’s body”! After his degree Kaoru joined Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale, where he bagged 32 goals and assists combined from his first 37 games! FACT PACK Age: 25 Country: Japan Caps: 13 Goals: 5 Boots: Puma Ultra Ultimate Top Skill: Dribbling DID YOU…

AstonVilla Star Man Boubacar Kamara Must Do Better: Philippe Coutinho Verdict: Villa are more or less where we thought they would be and have improved loads since Unai Emery took over! Grade: Bournemouth Star Man: Marcus Tavernier Must Do Better: Ryan Christie Verdict: Their results since December have been terrible, but The Cherries are still in with a shot of Prem survival! Grade Brentford Star Man: Ivan Toney Must Do Better: Mikkel Damsgaard Verdict: It’s been another jaw-dropping campaign for The Bees, who may be playing European footy next season! Grade: Brighton Star Man: Kaoru Mitoma Must Do Better: Tariq Lamptey Verdict: Wow…just wow! Even after losing Graham Potter, The Seagulls have continued their march up the table! Grade: Chelsea Star Man: Thiago Silva Must Do Better: P.-Emerick Aubameyang Verdict: The less said about Chelsea’s…

THE SEASON THE CHAMPIONS Los Angeles FC did the double last season, winning both the Supporters’ Shield and then their first-ever MLS Cup! The now retired Gareth Bale was the hero in the final against Philadelphia Union, coming off the bench to score a dramatic equaliser in the 128th minute, before LAFC went on to win 3-0 in the penalty shootout! THE CHALLENGERS Eastern Conference champions Philadelphia Union were unlucky to end 2022 without silverware, so they’ll be hungry for revenge in 2023! CF Montreal were one of the surprise sides of last year’s championship and will be hoping to continue their sick form into the new year, while LA Galaxy are our dark horses to improve on last season! THE MEGASTARS Last season’s top goalscorer Hany Mukhtar of Nashville…

ANSWERS Benfica Quiz: 1. The Bulldozers; 2. False – he was from Sporting’s academy; 3. River Plate; 4. Twice; 5. True; 6. Nicolas Otamendi. Close-Up: 1. Angel Di Maria; 2. Christian Eriksen; 3. Tyler Adams; 4. Lucas Hernandez. Crazy Kit: Napoli. Odd One Out: Chelsea. Footy Mis-MATCH: See right. Ward-Prowse Poster: 1. Portsmouth; 2. 16 years old; 3. No; 4. Ten; 5. False – it was his 16th. Burn Poster: 1. True; 2. No.6; 3. Leicester; 4. League One; 5. True. Billing Poster: 1. No; 2. Nigeria; 3. True; 4. Huddersfield; 5. Dominic Solanke, Jefferson Lerma, Illya Zabarnyi or Dango Ouattara Wissa Poster: 1. France; 2. Rugby; 3. Seven; 4. Lorient; 5. Goalkeeper. Summerville Poster: 1. True; 2. Cree; 3. Raphinha; 4. Fulham; 5. Right. Pickford Poster: 1. Sunderland; 2.Hartlepool; 3.…

AT THE BACK! We’ve gone for the entire Arsenal back line! Pep Guardiola has been constantly changing his defence this season, while Mikel Arteta has settled on his fave four–and they’ve benefited loads from it. Joao Cancelo might have been in the mix before his shock move to Bayern Munich! IN THE MIDDLE! This midfield triangle would take some beating! Rodri’s 91.4% pass accuracy this season is better than any other midfielder in the Premier League, Kevin De Bruyne already has 11 PL assists this season and Martin Odegaard was directly involved in 13 goals from his first 18 league games! UP FRONT! Erling Haaland is obviously our striker! He’s already scored more goals than the last four PL Golden Boot winners managed across an entire season! Either side of…

HOW HE WON IT! MATCH scouts picked out the Prem’s best players from January and asked our fans on social media to vote for the best! The Red Devils’ forward secured the vote after his jaw-dropping form since the World Cup! MEGA MOMENTS! Here’s why Rashford was chosen as MATCH’s monthly winner! GAME ONE CHERRY ON TOP! MAN. UNITED3-0 BOURNEMOUTH JANUARY 3 Rashford started 2023 in style with the third goal in United’s victory over Bourne mouth! It was one of the easiest finishes he’ll have this season, as Luke Shaw put it on a plate for him to tap-in. It was the first time in his United career that he’d busted net in four consecutive appearances in all competitions. Get in! GAME TWO RIVAL SLAYER! MAN. UNITED2-1 MAN. CITY…

THE TO END TROPHY DROUGHT? ✔ This will be The Magpies’ first final since they lost 2-0 to Man. United in the FA Cup showpiece in 1999 – and just their second-ever appearance in the League Cup final. They lost 2-1 to Man. City back in 1976! ✔ Newcastle’s last major domestic honour came way back in 1955 when they lifted the FA Cup trophy, although they did win Europe’s Inter-City Fairs Cup in 1969! ✔ Obviously, this will also be their first-ever cup final under the new Wembley arch, as it was opened in 2007! TEAM NEWS & LIKELY LINE-UP Thank fully for Magpies fans, Bruno Guimaraes has already served his three-match ban for his semi-final red card v Southampton! We’re expecting Eddie Howe to field the same line-up…

adidas Predator Accuracy Feast your eyes on the brand-new adidas Predator Accuracy! The next-gen Preds come in laced or laceless versions, with a high or low collar, so you can choose whichever style best suits your feet. The design is actually more similar to the old Predator Freak and Mutator, which had the rubber spikes in strike zones! Price: £250 adidas.co.uk 2023 Women’s World Cup Football Looking ahead to this summer’s tourno, adidas have released the OCEAUNZ footy – for the 2023 Women’s World Cup! The blues and greens are a nod to Australia’s connection with the Indian Ocean and the greenery across New Zealand, while the ball also has the connected technology providing ball data to Video Match Officials in real-time – like at the World Cup in Qatar!…

THE STATE OF PLAY! After 21 league matches this season, Napoli sat at the top of the Serie A leaderboard, with a 13-point advantage over second-placed Inter! They’d lost only one of those games, scored more goals and conceded fewer goals than any other side in Italy, and were brimming with confidence after a crucial 2-1 victory over Jose Mourinho’s Roma… WHAT’S CHANGED? Well, obviously, the results! As well as playing their high-tempo, attacking footy, they’ve also beaten title rivals like Lazio, Milan, Roma and Atalanta – and all away from home! A lot of credit also has to go to managerial mastermind Luciano Spalletti, who’s transformed the mentality at the club since taking over in May 2021! LONG TIME COMING … Napoli have won two titles in their history…

HOW WE’VE WORKED IT OUT! We’ve picked every Prem team’s starting XI for this season, based on current players who played the most minutes per position after 19 games – the halfway stage! We then added all their initial transfer fees together and gave each team a value to work out how much each Prem point has cost this season! 20 CHELSEA Cost: £327.4m Points: 28 £ PER POINT: £11.7m BARGAIN! CESAR AZPILICUETA Azpi has played over 500 times for Chelsea – no non-English player has played more for the club. Plus, he captained them to the CL in 2021! PRICEY! KEPA ARRIZABALAGA He’s been decent ths season, but Kepa has got nowhere near to justifying his price tag – he’s the most expensive goalie of all time! 19 LIVERPOOL Cost: £334.8m…

WATCH IT… Tuesday 21 February, 8pm 1 LIVERPOOL v REAL MADRID It’s less than a year since these two giants met in the Champo League final, so it will still be fresh in the memories of both sets of supporters. This will actually be their fifth meeting in as many years, with Los Blancos knocking The Reds out at the quarter-final stage of the 2020-21 CL campaign… WATCH IT… Tuesday 21 February, 8pm 2 EINTRACHT FRANKFURT V NAPOLI Eintracht Frankfurt have never played Napoli so this is one for the history books! The Italian league leaders will be the favourites over two legs, although the fans at the Deutsche Bank Park are some of the loudest in the competition and will make it a really uncomfortable atmosphere! WATCH IT… Wednesday 22 February,…

6 QUESTIONS ON… BENFICA 1 Which of these isn’t one of their nicknames – The Eagles, The Bulldozers or The Reds? 2 True or False? Cristiano Ronaldo was a product of Benfica’s academy! 3 Which Argentinian side did they sign Enzo Fernandez from – River Plate or Boca Juniors? 4 How many times have they won the Champions League – twice, three times or four times? 5 True or False? Their stadium name translates to “Stadium Of Light” in English! 6 Name the World Cup-winning Argentina centre-back who captains them this season! CLOSE-UP! Can you name these four players who were born on Valentine’s Day? ODD ONE OUT! Which of these clubs has England forward Nikita Parris never turned out for during her quality career?…