MATCH! -julkaisun 12 March 2024 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

FINLAND UP FIRST! First up for Wales in the play-offs is Finland! The Scandinavian side are 31 places below The Dragons in the FIFA world rankings, so Rob Page’s side are definitely the favourites to progress. The Finns did defeat fellow UK nation Northern Ireland twice in the group stage, so they’re looking to do the double! WALES’ WISH! After qualifying for their first-ever European Championship tournament back in 2016, Wales are now looking to make it three back-to-back Euro appearances! They finished third in their qualifying group, behind Turkey and Croatia, but made the play-offs via their Nations League position! HOME ADVANTAGE! Some wicked news for Wales is that their massive match against Finland is being played at the Cardiff City Stadium, while the play-off final v Poland or…

Don’t Panic! We Can Save The Planet! MATCH is giving away ten copies of Don’t Panic! We Can Save The Planet! – a funny and hands-on guide to saving the world! The book is available to buy at bloomsbury.com CLOSING DATE: APR. 12 This book will help you understand what climate change is and how people on Earth can stop it together! HOW TO ENTER! HEAD TO… SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/WIN Then just click on the competition image and enter your details. Full terms and conditions are available online. FOLLOW MATCH! FOR FOOTY NEWS, TRANSFER GOSSIP, VIDEOS & EPIC LOLS! facebook.com/matchmagazine twitter.com/matchmagazine snapchat.com/add/matchmagazine tiktok.com/matchmagofficial youtube.com/matchymovie instagram.com/matchmagofficial CHECK OUT THE WORLD’S BEST FOOTY MAG ON SOCIAL MEDIA NOW!…

GOALKEEPERS YOU NEED TO PICK THREE! BEST OF THE REST! Aaron Ramsdale Arsenal 4 caps Nick Pope Newcastle 10 caps Ramsdale has lost his place at Arsenal, while Pope is hoping to recover from injury to make a late push. Rangers GK Jack Butland is also in the mix! JORDAN PICKFORD EVERTON ★ 58 CAPS We’d be gobsmacked if Gareth Southgate chooses anyone other than Pickford to be England’s No.1 in Germany – he’s got tons of major tournament experience. He was a hero during Euro 2020! ✓ Incredible long-range distribution ✗ Goes through some inconsistent spells SAM JOHNSTONE CRYSTAL PALACE ★ 4 CAPS Johnstone is currently edging out fellow Three Lions goalkeeping contender Dean Henderson at club level, and a few major footy experts reckon he’s Southgate’s second-choice behind…

ONLY 13 WEEKS TO GO! REIGNING CHAMPIONS! The Italians won their second European Championship crown in 2021, defeating England in the Euro 2020 final on penalties at Wembley! If The Azzurri can retain the trophy, it would put them joint-top in the all-time charts alongside Spain and Germany, so that should be extra motivation! THEY’LL WIN IT AGAIN! ✓ There are really good vibes in the squad under Serie A title-winning former Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti! ✓ Some talented younger players are now making their mark, like Frattesi, Dimarco, Udogie, Zaniolo and Scalvini! ✓ They have lots of experience too, meaning they should cope with the high-pressure knockout football! IT’S GONNA BE TOUGH! ✗ They’ve been drawn in a Group of Death alongside Spain and Croatia – they might not…

STADIUM FACTS TEAM: New England Revolution BUILT: 2002 CAPACITY: 20,000 RECORD ATTENDANCE: 67,684 Mexico v Brazil, September 2007 NEAREST NEIGHBOUR: New York City FC LONGEST LEAGUE JOURNEY: Inter Miami, 1,458 miles DID YOU KNOW? The record attendance for a non-footy event was for an Ed Sheeran concert in July 2023, with over 71,000 people in attendance! COLLECT ALL 15!…

MAN. UNITED V LIVERPOOL This mouth-watering tie between two long-time rivals, who haven’t met at such a late stage of the FA Cup since the 1996 final, is going to be one for the ages! At the beginning of March, The Red Devils were the only team to have kept a clean sheet v Liverpool in any competition this season, so you can’t rule them out! WOLVES V COVENTRY Coventry are the lowest-ranked side left in the competition after knocking out the previous lowest-ranked side, Maidstone! This is the first time since 2009 that The Sky Blues have made it to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, while their Prem opponents Wolves are hoping to reach the semi-finals for the second time in five years! MAN. CITY V NEWCASTLE Magpies…

GAME ONE TITLE CRUNCH! ARSENAL 3-1 LIVERPOOL FEBRUARY 4 Saka opened the scoring for Arsenal in their tense battle with Liverpool in London! The ball landed at his feet after Alisson could only parry Kai Havertz’s effort away–and “Little Chilli” made no mistake. He also helped his side force their way back into the driving seat after a tricky start to the second half! GAME TWO HAMMERS HAMMERING! WEST HAM 0-6 ARSENAL FEBRUARY 11 West Ham just couldn’t cope with Saka! He showed real guts to take and score a penalty in the first half – after missing at the London Stadium in 2022-23 – and followed that up with a well-taken goal after half-time. He became the youngest star to score 50 Premier League goals for The Gunners in…

GOALKEEPERS YOU NEED TO PICK THREE! BEST OF THE REST! Liam Kelly Motherwell 1 cap Craig Gordon Hearts 74 caps Kelly made his debut in October, while Gordon has bags of experience! Rangers’ Robby McCrorie and Ross County GK Ross Laidlaw are also in with a sniff! ANGUS GUNN NORWICH ★ 7 CAPS Gunn has established himself as Steve Clarke’s No.1 for Scotland having previously played for England at various youth levels. He’s been one of the best goalies in the Championship this season! ✓ Incredible agility and reflexes ✗ Struggles dealing with crosses ZANDER CLARK HEARTS ★ 3 CAPS Despite Craig Gordon’s recent return from a serious leg injury, Clark has been keeping the ultra experienced goalkeeper out of the team at Hearts! Some fans want that to change,…

adidas X Crazyfast Messi It won’t take you too long to guess the theme of Lionel Messi’s latest signature X Crazyfast kicks… that’s right, they're inspired by his love for his national team – Argentina! The new Spark Gen10s feature the deep blue and white colours found on the country's shirt, while the golden trim is a nod to his success in recent years. His logo can be found on the insole, while his name is written on the heel! Price: £220 adidas.co.uk Puma Future 7 Neymar Leo Messi wasn’t the only megastar to land his own signature silo over the last month – Puma also released these special-edition Future 7 NJR Creativity cleats for Neymar! The bright colours and graphics are inspired by the creativity and small-sided games played…

DONE DEAL AT LAST? Kylian Mbappe turned down a move to Real Madrid in 2022, but has reportedly changed his mind and agreed to join Los Blancos on a free transfer in the summer! It’s already being labelled the most expensive free transfer in history, with the Spanish side set to pay him a record signing-on fee and make him their best-paid player ever! MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE! Since they lost Karim Benzema last summer, the one thing Madrid have missed is a world-class striker! On loan targetman Joselu isn’t super clinical, which means Jude Bellingham has been their biggest goal threat. The arrival of PSG’s all-time top scorer Mbappe would complete the puzzle and could make them totally unbeatable! WICKED WONDERKIDS! Real Madrid already possess one of the…

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MATCH’S TOP 20! Check out our league table after Gameweek 27! Is your team there? TRANSFER IN… Here are our biggest signing tips ahead of this fortnight’s action! JARROD BOWEN MF ★ WEST HAM £7.8 MILLION The likes of Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, Douglas Luiz and Leon Bailey are MF options to target in the West Ham v Aston Villa fixture! HEUNG-MIN SON MF ★ TOTTENHAM £9.8 MILLION We’d defo suggest putting Son in your starting XI for the next four weeks, then reassess your options in gameweek 33! IVAN TONEY FW ★ BRENTFORD £8.2 MILLION Despite Brentford’s mixed form, we still think Toney is a good hold for the rest of the season. He’s guaranteed to get lots of goals! TRANSFER OUT… You should consider dropping these stars for the…

NAME THE TEAM! Can you remember the England XI that started against Italy last October? 1. MAN. CITY ★ RIGHT-BACK 2. MAN. UNITED ★ CENTRE-BACK 3. EVERTON★ GOALKEEPER 4. WEST HAM ★ MIDFIELDER 5. REAL MADRID ★ MIDFIELDER 6. MAN. CITY ★ CENTRE-BACK 7. ARSENAL ★ MIDFIELDER BAYERN MUNICH ★ STRIKER HARRY KANE 8. NEWCASTLE ★ LEFT-BACK 9. MAN. CITY ★ FORWARD 10. MAN. UNITED ★ FORWARD NAME THE YEAR! Can you remember which year all of these quality things happened? ✓ Mohamed Salah won the Prem Golden Boot with 32 goals! ✓ Gareth Bale scored a stunner in the Champo League final! ✓ Eden Hazard’s penalty won Chelsea the FA Cup trophy! MATCH! WINNER! Who scored England’s winner in their friendly against Australia at Wembley last November? FIVE-A-SIDE! Can…