Indice dei contenuti per 15 June 2021 in MATCH!

OLDEST RIVALRY! Scotland v England is officially the oldest rivalry in international football – fact! The two nations played the first-ever FIFA-recognised international football match way back in 1872. They’d already played five unofficial games before their 1872 clash at Glasgow cricket ground, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Total anti-climax! RECORD ATTENDANCE! From that first-ever fixture, the home nations then played each other every year in the British Home Championship until 1989, with 149,415 supporters packed into Hampden Park for their 1937 clash – a European record for an international football game! NEAR NEIGHBOURS! Of course, what makes this rivalry extra juicy is that Scotland and England are neighbours! Just like Portugal v Spain, Argentina v Brazil, Netherlands v Germany and loads of other international rivalries, you always want…

THE HOSTS! The 2021 tournament was supposed to be the first-ever Copa America to be played in two different countries – Argentina and Colombia – but last month both nations announced they could no longer host! That means it will be the sixth time in history that Brazil host the tournament – and for the second tourno running after the 2019 edition! THE HOLDERS! The holders of the trophy are the hosts and Argentina’s great international rivals – Brazil! The Samba Boys won the 2019 edition on home soil, with Richarlison scoring in the final. PSG star Neymar missed that tournament through injury and has only ever won the 2013 Confederations Cup for Brazil, so he’s gonna be mega motivated! MESSI’S MOMENT? Another player desperate for glory this summer is…

THE TOP DOGS! THIBAUT SAYS: “If we are ranked number 1, 2 or 3 it doesn’t change things. We know this current squad is a special group of players and we want to win things. I don’t talk about us being favourites, but we’re entering the tournament to try to win it!” GOLDEN GENERATION! THIBAUT SAYS: “Most labels like that are invented by the media so it isn’t something we pay much attention to. What we do know is that this is a very special group of players and we do want to achieve things – because we know we are capable of it not because of labels!” THE FAVOURITES? THIBAUT SAYS: “There are so many good teams and I don’t want to disrespect anybody by not talking about them…

EUROPE AT YOUR FEET! To celebrate Euro 2020, we’ve got five copies of Europe At Your Feet to give away to some mega lucky MATCH readers. What a result! Europe At Your Feet is a picture book with stunning footy artwork featuring the greatest Euro goals! The goals are presented in clever rhyming commentary that puts readers in the position of the goals corer! Europe At Your Feet is available now at the likes of Waterstones, Blackwell’s and Amazon. Visit worldatyourfeet.co for more information! HOW TO ENTER! www.matchfootball.co.uk Then click ‘WIN’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full Terms & Conditions are available online. Then click ‘WIN’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full Terms & Conditions are available online. 5 prizes! CLOSING DATE: JULY 15…

How much do you know about footy’s class tournament? 1. Where was the famous competition held in 2004 – Portugal, Germany, France or the Netherlands? 2. True or False? Before Euro 2020, lethal Italy forward Ciro Immobile had never scored at the Euros! 3. Which massive footballing nation has never won the tournament – Netherlands, England or Italy? 4. What shirt number does epic goal-grabber Romelu Lukaku wear for Group B side Belgium? 5. Which striker scored more goals at Euro 2020 for France – Antoine Griezmann or Olivier Giroud? 6. Name the nation that legendary goal-buster Nuno Gomes played for at three European Championships! 7. True or False? England boss Gareth Southgate played for The Three Lions at Euro ’96 and Euro 2000! 8. Who did Marcus Rashford make…

FERRAN TORRES SPAIN The sky’s the limit for the Man. City and Spain forward! He emerged as one of the nation’s brightest talents at youth level and is ready to make his mark on the senior stage at the Euros. Pep Guardiola recently said he can see the 21-year-old developing into a striker, but he normally plays as a winger for his national side! DID YOU KNOW? He won the Euros at both Under-17 and Under-19 level for Spain so he knows what it means! PHIL FODEN ENGLAND Before the tournament started, MATCH predicted Phil Foden to win Euro 2020’s Young Player of the Tournament prize, so the pressure was on the midfield magician from the very first whistle! He’s already proven he can handle his nerves, though – winning…

LIVING THE DREAM! PHIL SAYS: “When I was young, every kid on the estate used to dream of playing for England! We all pretended that we were players and that was something I used to do. Now I’m in the senior team that seems crazy. It’s still not really sunk in, but now I’m here as an England player I’m going to enjoy it!” GAZZA COMPARISONS! PHIL SAYS: “Sometimes I watch old players. Paul Gascoigne was obviously one of the best England players to have played the game! I feel if those players had the right coaches around them at the time, and if they played the right football, they would have won more trophies.” FIGHT FOR PLACES! PHIL SAYS: “Everyone wants this shirt in this England team! There are…

WATCH HIM Ukraine v Austria Group C Monday, June 21 5pm, ITV RUSLAN MALINOVSKYI ATALANTA Age: 28 Position: Att. midfielder The midfield magician has been linked with a move to Chelsea, PSG and Inter. He’s been massively impressive for Atalanta in Serie A, picking up tons of goals and assists along the way! MY REPORT: WATCH HIM Ukraine v Austria Group C Monday, June 21 5pm, ITV MARCEL SABITZER RB LEIPZIG Age: 27 Position: Att. midfielder His contract expires at the end of next season and he has no intention of renewing! RB Leipzig want to cash in this summer and a possible £35m move to Tottenham is on the cards! MY REPORT: WATCH HIM Russia v Denmark Group B Monday, June 21 8pm, BBC THOMAS DELANEY BORUSSIA DORTMUND Age:…

1 EURO HEAVYWEIGHTS! France v Germany GROUP F Tuesday, June 15, 8pm ★ ITV Even though they both find themselves in this year’s ‘Group of Death’, France and Germany are still seen by many as potential finalists! France haven’t lost against Joachim Low’s side since the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup and fancy their chances of extending that record in this massive clash! 2 TEEMU TIME! Finland v Russia GROUP B Wednesday, June 16, 2pm ★ BBC One We’ve got a feeling that Finland’s goalscoring machine Teemu Pukki could become a real cult figure at the Euros! Finland have waited a lifetime to reach the finals of a major tournament and will be hoping the 31-year-old can continue his fantastic form. He scored 26 goals in 2020-21 for Norwich…

WHO AM I? Can you work out the Euro 2020 superstar from the three clues below? I’m 35 and will be captaining my nation Croatia this summer! 2 I’ve got over 100 caps for my country and scored 17 goals! I currently play for Real Madrid, but used to play in the Premier League for Londoners Tottenham! 5 QUESTIONS ON… YANNICK CARRASCO! 1 How old is the Belgium winger – 25, 27 or 29 years old? 2 Apart from La Liga, which other European league has he played in – the Premier League, Ligue 1 or the German Bundesliga? 3 Which Spanish side does he currently play for? 4 How many senior international appearances has he made for Belgium – more or less than 40? 5 True or False? He spent…

LIKELY LINE-UP We can’t see Gareth Southgate playing three centre-backs in this must-win match! We reckon he’ll go for his tried-and-tested 4-3-3 formation, with Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish battling for two spots either side of Harry Kane! ONE TO WATCH HARRY KANE The England captain obviously has history against Scotland after robbing them of a famous win in their 2017 head-to-head! From that match, the only other England players who started and are in The Three Lions’ squad this summer are Kyle Walker and Marcus Rashford! ICONIC CELEBRATION! When England beat Scotland at Euro ’96, legendary Three Lions midfielder Paul Gascoigne scored an outrageous volley and then produced one of the most iconic celebrations in the tournament’s history – he pretended that he…

KYLE WALKER MAN. CITY EURO 2016 APPS: 3 Walker was already one of the most popular right-backs on FIFA, but now he’s got way more to his game than just his electric pace! He’s a wicked option for Gareth Southgate to have in the squad given that he can also fill in as a right-sided centre-back! ERIC DIER TOTTENHAM EURO 2016 APPS: 4 Dier’s jaw-dropping free-kick gave England the lead against Russia in their opening game of Euro 2016, but he only had a 74-rating at the time! Even though he missed out on the squad for this summer, the Tottenham star’s still managed to improve his FIFA rating a fair bit! DOMINIC CALVERT-LEWIN EVERTON EURO 2016 APPS: 0 Everton signed Calvert-Lewin from Sheffield United for just £1.5 million a…

PSG Home Shirt 2021-22 For the first time EVER, Michael Jordan’s Jumpman branding – the slam-dunk logo – appears on PSG’s home shirt, marking four years of the PSG x Jordan partnership! Some fans of the club have actually been protesting the lack of the famous Hechter stripe down the middle, but if you look really closely there’s a slightly darker navy tone! Price: £69.95 nike.com Juventus Home Shirt 2021-22 Most Juventus fans will be happy to see the return of the traditional black and white stripes after last season’s arty style! Try to spot the pentagons on the black stripes – they’re like the ones used on the Walk of Fame at the Juventus Stadium, which was built ten years ago! Price: £70 adidas.co.uk DortmundHome Shirt 2021-22 The bright…

Akanji Bednarek Benzema Blind Bonucci Cancelo Donnarumma Felix Forrest Hamsik Hojbjerg Jozwiak Kante Kimmich Kovacic Locatelli Mertens Moreno Mount Muller Pedri Perisic Pickford Rashford Robertson Sabitzer Sommer Sparv Tielemans Vestergaard ANSWERS! 2. Ferran Torres; 3. Kevin De Bruyne; 4. Memphis Depay. Soccer Scrabble: Scotland. Spot The Ball: H17. Name The Country: Fernandes – Portugal; Werner – Germany; Digne – France; Christensen – Denmark. MATCH Winner: Kieffer Moore. Footy At The Films: Jadon Sancho. Wordsearch: See right. Schmeichel. Brain-Buster: 1. Portugal; 2. True; 3. England; 4. No.9; 5. Antoine Griezmann; 6. Portugal; 7. True; 8. Wales; 9. 1996; 10. Sergio Busquets. Euro 2020 Special 2 Who Am I?: Luka Modric. Yannick Carrrasco Quiz: 1. 27; 2. Ligue 1; 3. Atletico Madrid; 4. More than 40; 5. True. Close-Up: 1. Xherdan Shaqiri;…