Table of contents for 04 July 2023 in MATCH!

HALF-PRICE SALE? LINKED WITH Club: Chelsea Cost: £30 million Versatile defender Marc Cucurella only joined Chelsea last August for £60 million, but apparently he could leave The Blues for half that price! Newcastle have him on their radar and could move regardless of their interest in Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney! DONE DEAL? ✓ WATKINS WANTED! LINKED WITH Club: Aston Villa Cost: £35 million Only Harry Kane and Erling Haaland have scored more PL goals in 2023 than Ollie Watkins! His hot streak in the second half of the season helped secure Villa European footy, and that didn’t go unnoticed. Man. United are interested but Villa want him to stay! DONE DEAL? ✓ BAYERN BARGAIN! LINKED WITH Club: Bayern Munich Cost: £25 million Liverpool are known for their ability to bag a bargain (cough, Alexis Mac Allister) and…

Australia Population: 26m Capital: Canberra Gaffer: Tony Gustavsson Ranking: 10th STRONGEST LINE-UP! 1 Australia have only managed one win in nine games versus European opposition in Women’s World Cup history – against Norway in 2011! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! Sam Kerr Striker Kerr has been at the top of her game once again in 2022-23 and ended the campaign by scoring the winner in the FA Cup final against Man. United! We’re expecting great things from her this summer! FIXTURES! July 20 ★ Rep. of Ireland Sydney, 11am July 27 ★ Nigeria Brisbane, 11am July 31 ★ Canada Melbourne, 11am IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… The upwards arrow emoji because that’s the direction this young and upcoming Australia team is heading! VERDICT! The Matildas have won eight of their…

USA Population: 333m Capital: Washington D.C. Gaffer: Vlatko Andonovski Ranking: 1st STRONGEST LINE-UP! 7 After three defeats in a row in 2022, coach Vlatko Andonovski guided the US to seven consecutive wins in 2023, scoring 17 goals and conceding just once! WORLDCUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! Alex Morgan Forward The USA legend won her first ever NWSL Golden Boot in 2022 at the age of 33, scoring 15 times, proving that she’s still one of the best in the world in her position and a huge threat for the holders! FIXTURES! July 22 ★ Vietnam Auckland, 2am July 27 ★ Netherlands Wellington, 2am August 1 ★ Portugal Auckland, 8am IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… The record four-time world champs are the queens of women’s footy and looking to make it three…

Germany Population: 84m Capital: Berlin Gaffer: Martina Voss-Tecklenburg Ranking: 2nd STRONGEST LINE-UP! 30 Only the USA have recorded more Women’s World Cup victories in history than Germany’s 30 wins! WORLDCUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! Alexandra Popp Forward The two-time German national Footballer of the Year has bagged 61 goals in 127 appearances for her country, including a handful at last summer’s Euros. She’ll be leading her nation as captain this summer! FIXTURES! July 24 ★ Morocco Melbourne, 9.30am July 30 ★ Colombia Sydney, 10.30am August 3 ★ South Korea Brisbane, 11am IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… MATCH will have our eyes locked on Germany as we think they’re one of the teams to beat this summer! VERDICT! A solid defence, possession-based midfield and deadly attack make Germany probably the best all-round…

Harrogate hero! Alastair took MATCH to Harrogate’s final home game of the season and got some first team autographs as well as meeting manager Simon Weaver! WC predictions! Michael from Baltimore, in USA, peered into his crystal ball to predict the next World Cup final! Salah stardom! Huge Liverpool fan Luke traced and coloured this picture of Egypt superstar Mohamed Salah! World Cup class! Barcelona supporter Lukas drew this wicked poster to remember last winter’s wicked World Cup! Wolves work! Check out Ted’s awesome drawing of former Wolves goal grabber Diego Costa! Messi magic! Jack is a massive Lionel Messi fan, so he drew and coloured the legend skipping over a challenge! SEND YOUR PICTURES TO… Email: match.magazine@kelsey.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/matchmagazine Twitter: www.twitter.com/matchmagazine…

KALIDOU KOULIBALY Chelsea to Al-Hilal £18 million SERGIO BUSQUETS Barcelona to Inter Miami Free transfer JUSTIN KLUIVERT Roma to Bournemouth £9.6 million RUBEN NEVES Wolves to Al-Hilal £47 million DARA O’SHEA West Brom to Burnley £7 million RAPHAEL GUERREIRO Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich Free transfer ARKADIUSZ MILIK Marseille to Juventus £5 million JOSELU Espanyol to Real Madrid Loan NICOLAS JACKSON Villarreal to Chelsea £32 million GUGLIELMO VICARIO Empoli to Tottenham £17.2 million DEJAN KULUSEVSKI Juventus to Tottenham £25.6 million JOAO PEDRO Watford to Brighton £30 million JAMES MILNER Liverpool to Brighton Free transfer MAHMOUD DAHOUD Borussia Dortmund to Brighton Free transfer…

Spain Population: 48m Capital: Madrid Gaffer: Jorge Vilda Ranking: 6th STRONGEST LINE-UP! 1 Spain have only won one of their last seven Women’s World Cup matches, losing four of those! WORLDCUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! Aitana Bonmati Att. midfielder With Putellas still not back to her very best, we’re expecting Bonmati to have a storming tournament! The Barcelona baller provided 19 league goals and assists combined in 2022-23 for her side! FIXTURES! July 21 ★ Costa Rica Wellington, 8.30am July 26 ★ Zambia Auckland, 8.30am July 31 ★ Japan Wellington, 8am IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… Since last summer’s Euros exit, Spain have won nine of 11 matches and conceded in just three of those games! VERDICT! Defender Mapi Leon and forward Claudia Pina are big losses for Spain, but there’s…

France Population: 68m Capital: Paris Gaffer: Herve Renard Ranking: 5th STRONGEST LINE-UP! 88 France’s all-time top goalscorer Eugenie Le Sommer has scored 88 goals for her nation! WORLDCUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! Wendie Renard Centre-back The towering centre-back has bundles of big-game experience for both Lyon and France, and returned to the squad in 2023 after having fallen out with the previous coach. She’s one of the best in the world! FIXTURES! July 23 ★ Jamaica Sydney, 11am July 29 ★ Brazil Brisbane, 11am August 2 ★ Panama Sydney, 11am IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… France Women have never won a major international trophy, but we think they’re really not that far away… VERDICT! The players seem to have a far better relationship with manager Herve Renard. The ex-Morocco and Saudi…

KHADIJA SHAW Team: Jamaica Qualifying goals: 12 ESTHER GONZALEZ Team: Spain Qualifying goals: 9 KADIDIATOU DIANI Team: France Qualifying goals: 5 STINA BLACKSTENIUS Team: Sweden Qualifying goals: 3 CHRISTINE SINCLAIR Team: Canada Qualifying goals: 1 ADA HEGERBERG Team: Norway Qualifying goals: 3 LIEKE MARTENS Team: Netherlands Qualifying goals: 1 RIKO UEKI Team: Japan Qualifying goals: 5 PERNILLE HARDER Team: Denmark Qualifying goals: 3 ANA-MARIA CRNOGORCEVIC Team: Switzerland Qualifying goals: 8 ALESSIA RUSSO Team: England Qualifying goals: 5…

CLOSING DATE: Aug. 4 In this transparent model, there are six small LEDs that display up to 25 different colours! Designed for Xbox, this versatile wired controller is 15% smaller than your classic game controller to fit a wide range of hand sizes! You can choose from four lighting effects and three cycle speeds to shows your true colours! For more info on this incredible controller and more cool gaming accessories, head over to nacongaming.com and follow @Nacon HOW TO ENTER! JUST VISIT… SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/WIN Then click on the competition image and enter your details. Full T&Cs are available online.…

Norway Population: 5.5m Capital: Oslo Gaffer: Hege Riise Ranking: 12th STRONGEST LINE-UP! 188 Manager Hege Riise, who won the Women’s World Cup as a player in 1995, holds the record for the most appearances for Norway! WORLD CUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! Ada Hegerberg Forward After scoring three goals at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the elite Lyon forward ruled herself out of the 2019 tournament! She returned to the fold in 2022 and will be their biggest threat in attack! FIXTURES! July 20 ★ New Zealand Auckland, 8am July 25 ★ Switzerland Hamilton, 9am July 30 ★ Philippines Auckland, 8am IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… They’re still hurting from an 8-0 humiliation by England and their group-stage exit at last year’s Euros! VERDICT! They have players from the likes of…

England Population: 56m Capital: London Gaffer: Sarina Wiegman Ranking: 4th STRONGEST LINE-UP! 14 England haven’t drawn any of their last 14 games at the Women’s World Cup! WORLDCUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! KeiraWalsh Midfielder The CM was probably England’s second best player after Beth Mead at last summer’s Euros – and she’s only got better since joining Barcelona. Her partnership with Georgia Stanway is “so good”! FIXTURES! July 22 ★ Haiti Brisbane, 10.30am July 28 ★ Denmark Sydney, 9.30am August 1 ★ China Adelaide, 12pm IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… Their build-up to the WWC was hampered by injuries to Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby! VERDICT! The injuries hurt but it also gives other players the chance to make a name for themselves! It depends on their route but…

Sweden Population: 10m Capital: Stockholm Gaffer: Peter Gerhardsson Ranking: 3rd STRONGEST LINE-UP! 2 Sweden beat England 2-1 in the third place play-off at the 2019 Women’s World Cup! WORLDCUP RECORD! STAR PLAYER! Stina Blackstenius Striker With the Arsenal striker up front and new Bayern Munich centre-back Magdalena Eriksson in defence, this Sweden team has a really strong spine. Stina scored 18 goals in all competitions last season! FIXTURES! July 23 ★ South Africa Wellington, 6am July 29 ★ Italy Wellington, 8.30am August 2 ★ Argentina Hamilton, 8am IF THEY WERE AN EMOJI… Sweden have some of the best players on the planet but their recent form has got us really confused! VERDICT! Just two wins from their last seven games is a bit concerning! A lot of people think they…

12 USA star Lindsey Horan’s French bulldog Ferguson has over 12,000 followers on Instagram! Ashley Lawrence and Kadeisha Buchanan have a field named in their honour in Toronto after their gold medal heroics in the 2020 Olympics! 7 No player has featured at more Women’s World Cups than former Brazil star Formiga! Jackie Groenen used to practise judo alongside football but had to stop the comb at sport after she broke her hip the day before a match! 1 Japan midfielder Yui Hasegawa is the first player from the Asian country to represent WSL giants Man. City! Sam Kerr eats a pasta sandwich before every game! Norway’s Guro Reiten and Ada Hegerberg grew up together and went to the same school! Georgia Stanway says her worst habit is biting her nails!…